I survived the Professional Engineering Exam!

hsherzfeld

hsherzfeld

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Armed only with my wits, a TI-36X Pro calculator, and the reference material provided, I slogged my way through 8 hours' worth of mechanical engineering "Machine Design and Materials" problems. Now, whether or not I passed the exam remains unknown. I hope I did; I don't want to take it again!
 
hsherzfeld said:
Armed only with my wits, a TI-36X Pro calculator, and the reference material provided, I slogged my way through 8 hours' worth of mechanical engineering "Machine Design and Materials" problems. Now, whether or not I passed the exam remains unknown. I hope I did; I don't want to take it again!
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Good for you and I hope you passed. I regret never going through the process and sitting for the exam.
 
That’s great!!! I hope you passed.

I am an experienced mechanical engineer and never went through with getting my PE license. I kind of wish I had, but, it was never required in my line of business.
 
I took the EIT/Fundamentals of Engineering exam in back in 1987! I am old.

When I had an engineering job title and had the opportunity to be supervised by PEs in preparation for the PE exam in 1989-91, it wasn't a priority for me. Hindsight is 20/20!
 
rhino said:
I took the EIT/Fundamentals of Engineering exam in back in 1987! I am old.

When I had an engineering job title and had the opportunity to be supervised by PEs in preparation for the PE exam in 1989-91, it wasn't a priority for me. Hindsight is 20/20!
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Yeah took my FE in 93 while still in school for EE and just barely passed...think you needed a 70 and I got a 72 or 73. My roommate got a 68, and he was an ME, and it seemed to be more ME oriented. Never went for the PE though.

Hope you passed hsherzfeld hsherzfeld !
 
Hesstimation said:
That’s great!!! I hope you passed.

I am an experienced mechanical engineer and never went through with getting my PE license. I kind of wish I had, but, it was never required in my line of business.
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I was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic (though they want to get me back, hopefully soon), so I figured that this was the perfect time to take a prep course and go for it.
 
jlauffer said:
Yeah took my FE in 93 while still in school for EE and just barely passed...think you needed a 70 and I got a 72 or 73. My roommate got a 68, and he was an ME, and it seemed to be more ME oriented. Never went for the PE though.

Hope you passed hsherzfeld hsherzfeld !
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I don't remember my score, but I passed on the first try. I do remember wheeling a crate full of textbooks and notes into the exam with me, though! Do they still allow that?
 
rhino said:
I don't remember my score, but I passed on the first try. I do remember wheeling a crate full of textbooks and notes into the exam with me, though! Do they still allow that?
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No, they moved to a computer-based exam in the past few years. Now, the only reference material allowed is an on-screen reference handbook. But this also limits the scope of the questions they can ask, which makes studying a bit easier. I took an online prep course, taught by an engineering professor and PE, that ran from February to May, then did lots of problems using only the reference handbook to get familiar with it. I feel like I was fairly well-prepared.
 
The weirdest aspect of the computer-based testing (CBT) is that they give you a booklet of laminated paper and a wet erase felt pen (you have to spray it with water to wipe it off) for scratch work. This was the same for me as it was on the FE exam back in 2017, so I was expecting it.
 
hsherzfeld said:
No, they moved to a computer-based exam in the past few years. Now, the only reference material allowed is an on-screen reference handbook. But this also limits the scope of the questions they can ask, which makes studying a bit easier. I took an online prep course, taught by an engineering professor and PE, that ran from February to May, then did lots of problems using only the reference handbook to get familiar with it. I feel like I was fairly well-prepared.
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I think I would actually prefer that format.

The prep courses available are an interesting thing. When I was in school, they either didn't exist yet or I had no knowledge of them. Today, I suspect a majority of people make use of prep courses for standardized tests like the PE Exams, SAT, GRE, MCAT, etc. Scores for the respective percentiles seem to be a lot higher because of it!
 
hsherzfeld said:
The weirdest aspect of the computer-based testing (CBT) is that they give you a booklet of laminated paper and a wet erase felt pen (you have to spray it with water to wipe it off) for scratch work. This was the same for me as it was on the FE exam back in 2017, so I was expecting it.
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That's a new idea to me. I can see how it would help with test security issues, but I'd be annoyed if I couldn't use real paper and my trusty 0.3mm mechanical pencils. Fortunately, I won't be taking any exams like that again!
 
Yeah, they take test security very seriously now. No phone (obviously), wallet, watch, etc. allowed in the testing room. Just your calculator, your ID, and the key to the locker where you put your personal items. And a face mask, which they check to make sure there's nothing written or hidden inside.
 
Civil engineer here. By the grace of God, I passed on my first try back in 2015. We were never told our scores, just whether we passed or failed. I remember toting in a crate full of reference books and materials. I had to wait several months before finding out the result. It was excruciating

I also took a review course. It was taught live online with a different professor/engineer for each topic. It was definitely a necessity, as it'd been 6 years since I'd graduated, and the only thing I'd done since then stormwater. Good luck!

hsherzfeld said:
Yeah, they take test security very seriously now. No phone (obviously), wallet, watch, etc. allowed in the testing room. Just your calculator, your ID, and the key to the locker where you put your personal items. And a face mask, which they check to make sure there's nothing written or hidden inside.
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My boss's husband works for NCEES, and I've heard horror stories of one exam taker being caught cheating during or after the exam, and they threw out everyone's tests who had been in the same exam. I can't tell you how irate that would make me.
 
Congrats for surviving! Hope you passed, but if not at least you will be better prepared for the next attempt.
 
HCrum87hc said:
Civil engineer here. By the grace of God, I passed on my first try back in 2015. We were never told our scores, just whether we passed or failed. I remember toting in a crate full of reference books and materials. I had to wait several months before finding out the result. It was excruciating

I also took a review course. It was taught live online with a different professor/engineer for each topic. It was definitely a necessity, as it'd been 6 years since I'd graduated, and the only thing I'd done since then stormwater. Good luck!
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Fortunately, the computer-based exams must be a lot faster to grade, because I was told to I can expect to learn my results in 7-10 business days. Also, because of the computer testing, the exam is offered year-round instead of only twice a year, so the graders (I assume) have fewer exams to grade at once.

My boss's husband works for NCEES, and I've heard horror stories of one exam taker being caught cheating during or after the exam, and they threw out everyone's tests who had been in the same exam. I can't tell you how irate that would make me.
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Wow! Yeah, I would be furious if that happened to me.
 
Jeez I'm old gerg.gif
Took and passed the EIT in '84. Passed the PE in '89.
Good luck. Hope you passed. I passed the first time thank goodness. I did not want to do it again.
 
Congratulations and best of luck!

I took the EIT but never the PE. Got my Mechanical degree at night school and after graduating, didn’t want to see another test for a while, which turned into a looong while. So good on you for getting it done!
 
Blue Sky said:
Congratulations and best of luck!

I took the EIT but never the PE. Got my Mechanical degree at night school and after graduating, didn’t want to see another test for a while, which turned into a looong while. So good on you for getting it done!
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Thank you!

I figured that this year gave me the best opportunity to put all of my focus and energy into studying.
 
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