spring FE exam is tomorrow and im not feeling very confident about it :/. I went to every E490 prep session this semester, and have a 3.0 in school and am finishing in 4 years so I've done fine in school. However doing the practice exams online has not boded well, and I find myself guessing more often than actually knowing how to do a problem/finding a formula in the book. Is this fairly common for others taking this exam or those who took/studied for it in the past?

4/20/2007 4:02:24 PM

If you can't do the problems on the practice exams, you're probably fucked.

It's too late now, but I would have suggested doing the practice exams in the 490 book more than once each and just memorize how to solve the problems. Otherwise, you actually have to understand how to do them to do well on the exam.

But you only need to do OK on it to pass.



Edit: The actual exam is a little easier than the practice problems in the 490 book. The online practice tests are about the same as the real exam.

[Edited on April 20, 2007 at 5:53 PM. Reason : ]

4/20/2007 5:50:29 PM

Not on topic, but 'good luck' to you and all the other FE exam sitters.

4/20/2007 8:24:30 PM

Understand how to use the book. Make sure that you know where to find the formulas. Thats the key.

4/20/2007 8:35:01 PM

How long is the break between the morning and afternoon session? Is it possible to leave for a lunch break?

4/20/2007 10:15:09 PM

I just found it

http://www.els-examreg.org/pdf_registration_forms/exam_day.pdf

4/20/2007 10:19:08 PM

Quote :

"spring FE exam is tomorrow and im not feeling very confident about it"

nobody feels cofident about it. you walk out questioning if you learned anything at all while in school.

then a few weeks later you get a letter telling you that you passed.

good luck

4/20/2007 10:24:48 PM

i hope youre right

4/20/2007 10:27:24 PM

im taking it

havent prepared for it at all, went to a few of the E 490 sessions

dont care if i pass it, don't need it, wish i never signed up for it

4/20/2007 10:39:21 PM

Meh I got drunk the night before... then went down to jax during the lunch break for the exam and drank some more beers. Didn't take any prep class or study. I probably got knew less than 40% of the questions. I passed.

It really IS that easy. It's multiple choice and there's a book of formulas.

4/20/2007 11:03:57 PM

oh so you can leave during lunch

4/20/2007 11:15:47 PM

Where can you get this book o formulas you speak of? Is it part of the main review manual in e490, or only supplied at the test?

4/20/2007 11:36:30 PM

they give one to everyone that takes the exam i believe

then you give it back i imagine

4/20/2007 11:40:15 PM

they provided a copy of the manual for the exam. but if you took the prep class, i'm sure you've seen a copy.

if you haven't (scary thought), it's online
http://www.ncees.org/exams/study_materials/fe_handbook/index.php

4/21/2007 12:03:20 AM

So if we were to actually finish the moring general portion early, would we have to just sit and wait until the full 4 hours is up, or could we leave?

4/21/2007 12:21:48 AM

If you get done before 3 hours and 45 minutes you can leave but if not you gotta wait until the whole 4 hours is up

4/21/2007 12:37:11 AM

Quote :

"nobody feels cofident about it. you walk out questioning if you learned anything at all while in school. then a few weeks later you get a letter telling you that you passed. "

i dunno, i walked out feeling like i did pretty good

but yeah there was still anxiety for a few weeks, cause i wasnt sure if i did well enough. apparently i did.

it was exhausting as hell, tho. 8 hour test. i went home, drank one beer and fell asleep.

4/21/2007 3:31:40 AM

HALFTIME

4/21/2007 12:18:20 PM

what a great test

4/21/2007 12:33:14 PM

I didn't spend more than about 1 hour on each section when I took it. Anyone that knows me knows my philosophy. No exam is worth more than 1 hour of my time. So it's possible to pass this so-called 8-hour exam in 2 hours

[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 12:45 PM. Reason : too bad they don't tell you how well you did.]

4/21/2007 12:45:15 PM

Quote :

"nobody feels cofident about it. you walk out questioning if you learned anything at all while in school."

i questioned my worth as a person in society the week after this test

4/21/2007 2:26:23 PM

^^GG.

I knew I passed when I left. Historically, anywhere from 40% - 60% correct correlates to a passing score. I worked through the test and answered all of the questions that I felt very confident about first. That already got me over 60%. Then I spent the rest of the time trying to figure out the others, looking for formulas, narrowing down the choices, and guessing. No doubt when I left.

4/21/2007 3:58:10 PM

i feel like i got at least half or so right...then the probability of guessing adds 25% of the remaining, so maybe like 62.5%


probly not though

4/21/2007 4:46:57 PM

^if you think you only guessed at 25% then you're fine

4/21/2007 4:50:03 PM

well, 25% were guessed where i couldn't eliminate anything

there were several guess-between-2-answer situations



actually i meant that from the other half of all questions, i might have gotten 25% that i guessed right, because A,B,C,D 25% chance to guess the right one

[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 4:57 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2007 4:56:59 PM

looking back i feel that i should have taken the ME second half of the test. On the first section i answered 91 problems out of the 120 without any 'guessing' (doesnt mean i got them all right). i figure i probably got more right that i guessed on than wrong ones i felt confident on. so at that point i was feeling very good.

second half of the test, im pretty sure i guessed on more than half of them on the general

4/21/2007 5:15:27 PM

i probably guessed on like 15 out of the 120 on the AM session

the afternoon session was a different story. probably guessed on about 20 out of the 60

[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 5:23 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2007 5:23:08 PM

afternoon was a bitch

4/21/2007 6:32:51 PM

I thought the afternoon session was harder too. I guess that's why you have more time per question. So, now we wait 12 weeks or so for the results. I'm glad is over either way. What a crappy way to spend a beautiful Saturday.

4/21/2007 6:39:02 PM

i wasnt sure what to put for the state to report the scores

i put NC, but im gonna be working in VA starting in a couple months

4/21/2007 6:40:50 PM

Same for me and SC. FE is nationally accepted, I think. It's the PE where state specificity can be important.

4/21/2007 6:50:43 PM

^ true. an FE is kind of meaningless, except that it tells your employer that you (1) can pass the test and (2) are on the track to eventually get your PE.

The PE is the only license that matters. and you can only use your PE in the state in which it is issued.

but states will have reciprocity with other states, so its a little easier to get a PE in another state when you already have one in your own. but you still have to take a test for each one. i dont know if its a full test or not.

one of the reasons is that each state has various regulations particular to that state, and the PE is responsible to know them.

4/21/2007 7:27:47 PM

Quote :

"but you still have to take a test for each one. i dont know if its a full test or not"

Wrong. All you have to do is apply for your license in the other state. No additional test is necessary. Takes some time to get the new license, but you will.

[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 9:05 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2007 9:04:55 PM

Hmmm... are you sure about that?

my old boss had multiple PEs and it was kind of a big deal. everyone else just had one or two.

im almost certain he had to take some kind of test proving his competence with the particular regulations specific to each state.

but its been a few years since i had that job. so i could be mistaken.

maybe some enterprising person could google up a link.


---

i also recall something about variations in "reciprocity", where neighboring states usually have agreements with each other, but states on opposite sides of the country usually dont

---

but ive been out of the civil/public arena and in R&D type stuff for almost three years now, so PE's are no longer important in my field.



[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 10:08 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2007 10:05:26 PM

My dad has 5 or 6 (can't remember which) in states all over the east coast. You don't take additional tests.

4/21/2007 10:15:26 PM

okay, i guess that pretty much settles it, and i cant imagine why it would be any different in Washington State, or other west coast states.

i guess its just not worth it for most people to maintain several PEs on their own. your dad is probably something like my old boss -- a Principal Engineer, overseeing several project managers.





[Edited on April 21, 2007 at 10:52 PM. Reason : ]

4/21/2007 10:50:01 PM

Quote :

"Wrong. All you have to do is apply for your license in the other state. No additional test is necessary. Takes some time to get the new license, but you will."

That is not entirely correct all the time, for example the Structural/Civil PE NY and CA (and I think one other state) require you to take their harder version of the test, the other states are like as you described.

4/22/2007 5:07:57 PM

i didn't study at all and passed


good lucK!

4/22/2007 7:42:39 PM

how long till scores are sent out?

4/22/2007 7:43:47 PM

i got mine around the end of june i think

4/22/2007 7:45:19 PM

Quote :

"That is not entirely correct all the time, for example the Structural/Civil PE NY and CA (and I think one other state) require you to take their harder version of the test, the other states are like as you described."

Again, not true. My dad took the PE (structural) here in NC, and had no trouble/additional testing required to get his structural PE in NY. No additional test is required.

4/22/2007 8:49:36 PM

fyi, there are apparently multiple levels of structural engineering exams. but i don't know which states require what

http://www.ncees.org/exams/professional/#structural

4/22/2007 9:00:47 PM

how much does it cost to take the FE?

4/22/2007 9:36:26 PM

$120

4/22/2007 9:46:46 PM

Quote :

"Again, not true. My dad took the PE (structural) here in NC, and had no trouble/additional testing required to get his structural PE in NY. No additional test is required."

we need to get your pops on here

fuck all this "he said this, he said that" shit.

cause im still not convinced. i thought for sure my old boss had to take additional tests related to state specific regulations. this was for like WA, OR, CA, AZ, ID, NV... in the electrical arena. not the full test by any means, just like a supplement.

or maybe someone here knows how to use google?

4/22/2007 11:18:09 PM

The PE I work with got his license here in Florida. His reciprocity works in most states I believe. But I do remember California is one of the specific states that doesn't have reciprocity with Florida. This is because of the extra seismic considerations. This guy is a mechanical engineer and it still applies to him. So yeah, for some states there are extra requirements.

^ Sounds about right from what I remember.

4/23/2007 7:33:27 PM

so when should we expect the results?

6/21/2007 8:13:06 PM

Just heard the PE results were delivered today. Anybody get the FE back???

6/22/2007 3:06:27 PM

not yet

6/22/2007 3:13:16 PM

I PASSED!

6/22/2007 4:11:18 PM