Is the Civil PE Exam Difficult to Pass? After completing a college degree, passing the FE exam, and getting at least four years of experience working in engineering (in most states), candidates can sit for the PE exam. The PE exam is one of the last steps in becoming a licensed professional engineer. But how hard is it? In this article (and video above), I answer that question and also take a look at the PE Pass rates.
PE Exam
FE Exam Prep: Strength of Materials
In this article (and video above), I solve a strength of materials question, similar to one you might encounter during the FE Exam, to give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam.
Question:
A steel bar (E = 200 GPa) is stretched with a force of 50 N. If the bar is 4 m long and has a cross-sectional area of 0.5 square meters , what is the approximate elongation?
(A) 1 nm
(B) 2 nm
(C) 3 nm
(D) 4 nm
Solution:
Does a Master’s Degree Help You Take the PE Exam Quicker?
Does a master’s degree help you take the PE Exam quicker? In this article (and video above), I answer that question and also cover some of the other benefits of getting your master’s degree.
To get right to the point here, in many states, you reduce the amount of qualifying engineering experience, which is typically 4 years for a PE license, by one year with a Master’s Degree in engineering. However, you will likely need to complete your degree before it will count, you will not get credit for a degree that you are working towards. It is very important that you check your state board’s website to be certain, though, because every State has their own requirements related to the Master’s degree credit.
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How Many Years’ Experience Do You Need To Take The PE Exam?
In this article (and video above), I answer the following question from one of our listeners: “How many years experience do I need to take the PE Exam?”
Typically, in many US States, the experience requirement to apply for your PE license is four years of qualifying engineering experience. However each state acts independently to set its own education experience and residency requirements, therefore, there is variation throughout the US.
It is generally required that all candidate’s experience be accumulated after graduation from an accredited school. If you have worked while attending school, and if the work fits the criteria for qualifying engineering experience, you may qualify to take the examination less than four years following graduation. However, depending on circumstances, it may be difficult for you to demonstrate that the pre-graduation experience constitutes true engineering experience.
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From FAIL to PE EXAM PASS: How He Did It (The Second Try)
In this article, (and video above), I talk to Frisner Jean-Pierre, P.E. (JP), a General Engineer at the United States Department of the Air Force about how he prepared for the PE exam and what he did differently the second time around that helped him pass the exam.
Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask JP:
- How did you prepare for the PE exam?
- Did you do self-study, or did you enroll in any prep courses?
- How did you approach the different categories of the exam?
- What was the big difference between the pencil-and-paper exam, and the computer-based exam?
- Do you have any advice for engineers out there that are thinking of taking the PE exam soon?
Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed in the Episode:
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Do THIS After You Pass the PE Exam
In this article (and video above), I talk about what you can expect after you have taken your PE Exam and what you should do after you pass the PE exam. We talk about how long you will have to wait for your results to be available, how you can obtain your license if you passed, and when you will be able to start practicing as a licensed engineer. Information for this post was referenced from these articles (PPI, NSPE, and NJSPE).
What Kind of Experience Qualifies for Qualifying Engineering Experience?
In this article, (and video above), I respond to a question from one of our listeners about what qualifies as qualifying engineering experience for the PE exam.
Here is the Question:
“What kind of experience qualifies for work experience for being able to take the PE. Would surveying natural and built assets quality as work experience? Just curious how long I should expect to wait before being able to do my PE?”
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PE Environmental vs. PE Civil Water Resources and Environmental
If you are considering a career in environmental engineering, and you want to pursue your professional engineering license, you may be stuck deciding which professional engineering exam to take. You could take the PE Civil Exam with a Water Resources and Environmental depth option or you could take the PE Environmental. The National Council of Examiners and Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) offers both.
So how will you decide? Firstly, consider looking at the specifications of each exam, as below:
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How Can You Work Abroad as An Engineer? Global Engineering License Requirements
In this article, (and video above), I respond to a question from one of our subscribers about whether or not the United States Professional Engineering License can be transferred and used in different countries and vice versa.
Here is the Question:
“Can you do a video on international reciprocity, and how the us PE license compares and contrasts with engineering licenses from other countries. And for those who are not us residents and wish to take the PE exam and still work in their home countries, how would that work?”
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NCEES PE Exams Are Moving to CBT – This Is When & How It Affects You
This week’s PE exam article (and video above) is in response to many questions we have received from engineers about when their specific FE or PE exam will be going to the computer-based testing (or CBT) format.
What are the Benefits of CBT Exams?
The CBT format offers many benefits, such as enhanced security for exam content and more uniformity in testing conditions. For most exams, it also provides greater scheduling flexibility. All CBT exams are offered at approved Pearson VUE test centers and reasonable accommodations are available for examinees who meet certain eligibility criteria and sufficiently document their request.
Some CBT exams are administered year-round. NCEES constructs these exams using a linear-on-the-fly (also known as LOFT) algorithm. This means that all examinees for a particular exam are required to answer the same number of questions in the same topics; however, no examinees will have the same set of questions. The algorithm will assemble a unique exam within the same specification framework (for example, the same number of questions per topic area) and the same relative level of difficulty.
Other CBT exams that have a smaller examinee population use a different high-stakes testing model and are administered on a single day each year. All examinees taking these exams receive the same questions. The question formats used on both types of exams are the same, independent of the statistical model employed.
Let’s take a look at the CBT Schedule:
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