How to pass FE exam from first time in less than 6 months

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Wael

PE
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May 31, 2012
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Hi everybody,

today I found that I passed the FE exam. I am an Electical Engineer graduated 7 years ago and took the FE exam for the first time last october and thanks God I passed it from the first time and would never think of this nightmare again :)

Below is my experience of prepparing for the exam. By the way, I took Electical for PM.

April-June: ( AM Session Prepparation)

Materials:

1- Texas A&M online review videos for the FE exam: http://engineeringregistration.tamu.edu/tapedreviews/

2- Fundamentals of Engineering Review Manual (FERM)

3- NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering Supplied-Reference Handbook

I used to watch a lecture from TX A&M. Then review the respective chapter in the FERM and then try to solve all the problems. use the schedule suggested by the author at the bigining of the book.

July-August: ( PM Session Prepparation)

Materials:

1- Electrical Engineering FE/EIT Exam Preparation, 3rd Edition from Kaplan

2- http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/

3- NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering Supplied-Reference Handbook

I used to dedicate 3 days per chapter except for Electonics/solid states and communication which took 5-6 days.

September-October: ( Practice exams)

Materials:

1- FE/EIT Sample Examinations

2- FERM Practice exam (At the end of the FERM book)

3- Kaplan's Electrical Sample Exam (at the end of Electrical Engineering FE/EIT Exam Preparation, 3rd Edition)

4- Electrical Discepline-specific review for the FE/EIT Exam

4- NCEES Sample Exam for Electrical

In summary, I felt that I could have done it in less than that time. but all this just to feel confident and not to take it again. Aim for 100% not for just passing. It is passable. just be confident. I wish you all the best.

 
I have also found out that I passed today. First try. I'm electrical, but I took Other Disciplines for PM. If you study for the AM you can ace the Other PM with very little extra effort. My 2c:

1. Use the NCEES Reference during study, so you are very familiar with it. You can solve many problems just by knowing where to find the solution in the manual.

2. Get a good calculator and learn how to use it. There are many problems the calculator can solve for you. Bring two at the exam in case one breaks. I've also used the second calculator while my first one was solving an integral (it took a few minutes to calculate and I didn't want to waste the time).

3. Do lots of problems. Don't waste time with difficult problems. Just do the type you can solve in 2 min (or 4 for PM).

 
I am also Electrical and I just found out I passed the FE exam this october 2012. All I have to say is testmasters did it for me. I would have failed for sure If i didn't take them

 
I started studying on august using Linderburg FE Review, nothing more, nothing less and I passed in my first attempt. I also spent some time trying to learn how to use my calculator and that helped me a lot.

 
The first time I took the FE i felt like I studied too much material and barely failed. I just took the April2013 exam and just brushed up on my weak subjects a few days before. Im still waiting on results, but im confident I passed. My suggestion is to concentrate on the morning section(General) topics. I took civil in afternoon and was a breeze compared to morning section. So IMO dont try to learn new subjects such as computers in my case. Just concentrate on the stuff you know and make sure to brush up on chem,thermo and the core subjects you took years ago. GL to all

 
I took the FE exam after 10 years out of college and self studied. I wasnt successful on my first attempt. I realized that that topics I studied where far from the type of questions given in the exam. I also took General in the afternoon. On my next attempt, I invested and enrolled in School of PE and boy was it worth it. It led me towards the right direction, focused my review on high probability questions. After the SoPE review I still wasnt confident and felt that i was not ready but decided to take the exam regardsless. After the initial ten mins during the exam and cooling my nerves, I realized that I could answer the questions given. By 5pm, I felt I had a chance of passing as I ended up not guessing as much! So my suggestions for engineers who have been out from college a while, its worth it to invest in a review course. If your company would reimburse you for this expense, do not hesitate to take one!

 
I took the School of PE review course this time around as well. I can not speak highly enough about it. Great review course!

 
Honestly the FE is not terribly difficult. I was out of school about a year and the test snuck up on me so i did not have much time to review and passed the first time. Just make sure to pick up the easy econ and math questions, and know the reference book and you will do fine.

Also id advise taking the afternoon section related to your disipline. Ive heard some horror stories about the afternoon General Eng section.

 
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