Deciding Between TF & MD

[Clydeman]

Hello All!

I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

 

[navyasw02]

Hello All!
I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

I had the same debate and eventually I settled on MD. I initially felt better about MD, but after studying for TF I felt equally comfortable with the material. It's really a toss up. If you can, I'd recommend doing one of the practice exams to see which one you like better. The MD section practice exam I would say is heavier on the actual statics/dynamics/kinematics/solid mechanics concepts than on the stuff in Shigley's. For the true MD stuff, I think every practice exam had a spring problem, some of them had bolt design, some had fatigue and cyclic stress problems, sometimes a basic gear question, all of them had at least one basic welding problem.

 

[Clydeman]

I have ordered the NCEES 2010 Fluid and Thermal test (unfortunately it looks like they now sell the three tests serparately). I also ordered the Lindeburg practice PE exam which I have read mixed reviews about.

Also I already have MERMs (of course) and companion "Practice Problems for the Mechanical Engineering PE Exam". I actually get quite frustrated with some of the practice problems in this text because I am pretty sure some of them are far too complicated and length to be on the test. Isn't it somewhat of a waste of study time to burn 30 minutes to an hour on one problem?

How does one go about getting older NCEES tests (2008 and older)?

 

[navyasw02]

I have ordered the NCEES 2010 Fluid and Thermal test (unfortunately it looks like they now sell the three tests serparately). I also ordered the Lindeburg practice PE exam which I have read mixed reviews about.
Also I already have MERMs (of course) and companion "Practice Problems for the Mechanical Engineering PE Exam". I actually get quite frustrated with some of the practice problems in this text because I am pretty sure some of them are far too complicated and length to be on the test. Isn't it somewhat of a waste of study time to burn 30 minutes to an hour on one problem?

How does one go about getting older NCEES tests (2008 and older)?

Interesting, they broke up the sample exam now to get more money. I wonder if they're new questions or just the same as the 2008 ones. NCEES used to sell the 2008 exam on their study materials page. You can probably find it on the yard sale section here or on ebay. 2001 is harder to come by and I think it's not as good as the 2008, but still worth having. To figure out which one you want to do, I'd start with the 2001 and do the AM and both TF and MD pm sessions. Save the 2008 for a few weeks before the exam. The Practice problems book you have is actually pretty good. They're harder than the actual, but good preparation and more straightforward than some of the other sources. See the reference roundup post for more info on the reference books.

 

[Relvinim]

I have ordered the NCEES 2010 Fluid and Thermal test (unfortunately it looks like they now sell the three tests serparately). I also ordered the Lindeburg practice PE exam which I have read mixed reviews about.
Also I already have MERMs (of course) and companion "Practice Problems for the Mechanical Engineering PE Exam". I actually get quite frustrated with some of the practice problems in this text because I am pretty sure some of them are far too complicated and length to be on the test. Isn't it somewhat of a waste of study time to burn 30 minutes to an hour on one problem?

How does one go about getting older NCEES tests (2008 and older)?

I personnally favored the Six Minute Solutions booklet. The problem is you need to know which depth you want to take before you buy one of them since they are separated by depth. THe Machine Design had lots of mistakes on it but I still learned alot.

 

[MadDawg]

Hello All!
I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

How did you sign up for the PE but did not have to choose already between the afternoon sections? When I signed up I had to choose...

Anyway, in my opinion (which doesn't count for much since I don't know if I passed yet), I think you should take T&F based on liking thermo, fluids, and heat xfer in school. If you don't have a strong background in machine design you're going to have to spend a lot more time preparing for the exam (and preparing in a topic you might not enjoy).

I thought the afternoon T&F was easier than the morning this past October, and as you'll read on these boards the test changes between each offering, so next time the MD might be awful and the T&F really relatively easy.

Good luck, and hopefully i'm not taking the test with you in April. :mail-296:

 

[navyasw02]

Hello All!
I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

How did you sign up for the PE but did not have to choose already between the afternoon sections? When I signed up I had to choose...

Anyway, in my opinion (which doesn't count for much since I don't know if I passed yet), I think you should take T&F based on liking thermo, fluids, and heat xfer in school. If you don't have a strong background in machine design you're going to have to spend a lot more time preparing for the exam (and preparing in a topic you might not enjoy).

I thought the afternoon T&F was easier than the morning this past October, and as you'll read on these boards the test changes between each offering, so next time the MD might be awful and the T&F really relatively easy.

Good luck, and hopefully i'm not taking the test with you in April. :mail-296:

I think there's a window where you can still change out before you're locked in. I remember that from the last cycle because I was on the fence.

I agree though, do the subject you *like*. I was good with T&F, but I went with MD because I got to the point where I'd rather be waterboarded than look at another damn enthalpy problem.

 

[HerrKaLeun]

I would whichever is closer to your daily work. In my opinion MD and T/f are pretty far apart. i can see how someone is unsure about if one would take HVAC or T/F. At least for me MD is like a complete opposite discipline to HVAC/TF.

the test has many questions that require some everyday knowledge. some questions you can answer in a second if you work int he field. so if your work is MD, do MD. If your work is T/F, do that. If you buy the Lindeburgh sample exam, you can see the different disciplines and decide. If you can get a 2008 NCEES exam, that is a good indicator too (i can sell you mine the day I get the letter that I passed

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Hello All!
I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

You sound like me four years ago.

MD professor was a complete moron, so the MD classes I had were a waste, but that was what I was interested in. Got my Masters in 1991, and the thermo professors were awesome, so i left truly understanding that.

Fast forword to late 2006, and I'm trying to decide, MD or TF. My work had been most near MD, and I had an interest in it. tried a few problems in the thermo section, but had completely forgotten everything I know.

So, I went MD.

Benefit of that is you can take in the MERM and Shigley's, and pretty much pull it off. I took a few other books, but really didn't use them.

 

[HerrKaLeun]

You should evaluate if your daily work experience in MD is relevant to the test.

In many cases you will be able to guess if one of the 4 options is reasonable.

For example, if you need to calculate piping choices, with experience in the filed you know that 2 of the 4 options are completely unreasonable. this helps you verifying your result. If you didn't have that experience all 4 options would look the same.

 

[Clydeman]

Hello All!
I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

You sound like me four years ago.

MD professor was a complete moron, so the MD classes I had were a waste, but that was what I was interested in. Got my Masters in 1991, and the thermo professors were awesome, so i left truly understanding that.

Fast forword to late 2006, and I'm trying to decide, MD or TF. My work had been most near MD, and I had an interest in it. tried a few problems in the thermo section, but had completely forgotten everything I know.

So, I went MD.

Benefit of that is you can take in the MERM and Shigley's, and pretty much pull it off. I took a few other books, but really didn't use them.

Funny I am like you but the opposite. I started out my career in "heavy industry" working at Hyster and another similar company (incidently where PEs were quite common among the MEs). More recently I have been working designing consumer products where heat transfer/fluids is far more applicable than anything in Shigley.

Do you guys think that you forget more in 14 years than say 6 years? Sadly I have had few need to crack the textbooks over my last 14 years (and 6 companies). So for the most part I have forgotten everthing (save for simple statics and stress cals which I still do on occation).

Anyway I have been hitting it pretty hard, getting up at 5:00 am every morning and then studying in the evening (as that is one of the few quiet times in my household). In college I tended to overprepare. It helped with my confidence level, and am appraching this test in the same way. I just hope I can maintain this level of study over the next 4 months witout getting burned out.

 

[HerrKaLeun]

Funny I am like you but the opposite. I started out my career in "heavy industry" working at Hyster and another similar company (incidently where PEs were quite common among the MEs). More recently I have been working designing consumer products where heat transfer/fluids is far more applicable than anything in Shigley.
Do you guys think that you forget more in 14 years than say 6 years? Sadly I have had few need to crack the textbooks over my last 14 years (and 6 companies). So for the most part I have forgotten everthing (save for simple statics and stress cals which I still do on occation).

Anyway I have been hitting it pretty hard, getting up at 5:00 am every morning and then studying in the evening (as that is one of the few quiet times in my household). In college I tended to overprepare. It helped with my confidence level, and am appraching this test in the same way. I just hope I can maintain this level of study over the next 4 months witout getting burned out.

Ironically the higher you climb on the career ladder (which shows you are a good engineer), the less you actually deal with things that are part of the test. As a young engineer you likely do some calculations every day. but after 14 years you are more like a manager and have those young engineers do the calculations for you.

 

[navyasw02]

Ironically the higher you climb on the career ladder (which shows you are a good engineer), the less you actually deal with things that are part of the test. As a young engineer you likely do some calculations every day. but after 14 years you are more like a manager and have those young engineers do the calculations for you.

That's usually the case in all jobs. The higher you are the less you actually "do" and the more you're responsible for. By the time you're at the top, you just go to meetings, think lofty thoughts, and someone else writes them down and executes your vision.

 

[HerrKaLeun]

That's usually the case in all jobs. The higher you are the less you actually "do" and the more you're responsible for. By the time you're at the top, you just go to meetings, think lofty thoughts, and someone else writes them down and executes your vision.

Except in most other professions you don't need to write a test to be in management. For an MBA it doesn't matter if he still can do the calculations...there is no license required to juggle billions of $ :mf_followthroughfart:

 

[navyasw02]

That's usually the case in all jobs. The higher you are the less you actually "do" and the more you're responsible for. By the time you're at the top, you just go to meetings, think lofty thoughts, and someone else writes them down and executes your vision.

Except in most other professions you don't need to write a test to be in management. For an MBA it doesn't matter if he still can do the calculations...there is no license required to juggle billions of $ :mf_followthroughfart:

Are most managers licensed PEs? I'm in the Navy so my situation is a bit different.

 

[MadDawg]

That's usually the case in all jobs. The higher you are the less you actually "do" and the more you're responsible for. By the time you're at the top, you just go to meetings, think lofty thoughts, and someone else writes them down and executes your vision.

Except in most other professions you don't need to write a test to be in management. For an MBA it doesn't matter if he still can do the calculations...there is no license required to juggle billions of $ :mf_followthroughfart:

Are most managers licensed PEs? I'm in the Navy so my situation is a bit different.

My managers aren't PE's, but I'm in an exempt industry...

 

[DynaMechEng]

Hello All!
I signed up officially for the PE earlier this week so I am officially comitted. For me it has been 14 years since graduation so I have not looked at most of this stuff in a long time.

Anyway I am wondering whether to do the Thermal/Fluids emphasis or Machine Design. I was pretty good (and enjoyed) thermo, fluids and heat trasfer in school. The machine design class were we covered Shigley was not good (the class ended up focusing on projects rather than the text book)

Based on the comments in the "PE Mechanical October, 2010" thread it sounds as though the PM section for T&F was pretty brutal. Am I better off trying for MD (is the content easier)?

If I choose T&F can I rely on MERMs or do I need to study textbooks extensively?

Thanks for the help!

I think comfort level is everything, and if you enjoy it, you're probably comfortable with it. I did my masters in Machine Design, so naturally, I was more comfortable with that. Also, my study methods may be a little different, but I didn't "study" textbooks to prep for the exam. I worked hundreds of problems and looked at textbooks when I was stuck or needed conceptual help. I brought MERM, Shigley, & Mark's to the exam and passed first try. Less is more with reference material IMHO.

 

[tmacier]

I took thermo/fluids and failed it in October- it was tough, really tough.

My advice is to get your hands on the NCEES sample problems 2008 edition (must be able to buy it new/used somewhere) and do some sample problems in each area.

Once you pick an area stay focused!

Tim

 

[chaocl]

I took thermo/fluids and failed it in October- it was tough, really tough.My advice is to get your hands on the NCEES sample problems 2008 edition (must be able to buy it new/used somewhere) and do some sample problems in each area.

Once you pick an area stay focused!

Tim

Don't worry, you will pass it next time. By the way can you give us your am/pm score? Thanks.

 

[Clydeman]

I took thermo/fluids and failed it in October- it was tough, really tough.My advice is to get your hands on the NCEES sample problems 2008 edition (must be able to buy it new/used somewhere) and do some sample problems in each area.

Once you pick an area stay focused!

Tim

I am curious what your study approach was.

How many hours of study did you put in and over how many months? Did you work that many problems?