I am feeling like a total idiot! I have taken the FE- not the PE (I know this is a PE board, but FE's have nowhere to post) three times! I have bought study materials (lots of them). I have studied every night for at least an hour. usually two, 4 months in advance. I am not that far out of school. Why can't I pass this test? I have done hundreds of online problems, which I thought helped tremendously. Does anyone have any GREAT advice to help me??? I am really losing hope that I will EVER pass this test. Please help.
Help to pass the FE
- Thread starter rlclev
- Start date
Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:
PEPG
Well-known member
First of all, I think I speak for the board when I say this is the right place to vent and ask for advice.
I failed the FE three times, and probably got lucky on the fourth. I do not have an engineering degree (geology) but got into the exam on professional experience. I am having a HELL of a time passing the PE, and my attitude is - keep your cool, stay at it, and you will develop the skill to pass this exam. Don't be discouraged by people who seem to be great test takers. Some of us have to work harder, but the result is the same. Our license will not say "Joe Blow, P.E., (after nine attempts)" it will say JOE BLOW PE, and that is it.
When you pass, you will carry those letters just as proud of the people who passed on the first try.
HANG IN THERE!!
10940623:Thanks for the encouragement. I just wish there were a sure-fire way to pass. If someone told me that they could guarantee I would pass by doing the following... I would. The most discouraging part is that I AM trying. I AM working at it. I am just out of things to try. I am desperately looking for that magical method to pass.
Geotech.PE
iGyaPE
We are not allowed to talk about questions, as you know, we signed the pledge. When I wanted to take the FE Exam, I was not sure whether my application will be accepted second time. My application was rejected several times. So, I was frustrated with the application's approval rating and date. At a very last moment, I got my approval letter, and I did not have enough time to study. I did not buy any sample questions or test preparation books published by veteran "FE Exam for dummies ... or like that ". I had less than 2 months to start and take the exam. So, I decided to give a try on FE exam. I passed the exam on first trial.
Here are my advice:
1. Learn to use the calculator that is permitted for the exam. All available functions might help you to compute the answer ASAP.
2. Skip lengthy questions. After you build up your confidence: after you answer many questions correctly, you will not afraid of reading long questions.
3. Decide whether to skip ro try as soon as you read. Don't waste your time. Time is real precious. 2 min average per question. Try only if you are confident. In exam, I make three or four types of mark in front of questions:
(a) tick - answered with confidence. I will not come back. I am done with it.
(B) circled -- I think I should try later when I build up confidence. If I could answer it in second round, I will mark it with a big tick. If not mark it as triangle or crossed.
© triangle - I am not sure whether I know it, confidently.
(d) crossed - I do not know at all. Reserve this for guess. Many people select B or C as guess question. I look at the trend. Statistical.
Keep transferring the correctly answered questions to scantron sheet, immediately. Double check to make sure that question number matches the answer sheet's question number. You might end up going up and down.
4. Don't waste trying to memorize/ recall a formula. Rely on the formula booklet. Practice with the booklet in order to know what is where. Formula book is a great thing, it is a key to my pass in first attempt. In my whole life, I never had an opportunity to see a formula book in an exam.
5. Examinees' biggest problem is not because they don't know the answer or solution procedure, but because they don't read questioins carefully. Read question carefully. Underline what is asked, and what is given. What is redundant? Redundant info confuses us.
6. Keep motivated. Keep track of time. Your speed should be like this: First hour you should answer 30 percent questions, second hour 35, third hour 30 questions, and fourth hour's 45 min 15 Questions. Rest 10 questions .. for guess.
7. Drink water.
8. While you prepare for the exam, go back to your university days. Find the same textbook by the same author that you had in university days. So, that you are used to with the content. You will recall so many things from the book. Read only one book for each section.
Good Luck.
Another question for you, are you taking the General afternoon or a discipline specific? Having a BS in Computer Engineering I knew the closest discipline was EE but I never studied power. The other kicker as a CompE is I never took a course in Statics, Dynamics, Fluids, Thermo, economics...the list goes on. Still, I heard that the General was the way to go if you were unsure. So I prepared for the general PM.
Fast forward to the test day I and I get to the afternoon, still intent on taking the General portion. I thumbed through the electrical section just for fun, and noticed a handful of computer-related questions I thought I could nail. So I jumped and took the EE portion in the afternoon.
So my lesson, take the PM portion that most reflects your undergrad experience or recent work experience (even if the General afternoon portion is supposedly "easier"). It worked for me, may not be the same for everyone, but I thought I'd share my 2 cents.
Fast forward to the test day I and I get to the afternoon, still intent on taking the General portion. I thumbed through the electrical section just for fun, and noticed a handful of computer-related questions I thought I could nail. So I jumped and took the EE portion in the afternoon.
So my lesson, take the PM portion that most reflects your undergrad experience or recent work experience (even if the General afternoon portion is supposedly "easier"). It worked for me, may not be the same for everyone, but I thought I'd share my 2 cents.
I just passed the exam back in April so I'll tell you what worked for me.
1) I purchased the sample questions from NCEES. I felt like those gave me a good understanding of what types of questions to expect.
2) I purchased the ASME FE review materials online. This wasn't as helpful as the NCEES questions but gave me a good review of the theory parts when I had questions there. There were also lots of questions in these materials.
3) I travel quite a bit for work. So I took my materials with me when I was on the road. I spent a lot of airport and hotel room time studying. If I wasn't in a mood for studying I would at least make myself flip through the supplied reference materials. I feel that this helped me immensely.
4) Don't over do it. I quit studying almost a week ahead to let my mind calm down. If I didn't know it by then. I wasn't going to.
--hountzmj
1) I purchased the sample questions from NCEES. I felt like those gave me a good understanding of what types of questions to expect.
2) I purchased the ASME FE review materials online. This wasn't as helpful as the NCEES questions but gave me a good review of the theory parts when I had questions there. There were also lots of questions in these materials.
3) I travel quite a bit for work. So I took my materials with me when I was on the road. I spent a lot of airport and hotel room time studying. If I wasn't in a mood for studying I would at least make myself flip through the supplied reference materials. I feel that this helped me immensely.
4) Don't over do it. I quit studying almost a week ahead to let my mind calm down. If I didn't know it by then. I wasn't going to.
--hountzmj
csb
Well-known member
I took the FE twice too. The first time I went to a full prep class given by my college and took the FE right after an ASCE conference and while trying to finish up college and while sick. I didn't do so well. The second time I calmed down, met one on one with an old professor for two study sections, and made sure I knew how to convert units like a madman. I was out of town the week before and flew into town the day before I needed to be there. I went over, got a hotel room, and practiced relaxing. For me, I think the key was learning not to panic.
Now, if only I could do the same for the PE....
Now, if only I could do the same for the PE....
Clarke
Active member
I wish I could help....my first degree was BS in Environmental Engineering Technology, and back then there was just the General Exam, no specialties.....and much of the stuff that is on the FE was not material I studied in college. I failed the first time I took it with a 63 (I was 2 years out of school at that time....did not take it in school because an adviser said that there was no such thing as a PE in the Environmental field...great adviser's we had at Temple in the early 90s).
I tried studying the subject matter that I had not taken before for the exam, but am not a motivated studier (that actually is my problem with the PE Exam....not a motivated studier).....so I decided the only way to learn the material is to go back to school to take the classes (if I am paying for a class, I am motivated). I ended up getting a Civil degree as a result. And I also passed by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin.....and after only 6 classes back in, and not having taken soil or concrete yet (took the civil portion only to see what the FE was like, since it had been about 5 or 6 years since the one time I had taken it....got a little lucky I guess....did not study, just was doing what I had to do for school).....
So my advice really is just keep plugging away. If there are some subjects that you do not grasp or remember, I find that review courses are a waste of time. Go take the class again at a local college. Or classes. Its what got me thru. And keep trying.
Clarke
Active member
One more thing....somebody touched on it.....follow your units....that's the biggest thing. I don't know electrical stuff at all....but just by reading the question and looking at your units you can usually eliminate a couple of the offered answers. So even if you are guessing you now have a 1 in 2 chance of being right rather than a 1 in 4 chance. So know your units and know what they are asking for, even if you don't know how to get there.
Bailey
P.E.
I just recently passed the FE in April 2008, it was my fourth attempt. You just have to keep working at it and oh yeah I took the testmasters class. I think the class really helped me out, because it taught me exactly what was going to be on the test for the most part instead of having to go through all the reference material. It worked for me, and that was really what I needed. I found that I just couldn't grasp some of the concepts, but when they taught them to us in the class it came really easy to me.
mustpassFE
Member
Dont feel bad I too failed and this was my 3rd attempt and I gave it my all. I even sprang for the expensive testmasters course. All I can do is study my weak areas from the diagnostic sheet and maintain the knowledge I already do have and try again. I get to take the testmasters course again and this time I will really focus on my weak areas.
I too feel like an idiot telling people I failed it again.
We can't give up, we will eventually get it passed.
What depth are you taking? General is my suggestion.
Here is what I posted after I passed on the other board on 6/28/07. Good luck
Opinions will vary as to which materials to use to prepare but everybody aggress that FERM is one of the best to get prepared for this exam. In fact, for me the ONLY material that I used as a form of book. Through this web site I also found a recorded class from Texas A&M for some of the topics that I am not familiar with or forgot about it completely (I finished my undergrad in 1993), specifically Thermo, Electricity, and Chemistry. I found it also very valluble for the material science and engineering economics. Here is the web site again
http://engineeringregistration.tamu.edu/downloads/
These are the only references that I used for the exam (I must say that not to mislead anyone inadvertently some of the subjucts like fluid mechanics and mathemaitics are familiar to me from grad school)
First I would listen the tape recording from the above site (about an hour and half) and then I go and study FERM. This is how you keep in your mind--deliberate training. Have you seen some of these advertisements in the TV? There is a reason why they show their ad twice or trice in a row.
I did ALL the chapters of FERM, each and evey page. In every major section there are 15 questions (45 minutes given) that are relatively difficult than the actual FE exam. The author advises to do them at the beginning of your review of that section so that you know where you stand or at the end of that section. Since these are difficult question not to be dicouraged I advise that first going through the material of that section and solving all the problems there and finally before concluding that section doing the 15 questions so that you will know exactly what else you have to cover.
When you are done with the book there is a full exam in the book that simulates the actual exam with bubble answer sheet for the morning and afternoon section. It is important, at least it was for me, to take this exam exactly as the real one. Not to weaken myself I took exactly the Saturday before the exam. I used the exact starting time (I came to my office so there is no distraction) and exact break time for lunch and then the afternoon. This made my life easy the next week when I took the real deal.
I took the General exam so I do not have to study more material than FERM and your preparation will be just the same.
Exam tips:
Don't get frustrated if some people finishes 1 hour before you and you still have to guess few because time was not enough, epecially this is true in the morning. You are not being tested how FAST you can answer but how many correctly. So unfrotunately, few of those that leave very early may have to come back again..
It appears to me that there was a lot of mathematics in the exam than anything else so make sure that you are confortable in that area. These are not dificult question but if you don't know them will take some time. While solving matrix, for example, you can go the long way or start even from the answers themselves.
Make sure you know the NCEES handbook very well. You can buy it or even print and bind. I actually download and print it and bind it and used that. It is important that you should be able to find things from there very easily. In all your practice use that when solving FERM and do not use FERM as your reference even for the sections that it says so.
Sorry I don't know how to explain shorter than this..
IlPadrino
Well-known member
I am taking the general. My background is Mechanical. I am strongly considering TestMasters. Based on the diagnostic, my overall score has actually gotten worse. There is no one area that I can identify as weak. One time I will do well in an area and the next time I will bomb it. I think strategy is where I should focus. I do need a general review of the material, but I suspect, for the most part, I am just making stupid errors.
Thank you all for your advice, suggestions and encouragement. This board has been a great help... with every attempt at the test.
Thank you all for your advice, suggestions and encouragement. This board has been a great help... with every attempt at the test.
I wasn't saying that I still failed, I was adding it as a suggestion, I thought two calculators worked for me. I passed both the FE and PE first tries.
