Question: EIT

[Sleepy]

Speed is key. (and units... they love to screw you on units :bananadoggywow: )
The problems are not unsolvable..... There just isn't much time to solve them. Speed drill, speed drill, speed drill.... Really familiarize yourself with the equations book and index, equations in the book tend not to be in the most logical of order.

Get a bank of practice problems, randomly pull out 20 at a time, set your stop watch and go at it.... then score it, and figure out what slowed you you down... was it the material or the ability to find the right equation.

rinse - lather - repeat

Agreed..I would say for the FE...knowing supplied reference book is just as valuable as knowing material.. I tell my engineers taking FE to know book inside and out... U will be surprised what answers are spelled out verbatim.

lusone:

I studied 3 hrs/night and 4 nights/week for a month.

1/3 of that time = read and know the reference book inside out...red marked and highlighted the hankbook everywhere, very colorful !!!

The other 1/3 = learn how to the hp35s (?) calculator. I even spent time studying the calculator's handbook and practicing 2-keys calculator punching too ( :screwloose: I know)

Also, I got the testmasters' notes from a friend and I studied her notes instead of those big review books for the morning. If you have the money to pay for the class, I think it is worth it. If not, you can try to borrow someone's notes like I did and study on your own.

I took the Civil one for the PM, and thought it was a lot easier than the AM even though I only spent the last 3 days to review CE stuff...but I already felt that I knew the Civil subjects better and I shouldn't take the General PM (like so many friends advised me to) I think many people think that it will be easier and more convenient to take the General PM because that means they won't have to cover as many subjects. However, this may not be wise if you are more confident about the subjects in your specific discipline.

Just my :2cents:

Good luck

 

[Trev... P.E.]

I took the FE 5 years out of school, and given the last couple of years of my ME/Aero degree were so specialized, it was basically 6-7 years since I had touched on most subjects. I used the Lindeburg FE manual as well as the NCEES supplied reference for about 3 months, although the time spent each night steadily increased as the exam approached. I would also recommend getting your calculator now and becoming familiar with all its functions (matrices will save you a ton of time on the day).

I also got the NCEES sample (Mech PM) as well as the Lindeburg Mech specific sample problems. I took the mechanical PM exam April this year and the actual exam problems were way tougher than the NCEES sample problems. The Lindeburg sample Mech problems were the exact opposite, being way tougher than the real thing.

The other thing I would recommend is taking the big ugly yellow book down to your local Kincos and having them slice the spine off and spiral bind it into ~6 volumes. This makes that phone book a lot more manageable and less overwhelming too.

 

[smc44]

I'll elaborate on my earlier post since I'm bored and now I know I passed.

My motivation for taking this exam was to qualify to take the USPTO Patent Registration exam. I have a BA in English and an MS in Computer Science and had never seen most of the stuff on the test. I'm 10 years out of undergrad, and about 5 years out of graduate school. I signed up 3 months before the exam, not really sure what to expect, and luckily I found this board and became a permanent lurker.

I took the General in the afternoon since I didn't have a specialty. I used the FERM by Lindeburg as my primary book for learning the material, and the Barron's book as a secondary resource. The Barron's book does have errors, but for the price I thought it was worth it. I also bought 1001 Solved Engineering Fundamentals Problems also by Lindeburg. I also used the videos from Texas A&M (http://engineeringregistration.tamu.edu/tapedreviews/). These are about 10 years old, but I thought they were great. Another site that I found was great for review was www.khanacademy.org. That site isn't geared toward the FE, but he covers a lot of topics that are found on the test, and he is very good at it.

Since I had to learn most of the stuff on the exam in a short amount of time, I focused on the subjects that were on the morning and the afternoon of my exam. So I concentrated on the following:

Math (Including Probability and Statistics)

Fluid Dynamics

Thermodynamics

Electricity and Magnetism

Economics

Mechanics

I made sure I studied Ethics and Computers, and then at the end I studied Chemistry and Materials briefly.

I had a pretty consistent schedule where I'd study for a couple hours at night, and wake up early before work and do a couple of hours of practice problems out of the 1001 Solved book. I would also keep doing problems over and over again, getting used to the reference manual and my calculator. Make sure you know everything your calculator can do. This can save a ton of time on the Math section. Most everything you'll need to do with a matrix or a vector can be done with a calculator. The one thing I didn't do which hurt me was take a practice test to get the timing down. I ran out of time in the AM partly because of poor timing, and partly because I drank too much water and had to frequent the rest room during the exam.

Based on the way I had studied, I found the afternoon pretty straight forward, and finished in about 2 hrs. I thought the problems in the 1001 book were more difficult, trickier, and required far more steps than the problems I found on the test. I was a little disappointed that some of the subjects weren't tested more in depth because I was ready for it.

So my strategy was probably overkill, but I didn't really know what to expect, and I didn't want to sit through an 8 hour exam again if I didn't have to.

 

[elyse613]

Hi -

I just took the FE in October, and my state's results aren't out yet, so I can't comment if I passed doing this, but I feel pretty good about it. I did the 99 day plan in the FE Review Manual. I took the exam in October 2010 and graduated from college in 2009 with a BS in Environmental Engineering. (I went to an excellent school and am a very good test taker, and I thought the FE was pretty straightforward with that prep, but still a little anxious about the results)!

What I can really help you out with is the LEED AP exam. I work every day with LEED; I'm on the green building team of my company. I have three LEED AP specialties...

Have you already taken the LEED Green Associate exam? If so, what did you think of it?

Which specialty track are you pursuing?

What industry do you work in? Some people are better at certain categories based on their background.

What I would recommend for studying. I team classes on how to pass this exam, so I have many many tips, but here are a few. These are only general tips, if I get an answer about which exam you're taking, I can give you some more specific ideas.

-when studying, a good method is to go through each credit and write out what you know about it. For example, if you are taking the O+M test, you'd start with SSc1 and you'd want to be able to write out (from memory) that you earn the point if the building had NC certification or if it was CS certified and 75% by floor area CI, etc. You can use this as a diagnostic part way through your studying and also to demonstrate that you are comfortable with the material at the end.

-Look at the LEED AP handbook. There are some sample questions in there - know the sample questions. They're good examples of what the difficulty and types of questions will be.

-Know your standards (e.g. ASHRAE 62.1 is about ventilation) and also know the years of the standards that LEED references. You'll want to be comfortable with all of the standards, the questions can be tricky when you're in the thick of the exam.

-Read each question carefully and slowly - they can be tricky if you don't take your time reading the question.

-Use the questions to your advantage - you might be able to figure out the right answer by looking at three different questions on the same topic.

 

[SAEngineer]

I took the FE in October 2010 in San Fran CA doing the Mech section in the afternoon. I have been out of college for 14 years so I had a lot to refresh myself on. I did two hours a night Mon-Fri for about 4 months. I used the big yellow book,2010 and 1996 NCEES practice problems as well as lindeberg problems ( I think it was 1001 FE solved problems). The mech in the afternoon was very tough, with everybody doing the mech exam, left looking as white as ghosts after the 4 hours, myself included. Thursday I found out I passed! Although I worked hard, I have to thank God for this one.

 

[xps]

Hi -
I just took the FE in October, and my state's results aren't out yet, so I can't comment if I passed doing this, but I feel pretty good about it. I did the 99 day plan in the FE Review Manual. I took the exam in October 2010 and graduated from college in 2009 with a BS in Environmental Engineering. (I went to an excellent school and am a very good test taker, and I thought the FE was pretty straightforward with that prep, but still a little anxious about the results)!

What I can really help you out with is the LEED AP exam. I work every day with LEED; I'm on the green building team of my company. I have three LEED AP specialties...

Have you already taken the LEED Green Associate exam? If so, what did you think of it?

Which specialty track are you pursuing?

What industry do you work in? Some people are better at certain categories based on their background.

What I would recommend for studying. I team classes on how to pass this exam, so I have many many tips, but here are a few. These are only general tips, if I get an answer about which exam you're taking, I can give you some more specific ideas.

-when studying, a good method is to go through each credit and write out what you know about it. For example, if you are taking the O+M test, you'd start with SSc1 and you'd want to be able to write out (from memory) that you earn the point if the building had NC certification or if it was CS certified and 75% by floor area CI, etc. You can use this as a diagnostic part way through your studying and also to demonstrate that you are comfortable with the material at the end.

-Look at the LEED AP handbook. There are some sample questions in there - know the sample questions. They're good examples of what the difficulty and types of questions will be.

-Know your standards (e.g. ASHRAE 62.1 is about ventilation) and also know the years of the standards that LEED references. You'll want to be comfortable with all of the standards, the questions can be tricky when you're in the thick of the exam.

-Read each question carefully and slowly - they can be tricky if you don't take your time reading the question.

-Use the questions to your advantage - you might be able to figure out the right answer by looking at three different questions on the same topic.

thanks for the advice. I already passed my LEED AP BD+C today....will start my FE exam preparation beginning Jan 2011.

I already have Linderburgh Review Manual (3rd Edition), NCEES Online Practice Test and Supplied-Reference Handbook (8th edition, 2nd rev.).

Also I'm planning to get 1001 Solved Engineering Fundamentals Problems or FE/EIT Sample Examinations - any advice (General exam in PM)? thanks

 

[kilik2]

Well I intended to come into this thread and contribute but it seems that many people in here have done a pretty good job.

I didnt study that much for my FE exam, I did about 2 hrs every other night, but I am also still a student so many of the concepts were still fresh. I also tutor at my school so that helped me keep a lot of the theory and formulas fresh in my mind. That said, I did know how to use the reference from front to back, and I would suggest taking a practice exam or two. I bought one of those lindburgh review books, but I didnt get all the way through it (probably about half way) and to be honest its a great review if you plan on starting today. But remember the more time you put off studying the bigger the task of catching up is going to get, so start early and it will be the shortest 8 hr test you have ever taken.

 

[elyse613]

thanks for the advice. I already passed my LEED AP BD+C today....

congrats!! I have BD+C, ID+C, and O+M, and BD+C was more difficult than the others, good job!

 

[komeso]

-eitexperts (online)

-NCEES sample q/a

-FERM

 

[jrf500]

This may be a repeat, but it's another opinion for you.

I took the General FE test as I had a Construction Engineering degree and I didn't fit well into the Civil specific afternoon portion. Now to your question:

All I used was the FERM and the NCEES supplied handbook. This was enough. As others have stated, know the NCEES handbook well and you'll be OK.

Good luck. Also, good idea on partnering engineering licensure with LEED.

 

[xps]

Do you guys solve each FE style exam problem on FERM?

Most of the FE style exam problem took me ~30mins to understand and familiarize with the problem. If I will solve all the problem I can't finish the FERM on time for April exam.

Need advice. Thanks in advance.

 

[floridaengineerintraining]

I'll start my review this coming January 2011 for FE exam. Still busy preparing for LEED AP examination for end of December 2010.
I registered for April 2011 examination, so basically I only have 3months to review for FE (General in PM).

I'm planning for at least 4hours a day to review. Base on your experience, 3months is enough?

I only have FE Review Manual (3rd Ed.) by Lindeburg and Supplied-Reference Handbook from NCEES. Anymore suggestion? Online study course maybe?

Also if I paid for April examination, then suddenly I re-schedule my exam by October 2011 - do I need to pay for October exam fee again?

Thanks in advance.

I opted to take the General FE/EIT Exam. I am Electrical but decided that since I had to study a lot of general items (statics, methods of materials) that I would study General to a greater depth and take the General (other disciplines) Exam. I elected to drive down to South Florida (Fort Lauderdale), stay in the Hilton and take the Testmaster's General FE Exam Prep Class. I am an enrolled Senior at UCF so I got a break on the class cost. I met a bunch of GREAT people and do not feel like a single minute was wasted - awesome instructors as well. Everything a person needs (except time) is provided by Testmasters and I have to give them 85% of the credit that I passed the exam on the first attempt (October 2010). I give the balance of the credit to my study buddies, the UCF weekend prep class, my own use of my study time and most of all having a strategy at test time. Yes, the exam has changed and will continue to change but the attitude that you adopt as you approach the test to pass it is what a person has to focus on. I would say that PacMan is the picture I would paint. You have to grab the points, the easy points, the fairly easy points, the takes a little bit of work points, the oh my gosh I think I can do this points and finally the last 10 minutes best educated guess points. Time is the killer, you literally have to take the first 8 minutes of the test and categorize the problems: 1, 2, 3, 4 - easiest to hardest, and force yourself to attack the test in this manner. Do the 1's first, come back and do the 2's and so on. If you stay focused and force yourself not to get bogged down (about 2.6 minutes per problem), you will literally have 30 seconds left before you run out of time. It is not a test that you are trying to ace - you are trying to maximize the number of points that you can get before the whistle blows - PacMan style. There is not a pass/fail scale - you are literally pitted against your peers. The cut-off is based on how the National Pack does overall and you end up somewhere on the bell curve. I actually felt the cut-off score coming down my back like a closing garage door - Thank God I did not have a fat wallet in my back pocket - I really feel like it was that close. Now, with all this said, I want to encourage you. You have chosen to raise the bar personally and professionally and you should be commended. Pass the test or not, you have accepted the challenge and you will be a changed person for it. Good luck, to you and your family (no one truly does this by themselves).

John_V

 

[xps]

You have to grab the points, the easy points, the fairly easy points, the takes a little bit of work points, the oh my gosh I think I can do this points and finally the last 10 minutes best educated guess points. Time is the killer, you literally have to take the first 8 minutes of the test and categorize the problems: 1, 2, 3, 4 - easiest to hardest, and force yourself to attack the test in this manner. Do the 1's first, come back and do the 2's and so on. If you stay focused and force yourself not to get bogged down (about 2.6 minutes per problem), you will literally have 30 seconds left before you run out of time. It is not a test that you are trying to ace - you are trying to maximize the number of points that you can get before the whistle blows - PacMan style. There is not a pass/fail scale - you are literally pitted against your peers. The cut-off is based on how the National Pack does overall and you end up somewhere on the bell curve. I actually felt the cut-off score coming down my back like a closing garage door - Thank God I did not have a fat wallet in my back pocket - I really feel like it was that close. Now, with all this said, I want to encourage you. You have chosen to raise the bar personally and professionally and you should be commended. Pass the test or not, you have accepted the challenge and you will be a changed person for it. Good luck, to you and your family (no one truly does this by themselves).John_V

thanks for sharing!

can you please give me more detail explanation/experience on this:

Time is the killer, you literally have to take the first 8 minutes of the test and categorize the problems: 1, 2, 3, 4 - easiest to hardest, and force yourself to attack the test in this manner. Do the 1's first, come back and do the 2's and so on.