# Reference Materials required



## asdf (Jan 24, 2008)

I graduated college 6 years ago and regretfully didn't take the FE/EIT. I'm planning on taking it in April and am going to start hitting the books ASAP, and am also taking a review course at the Univeristy (twice a week for 50 minutes, and each class or two reviews a section). I have the FERM on order, but am wondering about the afternoon session.

For one thing, I read a few things about taking the discipline with the highest pass rate rather than the one I majored in. Is this a good practice? I majored in Mechanical, but fear that I've forgotten most of it anyway! If I do take another discipline, it doesn't affect which PE test I take or anything does it?

The other question I have is about review materials for the afternoon exam. Is the review manual from Lindegard for Mechanical worth it?

Thanks,

Matt


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## Katiebug (Feb 10, 2008)

asdf said:


> I graduated college 6 years ago and regretfully didn't take the FE/EIT. I'm planning on taking it in April and am going to start hitting the books ASAP, and am also taking a review course at the Univeristy (twice a week for 50 minutes, and each class or two reviews a section). I have the FERM on order, but am wondering about the afternoon session.
> For one thing, I read a few things about taking the discipline with the highest pass rate rather than the one I majored in. Is this a good practice? I majored in Mechanical, but fear that I've forgotten most of it anyway! If I do take another discipline, it doesn't affect which PE test I take or anything does it?
> 
> The other question I have is about review materials for the afternoon exam. Is the review manual from Lindegard for Mechanical worth it?
> ...



I graduated in 2003 and also find myself regretting that I didn't take the FE/EIT shortly after graduation - I could be taking the PE now rather than starting at the beginning! Like nearly all of my classmates, I listened to people (mostly grad students) when they said, "Mechanicals have no need for a PE, don't even bother." I'm still going to try this mainly as a professional/personal challenge, and because I don't think I'll ever regret it if I do get the license. I missed the FE/EIT application deadline for April, so I'll be taking the exam in October.

If you majored in Mechanical as an undergrad, I've read that the first-try pass rates on the FE are about the same whether you take the Mechanical or the General in the afternoon. According to the NCEES website, those who majored in Mechanical in college who took the General test had a 79% first-try pass rate, and those who took the Mechanical test in the afternoon had an 81% first-try pass rate (for October 2007). Looking at older statistics, it seems like that's a pretty consistent trend over the last 5 years or so.

I've been focusing on machine design, materials, and manufacturing along with systems engineering for the last 5 years, and I'll be in grad school (only one class per semester) while prepping for the FE exam. The PE is going to take a lot of work on my part when the time comes, because I've never done HVAC at all, I didn't like fluids, and while I was good at thermo I haven't used it at all since graduation. I plan to spend a full year preparing for the PE, simply because I need to get back up to speed on the areas I haven't worked in since college.

My line of thinking for the FE is that I'm already studying most of the General subjects for the morning part of the test, since I've been out of school so long, so why spend extra time studying Mechanical-specific stuff on top of that? Just doing the General in the PM seems like a more efficient use of study time. My state doesn't care which I take, so I'll do the one that lets me focus my preparation most effectively.

I have the FERM and some flashcards on order. I plan to start studying on March 1st! It seems like the FERM is definitely the way to go when it comes to FE/EIT prep. I don't want to cart that big book to work, so I got the flashcards to use during my lunch hour.


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## kevo_55 (Feb 12, 2008)

The best refrence you can get for the FE is studying and using the NCEES FE booklet that you will have available to you during the exam.

Of course, you can't bring in your own but one will be there for you to use.

You can download it for free at: http://www.ncees.org/exams/study_materials/fe_handbook/


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## Natee (Feb 13, 2008)

I recommend the FERM by Lindeburg. I just followed the schedule they have and passed the exam (General PM). The book prepares you very well for the morning exam. It worked quite well for someone like me who got a degree in EE who nearly didn't take 40% of the courses (Dynamics, Fluids Dynamics, Thermodynamics, etc.) tested on the EIT. Although, I do have to say that the FERM doesn't prepare you well enough for the afternoon exam, but if you're able to work the problems in the book, then you should be fine. The majority of the exam is Civil/Mechanical Engineering based. Good luck to all of you... :multiplespotting:


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## eddie077 (Feb 27, 2008)

Katiebug said:


> I graduated in 2003 and also find myself regretting that I didn't take the FE/EIT shortly after graduation - I could be taking the PE now rather than starting at the beginning! Like nearly all of my classmates, I listened to people (mostly grad students) when they said, "Mechanicals have no need for a PE, don't even bother." I'm still going to try this mainly as a professional/personal challenge, and because I don't think I'll ever regret it if I do get the license. I missed the FE/EIT application deadline for April, so I'll be taking the exam in October.
> If you majored in Mechanical as an undergrad, I've read that the first-try pass rates on the FE are about the same whether you take the Mechanical or the General in the afternoon. According to the NCEES website, those who majored in Mechanical in college who took the General test had a 79% first-try pass rate, and those who took the Mechanical test in the afternoon had an 81% first-try pass rate (for October 2007). Looking at older statistics, it seems like that's a pretty consistent trend over the last 5 years or so.
> 
> I've been focusing on machine design, materials, and manufacturing along with systems engineering for the last 5 years, and I'll be in grad school (only one class per semester) while prepping for the FE exam. The PE is going to take a lot of work on my part when the time comes, because I've never done HVAC at all, I didn't like fluids, and while I was good at thermo I haven't used it at all since graduation. I plan to spend a full year preparing for the PE, simply because I need to get back up to speed on the areas I haven't worked in since college.
> ...




Where did you get the flashcards. I'd like to get them. Also does anyone know a good place(book) for more exam type practice problems? Thanks


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## Brody (Feb 27, 2008)

asdf said:


> For one thing, I read a few things about taking the discipline with the highest pass rate rather than the one I majored in. Is this a good practice? I majored in Mechanical, but fear that I've forgotten most of it anyway! If I do take another discipline, it doesn't affect which PE test I take or anything does it?


The afternoon discipline you take does not affect your PE exam at all. Also, you are asked on the application which afternoon discipline you want, but you can switch to whichever one you want on the day of the test.


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