# PE vs. FE Exam



## BoilerEngr (Mar 22, 2011)

I passed the FE Exam in April of 2010 after being out of school for 7 years and I am now preparing to take the PE (Mechanical, HVAC) in April of 2011. Just wondering if there are any others who have taken the two exams close together and what your thoughts were on how they are similar or different? Obviously the open book format is a huge difference, but I am thinking more along the lines a difficulty, study approach, general content of the exam, etc.

I used the FERM to prepare for the FE and really felt I was over-prepared for the actual test questions. Not saying it was a cake-walk, but I definitely came out of the exam fairly certain that I had passed. I am hoping that studying the MERM in a similar manner and spending some time with my reference books will produce the same result! Anyone else have a similar experience?


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## lady_j (Mar 23, 2011)

I'm in the same boat, but I'm taking the PE Civil Exam.

I catch myself studying for the PE and forgetting that I have references available to me! Ha, from time to time I also use the FE Reference manual from NCEES. I also used the FERM to prepare for the FE (but knowing the whole while I couldn't take it in with me!)

In a way, I feel like taking the FE so close to the PE has made a lot of the stuff stick around in my head....I also feel like it might be a good thing (for me at least) to study and actually "know" the stuff and not depend on my references....

but - we'll see!


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## FusionWhite (Mar 23, 2011)

I found that the FERM prepared me less well for the FE then the ChERM prepared me for the PE. If you use X-ERM for your appropriate field I think just about anyone has a chance to pass the PE.


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## dastuff (Mar 23, 2011)

Since the PE is based more off of actual engineering vs the FE which is based off of more school work (thermo, chemistry, math, etc) you should be more prepared for the PE since you've been in the workplace longer.

As other's have said just study the appropriate Engineering Reference Manual for the subjects you're not strong in and you should do fine.


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## energydude (Mar 24, 2011)

BoilerEngr said:


> I passed the FE Exam in April of 2010 after being out of school for 7 years and I am now preparing to take the PE (Mechanical, HVAC) in April of 2011. Just wondering if there are any others who have taken the two exams close together and what your thoughts were on how they are similar or different? Obviously the open book format is a huge difference, but I am thinking more along the lines a difficulty, study approach, general content of the exam, etc.
> I used the FERM to prepare for the FE and really felt I was over-prepared for the actual test questions. Not saying it was a cake-walk, but I definitely came out of the exam fairly certain that I had passed. I am hoping that studying the MERM in a similar manner and spending some time with my reference books will produce the same result! Anyone else have a similar experience?



I am in the same boat. I passed FE exam after being out of school for more than 10 years. Now I am taking Mechanical/HVAC exam. Having gone through FE exam prep (problem solving, mock exam, etc...) recently is helping me a lot for my PE exam.

I am working out the Six Minute Solutions and NCEES sample exams. For references, I am using MERM and all 4 ASHRAE handbooks.

Good luck!


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## benbo (Mar 24, 2011)

IMO the FE is a speed drill. If you remember your basic facts from school, particularly math, it is more an issue of reading, interpreting, and answering quickly than anything else.


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## Baltimore Joe (Mar 28, 2011)

BoilerEngr said:


> I passed the FE Exam in April of 2010 after being out of school for 7 years and I am now preparing to take the PE (Mechanical, HVAC) in April of 2011. Just wondering if there are any others who have taken the two exams close together and what your thoughts were on how they are similar or different? Obviously the open book format is a huge difference, but I am thinking more along the lines a difficulty, study approach, general content of the exam, etc.
> I used the FERM to prepare for the FE and really felt I was over-prepared for the actual test questions. Not saying it was a cake-walk, but I definitely came out of the exam fairly certain that I had passed. I am hoping that studying the MERM in a similar manner and spending some time with my reference books will produce the same result! Anyone else have a similar experience?


I’ve had a similar experience. I took both a few years ago. I sat for the FE in April and PE in October (thermal fluids). That was 22 years after my BSME and 11 years after my MSME. My study approach for the two exams was similar; section by section doing practice problems in the FE Reference Manual and Lindeburg’s Practice Problems for the Mech Eng PE. I’ve never tried the 6 minute solution text. Comparing the two exam experiences is difficult. The FE exam seemed like a sprint of short quick problems. My mind set during the FE was to move as quickly as possible, find the right answer and move on. I was stressed about the number of questions and only having 2 or 4 minutes per question. I was also concerned about sitting in a chair for 8 hours. Like you, I left the FE feeling OK. I entered the PE confident I could sit for an 8 hour exam. During the PE I felt I had time to read and answer each problem. The pace seemed very comfortable in comparison. I also found that FE preparation in mechanics, themo, fluids, and especially econ provided some benefit in studying for the PE.


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## Pac73 (Mar 28, 2011)

BoilerEngr said:


> I passed the FE Exam in April of 2010 after being out of school for 7 years and I am now preparing to take the PE (Mechanical, HVAC) in April of 2011. Just wondering if there are any others who have taken the two exams close together and what your thoughts were on how they are similar or different? Obviously the open book format is a huge difference, but I am thinking more along the lines a difficulty, study approach, general content of the exam, etc.
> I used the FERM to prepare for the FE and really felt I was over-prepared for the actual test questions. Not saying it was a cake-walk, but I definitely came out of the exam fairly certain that I had passed. I am hoping that studying the MERM in a similar manner and spending some time with my reference books will produce the same result! Anyone else have a similar experience?


I took the FE in Oct.2009 (after 13 year out of school and from another country) and passed.

I took the PE in Oct.2010 (Mechanical/HVAC) and passed too.

It definitely help me taking both exams in a year span, I was more prepare mentally and physically for the PE after passing the FE.

FE more intense, fast paced and a lot of subjects to study (and in several cases learn for the first time).

PE more relaxed, in areas more close to actual Engineering work, but some of the problems complexity took me by surprise, they really made me work!.

All the PPI's books were a big help but mainly FERM and MERM (I did not take a review class) and there were plenty of problems to work with (including 6 minutes problems) and to get an idea of what to expect.

Bottom line, after all the time invested in preparation (in my case almost a year both tests combined) my confidence level was very high and at the moment of the test I was ready to go. Even if a couple of problems were something complete new I felt confident enough to star working and get to a result (always keeping an eye on the clock).


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