# It just never clicks for me



## Failure (Mar 2, 2022)

Hey all,

I don't have anywhere else to post something like this. 

I failed the Power CBT a few months ago. I studied for about 3-4 months for it. It hurt badly seeing the red "failed" icon on my results page. I've enrolled in multiple online courses, and between the two that I enrolled in, the practice exam, the fee for the exam that I failed, and the fee for my next attempt, I've spent almost $3000 on this exam. And it might be all for naught.

No matter what I do, nothing ever clicks. I've gone through many practice tests, videos, lecture notes, etc. many times over and so much of the subject material just ends up flying over my head. It's so much to memorize, and I don't really think I'm smart enough to be able to handle it. I'm flat out awful at the theoretical concepts related to this exam. I had to make a guess on so many of them during my first attempt. For calculation based questions, I almost always end up forgetting one step and getting an answer wrong. If I'm able to narrow the question down to two potential answers, I'll almost always pick the incorrect one. 

All of this combined with terrible test taking anxiety leads me to believe that this exam just isn't meant for me.


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## DLD PE (Mar 2, 2022)

FWIW, 3-4 months of studying was the tip of the iceberg for me. It took me 5 attempts before I passed the darned thing. Never give up! I sent you a PM.


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## txjennah PE (Mar 2, 2022)

No, you are more than capable of passing this exam. You received the engineering degree, right? That already shows you are more than capable of learning the material.

I'll let others speak to the prep courses, since I was in a different discipline. Just know that this exam is HARD and there are many of us here who failed several times (including myself!) You're capable.


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## COJeff (Mar 11, 2022)

Can I ask how many years of work experience you have?


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## Failure (Mar 12, 2022)

COJeff said:


> Can I ask how many years of work experience you have?


Approaching 2 years of engineering experience in April.


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## 14bk41 (Mar 12, 2022)

What prep courses did you take? School of PE worked well for me. Do not get discouraged. I would take some time off before pushing re-test. Try to rack up a few more years of experience (and if possible, broaden your experience from the areas you have been working in) before trying it again. The PE test materials IMO would benefit from having experience - it's not a simple memorizing test. Pay attention to the questions as well - they might look similar to those you have seen in practice tests, but worded differently and therefore would require true understanding of the problem to arrive to the correct solution.


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## MI-Roger (Mar 13, 2022)

Old timer here.
I graduated in '79 after taking the FE exam in my final semester and doing respectable on it.
I sat for Part II in '83 and scored embarrassingly poor although I passed.
So......some (or many) of us who passed just squeaked by.

I don't know the current scoring requirements for a PASS, back then it was 70%. I am certain there were far more scores of 72% than there were of 98%.

Don't be too hard on yourself!


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## Reverse Polish (Jun 1, 2022)

Failure said:


> so much of the subject material just ends up flying over my head. It's so much to memorize,... I'm flat out awful at the theoretical concepts related to this exam. I had to make a guess on so many of them during my first attempt.



You have answered your own question.

Maybe this is just me getting old and cranky, but I don't understand why people (in decoupled exam states) are feeling the need to pass the PE exam as quickly as humanly possible. These exams were designed for engineers with a minimum of four years work experience. Even if you pass the exam tomorrow, you can't (in most states) obtain licensure with two years work experience anyway. It's a privilege to be licensed as Professional Engineer--not a box on the checklist of a career, and it's folly to treat the PE exam the same as the SAT or GRE. This stuff is *difficult*. If it were easy, everyone would do it.

Instead of focusing so much energy on passing the exam, it might behoove you to spend that energy focused on your job. With enough time and repetition, you'll be amazed at how many of these concepts become old-hat, and don't "fly over your head" or need to be "memorized". Look to develop thorough, fundamental understanding and application of concepts at work, and the exam will get much easier for you. I promise.


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## Spitfire6532 (Jun 1, 2022)

Reverse Polish said:


> Maybe this is just me getting old and cranky, but I don't understand why people (in decoupled exam states) are feeling the need to pass the PE exam as quickly as humanly possible. These exams were designed for engineers with a minimum of four years work experience. Even if you pass the exam tomorrow, you can't (in most states) obtain licensure with two years work experience anyway. It's a privilege to be licensed as Professional Engineer--not a box on the checklist of a career, and it's folly to treat the PE exam the same as the SAT or GRE. This stuff is *difficult*. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
> 
> Instead of focusing so much energy on passing the exam, it might behoove you to spend that energy focused on your job. With enough time and repetition, you'll be amazed at how many of these concepts become old-hat, and don't "fly over your head" or need to be "memorized". Look to develop thorough, fundamental understanding and application of concepts at work, and the exam will get much easier for you. I promise.


I am coming from taking Civil Structural PE, but I am someone who took the exam prior to four years of work experience. My job is in a very specific field and the exam covers a wide variety of topics that I haven't even thought about since being in undergrad. There are advantages in trying to take the exam while those broader topics are fresher. I think I had two questions on the depth portion of the PE related to my actual job, so focusing on work wouldn't help me at all. I studied pretty rigorously and took a course, and gained a broader knowledge across structural topics, which helped me to understand my own job even more.

So really, for me, taking the exam early pushed me to consider fields outside my own. Passing the exam is also a way to get ahead at my job. It is seen as a checklist item to many companies, and it would be foolish to not pursue a title that both directly allows you to earn more money and put you ahead of your peers. If you wait until four years of experience and fail, you are going to be getting that later than your peers. If you try first after two or so years, it gives you some wiggle room to ensure that you can pass by your four years. 

I don't expect to have the respect of engineers with 20+ years practicing as a PE, but I would like to start on that journey as quickly as possible. It's tough to get ahead, and I feel there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.


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## Reverse Polish (Jun 2, 2022)

Spitfire6532 said:


> I am coming from taking Civil Structural PE, but I am someone who took the exam prior to four years of work experience. My job is in a very specific field and the exam covers a wide variety of topics that I haven't even thought about since being in undergrad. There are advantages in trying to take the exam while those broader topics are fresher. I think I had two questions on the depth portion of the PE related to my actual job, so focusing on work wouldn't help me at all. I studied pretty rigorously and took a course, and gained a broader knowledge across structural topics, which helped me to understand my own job even more.
> 
> So really, for me, taking the exam early pushed me to consider fields outside my own. Passing the exam is also a way to get ahead at my job. It is seen as a checklist item to many companies, and it would be foolish to not pursue a title that both directly allows you to earn more money and put you ahead of your peers. If you wait until four years of experience and fail, you are going to be getting that later than your peers. If you try first after two or so years, it gives you some wiggle room to ensure that you can pass by your four years.
> 
> I don't expect to have the respect of engineers with 20+ years practicing as a PE, but I would like to start on that journey as quickly as possible. It's tough to get ahead, and I feel there is nothing wrong with being ambitious.



I understand all of that, and there is certainly nothing wrong with pushing yourself to be a better engineer. Sure, obtaining licensure can be seen as a "checklist" item, but the amount of work involved goes far beyond that of an ordinary "task", and licensure is certainly something that isn't "owed" to anyone.

Let's go back to the intent of professional licensure in the first place, though, which is to ensure a minimum level of competency to assure public safety. Within that broadly-defined term of "minimum level of competency" is a host of knowledge that needs to be mastered at a certain level of depth. Again, to assure the safety of the public. I think you summed it up pretty well in your statement: 

_I studied pretty rigorously and took a course, and gained a broader knowledge across structural topics, which helped me to understand my own job even more._

There's nothing carved in stone that says all engineers must obtain a PE license, let alone four years after obtaining a bachelors degree. It's much more beneficial to the public as a whole, employers, and yourself that competency is the primary focus. Emphasizing the time frame over developing the depth and breadth knowledge necessary to pass the exam completely misses the point of professional licensure. While we all face deadlines in our daily work, a sense of urgency can never come at the expense of competency. 

I reiterate that the PE exams aren't designed to be passed by someone right out of an undergraduate program (Hell, I've seen PhDs struggle with the SE exam.). The *minimum* work experience requirements are in place to ensure that a certain level of breadth, depth, and maturity are developed by a practicing engineer. I'm sure that the OP is frustrated, but I think misses the point.


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