# older Mech PE exam vs MDM CBT exam



## zeichstein (Aug 3, 2021)

I am 30 years with EIT. Finally need to get my PE. In the past the ME PE test had a breadth and depth section.... The am part included questions from all 3 sub disciplines (hvac, thermo, and machine design), the pm section was in depth MDM if that was your specialty. Now it appears the MDM has no thermo or HVAC. Is this correct?


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## Ijoinedbecausecovid (Aug 12, 2021)

Hey man, I took the CBT in May 2020. Its basically all the MDM stuff and no thermo/HVAC. However, if you want to pass the first time, the easy way to do it is buy the PPI2Pass Learning Hub 3 months thing. Pass the Machine Design & Materials PE Mechanical Exam | PPI 
Its the cheapest option listed. That will give you everything you need to study, timelines on how much to study each day, the MERM, practice problems and practice tests. If you do what it tells you to, you will pass. PPI2Pass is so much harder than the real test that you'll crush the real test. You only really need the 3 months since you'll start to forget things if your study window is too long. It'll be intense, but you will crush the test.


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## Edgy Cheesy Graphite PE (Aug 23, 2021)

zeichstein said:


> I am 30 years with EIT. Finally need to get my PE. In the past the ME PE test had a breadth and depth section.... The am part included questions from all 3 sub disciplines (hvac, thermo, and machine design), the pm section was in depth MDM if that was your specialty. Now it appears the MDM has no thermo or HVAC. Is this correct?


You're correct. The ME exam dropped the breath + depth format in 2014 I believe. So you take one of 3 subdiciplines: MDM, Thermo/Fluids, or HVAC. Which I loved because I know MDM well, but couldn't solve a Thermo-fluids problem to save my life. That's an exaggeration, but you get my point.


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## Audi Driver P.E. (Sep 3, 2021)

Yep. They're no longer interested in licensing well rounded engineers.


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## JHW 3d (Sep 4, 2021)

jean15paul_PE said:


> You're correct. The ME exam dropped the breath + depth format in 2014 I believe. So you take one of 3 subdiciplines: MDM, Thermo/Fluids, or HVAC. Which I loved because I know MDM well, but couldn't solve a Thermo-fluids problem to save my life. That's an exaggeration, but you get my point.


I took the ME PE exam in Oct 2015 and it still had the am breadth, pm depth format.


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## _AS123_ (Sep 19, 2021)

> They're no longer interested in licensing well rounded engineers.



Not really a fair comment - I haven't come across any jobs during my career where you need to know all 3 disciplines. The FE should rightly be broad as most people take it around graduation and haven't started a carerr or begun to specialize yet, but the PE is designed to be taken when you have several years experience. You tend to specialize in one area if you stick with a technical career. For example, what's the point of testing a Design Engineer working in the automotive field on their knowledge of HVAC systems? Specializing the exam gives the opportunity to test more within that discipline, given the same allotted time.


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## Audi Driver P.E. (Sep 29, 2021)

_AS123_ said:


> Not really a fair comment - I haven't come across any jobs during my career where you need to know all 3 disciplines. The FE should rightly be broad as most people take it around graduation and haven't started a carerr or begun to specialize yet, but the PE is designed to be taken when you have several years experience. You tend to specialize in one area if you stick with a technical career. For example, what's the point of testing a Design Engineer working in the automotive field on their knowledge of HVAC systems? Specializing the exam gives the opportunity to test more within that discipline, given the same allotted time.


Because even within a specialty, knowing how to problem solve in other areas within the discipline often becomes necessary. That's why.


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## _AS123_ (Sep 29, 2021)

Unintended Max P.E. said:


> Because even within a specialty, knowing how to problem solve in other areas within the discipline often becomes necessary. That's why.


I agree to a point but that is why they examine all specialties on certain common topics they have deemed necessary to be a well rounded engineer, like project management, economics, etc. 

Mechanical engineering is sufficiently broad that they have deemed it necessary to introduce specialisms in order to test more deeply - which I agree with and why I think your original comment is unfair.

If you have 4 years of HVAC experience, you are unlikely to walk into a job requiring 4 years of materials experience. It's OK to not know everything about everything. That's why we work in multi-discipline teams and call upon specialists when our own expertise are lacking in an area. 

I don't know - maybe you're bent out of shape because you took the old format exam and struggled in one area, and resent everyone taking it now "having it easier"?!


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## Edgy Cheesy Graphite PE (Sep 29, 2021)

Also let's keep in mind...
It's the responsibility of the licensee to only practice in the specialty/specialties that they are competent in. If you are only competent in HVAC and you will only practice in HVAC, then why prevent that person from getting licensed. On the other hand, if you're "well-rounded" and competent to practice in multiple disciplines, then you can do that.



Unintended Max P.E. said:


> Because even within a specialty, knowing how to problem solve in other areas within the discipline often becomes necessary. That's why.



Whether being well-rounded is required varies by job. Generally speaking the bigger the company is the more specialized the employees are. Most places I've worked (very large companies) NEVER require knowing how to solve problem in areas outside of your expertise. In fact, most people are only solving 1 type of problem, much much more specialized than the current PE exam.
But now I'm working for a medium company (as opposed to a large company) and sometime other stuff comes up. At small companies, you're often expected to do it all.

If the job doesn't require being well rounded and the engineer is competent in that specialty, I, personally, have no issue with NCEES/state boards licensing them.


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## Edgy Cheesy Graphite PE (Sep 29, 2021)

JHW 3d said:


> I took the ME PE exam in Oct 2015 and it still had the am breadth, pm depth format.


Thanks. I must have the date wrong.


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## Audi Driver P.E. (Sep 30, 2021)

_AS123_ said:


> I agree to a point but that is why they examine all specialties on certain common topics they have deemed necessary to be a well rounded engineer, like project management, economics, etc.
> 
> Mechanical engineering is sufficiently broad that they have deemed it necessary to introduce specialisms in order to test more deeply - which I agree with and why I think your original comment is unfair.
> 
> ...


No, quite the opposite. The problem is hiring engineers that know WTF they are doing.


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