# Average age of PE exam passers



## civil-nj (Jun 23, 2008)

I just passed the Civil PE at age 25, which I figure is probably a bit on the young side. I was lucky that my senior design project and internships were supervised by PEs and counted as relevant experience. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken the test until much later.

That got me thinking, what is the average age of those passing the PE exam? Most people I know who have passed are in their late twenties or early thirties, but that is only a handful of people and certainly not representative. So for those of you who passed, how old were you when you got your letter stating that you passed?

Disclaimer:

I apologize in advance if this topic has already been discussed, but I had a hell of a time searching the forum using words longer than 4 letters (I tried age, old, etc). Please point me in the right direction if you know that such a poll already exists!

Edit:

It appears that you have to vote for *both* polls to have your vote tallied, hence the awkward "N/A" options on each poll.


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## bmark3 (Jun 23, 2008)

I passed and am 26.


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## melissaNYPE (Jun 23, 2008)

I'm 28 and just found out I passed today... although I'll be 29 tomorrow, so take that for what you will


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## civil-nj (Jun 23, 2008)

melissaNYPE said:


> I'm 28 and just found out I passed today... although I'll be 29 tomorrow, so take that for what you will


Happy birthday and congratulations!!


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## Katiebug (Jun 23, 2008)

I'll probably be 30+ by the time I even attempt the PE. I'm non-representative of the majority, since I'm a mechanical engineer working under industry exemption and am trying to get a PE solely as a personal/professional challenge.

I'll be taking the FE in October (hopefully) and will hopefully pass it on my first try. I was one of the stupid ones who didn't take it before graduation or shortly after, so I'll be 27 and out of school for 5.5 years - thus requiring me to actually _study_ for it!

I'm probably going to get the study materials for the PE and start preparing late this year, under the assumption that I'll pass the FE in October. However, Mr. Bug and I want to start a family in the near future and I suspect PE prep will take a backseat to motherhood for a year or two.

I have more than enough engineering experience to qualify to take the PE now, though. The other hurdle to cross is finding enough endorsers with a PE to meet my state board's requirements (I need three). The joys of not having more than 1-2 PEs in our organization!


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## civil-nj (Jun 23, 2008)

Katiebug said:


> However, Mr. Bug and I want to start a family in the near future and I suspect PE prep will take a backseat to motherhood for a year or two.


That was a major factor in my decision to submit my application so early, even though a lot of my experience was from "non-traditional" work. I was half expecting them to reject it and say come back in a year or two. Luckily that didn't happen, but if it had and I needed to take the exam multiple times, Mr. Civil-NJ and I probably would have been running into the whole "starting a family vs. taking the PE exam" conundrum as well.


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## Melanie11 (Jun 23, 2008)

I passed when I was 27


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## MEPE2B (Jun 23, 2008)

I was 39 when I took the test in April, but was 40 when I found out I passed. So I guess it would be technically correct to say I passed at age 40.


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## snickerd3 (Jun 23, 2008)

civil-nj said:


> That was a major factor in my decision to submit my application so early, even though a lot of my experience was from "non-traditional" work. I was half expecting them to reject it and say come back in a year or two. Luckily that didn't happen, but if it had and I needed to take the exam multiple times, Mr. Civil-NJ and I probably would have been running into the whole "starting a family vs. taking the PE exam" conundrum as well.


There have been a few ladies here that took the test while pregnant.


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## civil-nj (Jun 23, 2008)

snickerd3 said:


> There have been a few ladies here that took the test while pregnant.


Good for them!! :bowdown: Wow, that's gotta be tough. I am in complete awe of them, but I'm still relieved that I passed before getting pregnant.


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## NCcarguy (Jun 23, 2008)

Well....I see so far I was the oldest! Where's Mary at when you need her?


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## Sschell (Jun 23, 2008)

looks like I am in the majority passing at 27...


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## dagget (Jun 24, 2008)

NCcarguy said:


> Well....I see so far I was the oldest! Where's Mary at when you need her?


Got you covered. At 51 I will likely be an outlier.

I worked under industry exemption for 18 years, then jumped to the consulting side in '96. I stayed under radar there for a couple of years before they started pushing, and had started studying and getting the app and references together. Then we had that hurricane thingy in August of '05, which pushed it back a couple more years (re-building a flooded house and studying are mutually exclusive, trust me).

Re-learning kinetics and some other stuff that I haven't done since leaving school in '79 was a bit of a bear, but I had a friend studying also and she helped with the spots that I was weak on.


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## Griff (Jun 24, 2008)

melissaNYPE said:


> I'm 28 and just found out I passed today... although I'll be 29 tomorrow, so take that for what you will


Sweet B-day present. Congrats on both.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jun 24, 2008)

I was 41. Never really intended to get it, since I worked for the DoD and private industry, but with the state job I got a nice rais, so I went ahead and took it.


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## demax182 (Jun 24, 2008)

I passed at age 28.


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## squishles10 (Jun 24, 2008)

27


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## hrun (Jun 24, 2008)

I passed at age 39.

I regret not taking it earlier.


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## F.McBagg (Jun 25, 2008)

hrun said:


> I passed at age 39.I regret not taking it earlier.


I found out yesterday that I passed at 51. It was a 20 year goal interrupted by cancer treatments. It's a great feeling to get over that bar.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jun 25, 2008)

^^Hey! Way to go McBagg!!!

:multiplespotting: :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting:


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## dagget (Jun 25, 2008)

F.McBagg said:


> I found out yesterday that I passed at 51. It was a 20 year goal interrupted by cancer treatments. It's a great feeling to get over that bar.


Congratulations McBagg.


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## busbeepbeep (Jun 26, 2008)

26 for me


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## gymrat1279 PE (Jul 1, 2008)

I was 25 as well. Looks like we're the young ones. In MI, if you have your masters, you only need 3 years of experience instead of 4. I got my masters while I've been working. Our experience here only counts after you graduate with your bachelors degree. My personal goal was to be a PE by 25. Very happy I did that. I got my license number 6 days before I turned 26.


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## mdb (Jul 4, 2008)

Passed both the FE and the PE when I was 32. I did it for the challenge- I didn't need it for my job (aerospace) and never used my stamp. It may have helped on my law school application.


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## Take1 (Jul 5, 2008)

I passed the PE at 43


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## sehad (Jul 8, 2008)

Passed first time @ 26. Could have taken at 25 but got married so put it off. :brickwall:

Not a wise decision


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## roadwreck (Jul 8, 2008)

sehad said:


> Not a wise decision


What? Putting the exam off or getting married?


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## sehad (Jul 8, 2008)

roadwreck said:


> What? Putting the exam off or getting married?


I plead the 5th


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## Capt Worley PE (Jul 9, 2008)

^You're learning.


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## ktulu (Jul 9, 2008)

Let's see....I failed at 27, at 28, at 29, and at 30. Will hopefully pass at 32.

&lt;&lt;&lt; Had her at 31.

And life is still absolutely wonderful, even with 4 fails (non-passings, rather)


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