# Requirements for PE; taking FE



## guitarjamman (May 6, 2011)

Engineering in general is a pretty scary profession to get into; if you make a miscalculation that goes unnoticed, human lives are on the line. In essence an Engineer gets to determine the lively-hood of the populations through their calculations and judgement abilities....pretty intimidating for a recent college graduate. But here is where I would like some clarification or some other perspectives:

It seems like the F.E. exam should not be required for people to get their PE license who have gone to an ABET accredited college and recieved a bachelors degree in their respective field of engineering. I see it as if you went to an accredited college and have recieved the degree, you have proven yourself worthy of doing engineering work in the eyes of the school and the state that you got your degree from. All the tested subjects on the F.E. were part of your course work throughout your undergraduate career and recieving the degree shows you mastered the material previously.

The F.E. exam should not be done away with though. People who want to become an Engineer-In-Training and did not recieve a degree in engineering should be the ones required to take this exam. They are the ones who have not proven themselves capable of doing basic engineering calculations and passing the F.E. exam certainly shows compitence.

Maybe I am giving too much credit to college graduates here though. It seems like a lot of graduates cannot pass the F.E. on their first try (I am not bashing at all here, it is truely a tough exam) which leaves me second guessing myself. The PE exam is the one that counts to recieve your stamp, not the FE. Even though some college graduates need a few attempts to pass the FE, i still feel like an ABET accredited degree should bypass the FE. Do you agree with me here or am I missing a major focus point?


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## MA_PE (May 6, 2011)

yes. you are missing a major focus point. If the FE covers all the material that was covered in school then it should be a breeze for someone who has studied it for so long. Yet you say it's a difficult test and want a bye. why?

Despite ABET accreditation not all programs are equal and not all graduates from the same program are equal. The FE is a common test of individual knowledge developed by the licensing authority. They give credit for the degree by not making you have 20+ experience before sitting for the PE.

In a similar fashion, here in MA high school students are now required to pass a state-wide MCAS test to graduate in addition to passing all their classes. the inetent of the test is twofold. 1) evaluate the education provided to each student and 2) to set a minimum competency level for all high school graduates. People complain about that test too.


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## STEEL MAN (May 6, 2011)

MA PE,

Agree with you.

guitarman,

nah, your logic is wrong if you want to bypass FE, go to Canada, ABET is like CEAB and you wont be required FE all you need is NPPE to become a PEng in Canada and see why Canadian Engineers (PEng ) is a cracker jackpot. For short US PE is competent in terms of screening their engineers not like other countries like Canada. If you become a US PE you deserve to be one if not youre not period.


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## guitarjamman (May 6, 2011)

MA_PE said:


> yes. you are missing a major focus point. If the FE covers all the material that was covered in school then it should be a breeze for someone who has studied it for so long. Yet you say it's a difficult test and want a bye. why?
> Despite ABET accreditation not all programs are equal and not all graduates from the same program are equal. The FE is a common test of individual knowledge developed by the licensing authority. They give credit for the degree by not making you have 20+ experience before sitting for the PE.
> 
> In a similar fashion, here in MA high school students are now required to pass a state-wide MCAS test to graduate in addition to passing all their classes. the inetent of the test is twofold. 1) evaluate the education provided to each student and 2) to set a minimum competency level for all high school graduates. People complain about that test too.


Thank you for your response. I guess waiting for the exam results have made me a little dillusional in my thinking. I guess it needs to be required to test on an individual basis like you said, to see if you really paid attention in all your classes or if you spent enough time programming your TI-89 calculator to think for you.

I live in MA as well and am well familiar with the MCAS. I understand the need for them and do believe they help serve a purpose in making sure teachers are teaching the required material instead of preaching their individual views on the world (biggest problem with a local highschool on the Cape).

Hopefully when I recieve my results I pass (feel rather confident) and I can forget about them all together.


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## momech (May 6, 2011)

I'm really surprised by the number of people who are taking the FE well after graduating. Taking (not necessarily passing) the F.E. was required prior to graduation at my school, Missouri S&amp;T. I don't know what the pass rate was, but I didn't know anyone who failed it when I took it. You are MUCH more likely to pass it while that stuff is fresh in your mind.


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## lady_j (May 6, 2011)

STEEL MAN said:


> MA PE,if you want to bypass FE, go to Canada, ABET is like CEAB and you wont be required FE all you need is NPPE to become a PEng in Canada and see why Canadian Engineers (PEng ) is a cracker jackpot. For short US PE is competent in terms of screening their engineers not like other countries like Canada. If you become a US PE you deserve to be one if not youre not period.


.....and right on cue, STEEL MAN brings it back to Canada.....ha!

BLAME CANADA! :-D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blame_Canada


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## Kephart P.E. (May 6, 2011)

Personally I went to a ABET school and passing the FE was pretty easy. I took it my last term in school and spent maybe 30-40 hours reviewing the reference book.

I would rather have ABET schools teach more practical hands on courses and then make Grads study to pass the FE than the way it is now.

Example: I didn't even know what a PLC was when I graduated with my Bachelors in ME. But I could do Laplace Transforms and run Matlab all day. &lt;------------That is sad.


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## sac_engineer (May 6, 2011)

In Canada, you can only become a P.Eng if you have a degree, no exceptions. In the US , a degree is not mandatory, hence the requirement of the EIT. I can understand getting rid of the EIT, but because it's a national exam, it creates a level playing field for those continuing their pursuits in becoming PEs.

Also, it's easier for PE boards across the US to follow the same procedure (EIT, experience, PE) than to go rogue and create their own requirements.

I wouldn't go as far to say that US engineers are the best in the world merely from having to pass the EIT and PE exams, but it is definitely a feather in one's hat to pass the PE.... especially in California.


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## STEEL MAN (May 6, 2011)

sac_engineer said:


> In Canada, you can only become a P.Eng if you have a degree, no exceptions. In the US , a degree is not mandatory, hence the requirement of the EIT. I can understand getting rid of the EIT, but because it's a national exam, it creates a level playing field for those continuing their pursuits in becoming PEs.
> Also, it's easier for PE boards across the US to follow the same procedure (EIT, experience, PE) than to go rogue and create their own requirements.
> 
> I wouldn't go as far to say that US engineers are the best in the world merely from having to pass the EIT and PE exams, but it is definitely a feather in one's hat to pass the PE.... especially in California.



nah, your comment is way off the newly grad engineer wanted to skip FE. Thats the point, to obtaine PE no matter who you are you have to go through the eye of the needle to get licensed pass FE and PE and experience, if you dont want that, then quit.

Anyway your comment is not totally true about being a Peng in Canada, check PEO, APEGGA websites they have the same way as US PE, you can become a Peng. with experience.

I worked with Canadian Engineers PEng and they knew I passed FE and they told me, they tried to write FE but they cant pass it. Thats why they just settle as a Peng in Canada. How can you prove yourself as a PE if you wont be able to pass FE and PE?


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