April/October 2020 Power PE Exam Prep

[DLD PE]

I somewhat disagree. I think it defeats the purpose of the exam to spend a lot of time preparing for it. It's supposed to test engineering competency and real-world experience. If loads of preparation is required, it means the experience isn't there.

But most people spend a ton of time preparing for the exam as it is.

 

[Orchid PE]

But most people spend a ton of time preparing for the exam as it is.

Which I don't think I'll ever really understand. I spent at most 75 hours studying, just refreshing on equations and solving stuff by hand. Most of the conceptual questions should be able to be answered without much preparation.

 

[DLD PE]

Which I don't think I'll ever really understand. I spent at most 75 hours studying, just refreshing on equations and solving stuff by hand. Most of the conceptual questions should be able to be answered without much preparation.

Well you're one of the rare ones then.  There's a lot of students (going by statistics Zach Stone and Justin post) who indicate the amount of hours studied is more in the 150-200 range).

 

[Orchid PE]

Well you're one of the rare ones then.  There's a lot of students (going by statistics Zach Stone and Justin post) who indicate the amount of hours studied is more in the 150-200 range).

I think those figures are somewhat skewed, since most of the people taking their classes are the ones that feel the need to study at lot.

I know of 3 people, including myself, who took the exam this past cycle and only studied around the 75hr mark. No prep classes. There are a lot of people like that, but they don't really get included in any statistics.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I somewhat disagree. I think I know what you're getting at with allowing the instructors to take it each year. That way they know what material to prepare the students for.

I think it defeats the purpose of the exam to spend a lot of time preparing for it. It's supposed to test engineering competency and real-world experience. If loads of preparation is required, it means the experience isn't there.

You can't expect every test taker to have real-world experience in all aspects of the test. 

I don't do anything at all with motors, generators, rectifiers, diodes, NFPA 70E, NFPA 780, engineering economics (I never even took a class on it in college), demand management, VSDs, ladder logic. I do P&C at a consulting firm and use the NEC & NESC on occasion. That's my life. So I had to put hours of dedication into this to have chance at passing 

 

[Orchid PE]

You can't expect every test taker to have real-world experience in all aspects of the test. 

I don't do anything at all with motors, generators, rectifiers, diodes, NFPA 70E, NFPA 780, engineering economics (I never even took a class on it in college), demand management, VSDs, ladder logic. I do P&C at a consulting firm and use the NEC & NESC on occasion. That's my life. So I had to put hours of dedication into this to have chance at passing 

But that's the point of the exam. It covers multiple topics, and allows people to pass even though they're not an expert in all areas.

There will be technical questions that can be answered by standard electrical people. Those are like the calculation questions. Then there are conceptual questions from a variety of power fields. A competent engineer will be able to answer most of the questions related directly to their field. On the remaining ones, they just need to show some competency.

So an engineer designing electrical systems for buildings might not be able to answer transmission and generation questions, and vice versa.

 

[DLD PE]

I think those figures are somewhat skewed, since most of the people taking their classes are the ones that feel the need to study at lot.

I know of 3 people, including myself, who took the exam this past cycle and only studied around the 75hr mark. No prep classes. There are a lot of people like that, but they don't really get included in any statistics.

Well I applaud them.  I'm already at 83 hours, not including this week, not to mention my previous two attempt cycles.  If I took it tomorrow I wouldn't feel confident about it lol.

I think we're all different, wired differently and some of us retain stuff better than others.  Just my opinion.

 

[Orchid PE]

I really don't want to put anyone down, so I hope I'm not coming off that way.

I think we're all different, wired differently and some of us retain stuff better than others.  Just my opinion.

Honestly, I think there are just some people that aren't cut out to be engineers. Just like some people aren't meant to be lawyers, doctors, artists, etc., some aren't meant to be engineers. A buddy of mine started off in engineering, but quickly learned he wasn't engineering material, and now he's doing great as a realtor. Probably doing financially better than he could have as an engineer, and much happier just knowing his personality.

 

[Sparky Bill PE]

I really don't want to put anyone down, so I hope I'm not coming off that way.

Honestly, I think there are just some people that aren't cut out to be engineers. Just like some people aren't meant to be lawyers, doctors, artists, etc., some aren't meant to be engineers. A buddy of mine started off in engineering, but quickly learned he wasn't engineering material, and now he's doing great as a realtor. Probably doing financially better than he could have as an engineer, and much happier just knowing his personality.

The problem is it's a standardized test that is graded multiple choice and will never be a decent "guide for passing" or "proving someone's engineering knowledge". I wish the test cost $1,500 but EVERY TEST was to be hand graded. That way they know and see EXACTLY what you know and who is ready to be a licensed engineer. 

I have a few friends that passed the FE that will 100% admit they had no idea on 60% of the material. I also had 1 friend that didn't study the PE, admitted he was LOST on half of it, and the only reference he brought was "guide to passing the PE" (didn't even bring an NEC book or any code books) and passed. 

If the stars align, and it's someones day to pass. It only takes bubbling the right answers on the given day. 

 

[Orchid PE]

The problem is it's a standardized test that is graded multiple choice and will never be a decent "guide for passing" or "proving someone's engineering knowledge". I wish the test cost $1,500 but EVERY TEST was to be hand graded. That way they know and see EXACTLY what you know and who is ready to be a licensed engineer.

If I'm not mistaken, I think the older exams were not multiple choice. I think they were just worked out by hand and when they were graded partial credit was applied. I do agree it could be difficult to really gauge an engineer with a standardized test, but then again there are people whose job is to create tests that accurately reflect the knowledge of the test-taker.

 

[Sparky Bill PE]

If I'm not mistaken, I think the older exams were not multiple choice. I think they were just worked out by hand and when they were graded partial credit was applied. I do agree it could be difficult to really gauge an engineer with a standardized test, but then again there are people whose job is to create tests that accurately reflect the knowledge of the test-taker.

That's exactly how it used to be. The SE (Structural engineering) exam is still that way. One of the test graders work with me. All questions are graded on a scale and then compared to another grader for accuracy.  It is weird to imagine, you for sure would have some PE's that aren't PE's today, and some non-PE's that would be PE's for sure. 

I just wish they gave that OPTION even if it costed 5x as much. 

 

[speakeelsy PE]

If I'm not mistaken, I think the older exams were not multiple choice. I think they were just worked out by hand and when they were graded partial credit was applied. I do agree it could be difficult to really gauge an engineer with a standardized test, but then again there are people whose job is to create tests that accurately reflect the knowledge of the test-taker.

This was true for electrical too. One of my old supervisors was telling me there used to be a whole bunch of problems from all the engineering fields and you had to pick and solve like 7 or 10 of them and they graded your work. He took the test in the 70s.

 

[Orchid PE]

I've got to say I'm really liking this book.

I did not have it with me when I took the exam. I purchased it afterwards as a gift to myself for passing.

So far, I've identified many times when it would have come in handy. There is stuff in this book that I did not have in any other reference. And for $160, it's not bad. Especially since you'll probably use it for the rest of your career.

 

[Swift Fox]

For people who have taken the exam before: How much room do you have at your desk and around you for books? 

 

[Orchid PE]

For people who have taken the exam before: How much room do you have at your desk and around you for books? 

My desk was about and arm's length forward. Tables were about 8ft wide, and 2 people per table. So about 4ft wide to myself.

 

[DLD PE]

My desk was about and arm's length forward. Tables were about 8ft wide, and 2 people per table. So about 4ft wide to myself.

THIS.  I took it in Nashville and this was the case...plenty of room.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

For people who have taken the exam before: How much room do you have at your desk and around you for books? 

It varies from state to state on the final amount of room you have. There are requirements set forth from NCEES IIRC.

In VT, I've had a 6ft table to myself, shared an 8ft table, had an 8ft table to myself, and have been in a lecture hall with connected table tops/chairs and had probably 6-8ft of space for myself [in VT, typically the testing takes places in the National Guard building classroom but has taken place inside various classrooms at Norwich, at the ice arena, and in the mess hall of the National Guard building]

 

[DLD PE]

I'm pretty sure I sat at the exact same table for both exams.  I had plenty of room to my immediate left and in front of me.  I had enough room under the table to grab whatever I could not to my immediate left and in front.  

As a strategy, I put my big "go-to" binder right in front of me and my most popular references to my front and left.  I put the NEC and code references under the table until it came time for the second pass of the exam and put those all on the table for that round, and then put them back before the third pass.  Worked out just fine.

My first attempt, the person to my left sharing the table with me did not show up, so I had a big table all to myself.

 

[Orchid PE]

Just a warning, hopefully not to scare anyone, but some proctors will require you to put all your references on the table. If it's not on the table before the exam starts, you can't use it.

This was not the case for my exam, but a buddy of mine who took the exam in April 2019 was required to do this. It sucked for the people that brought in suitcases full of books.

I remember at my exam there was a guy that attached wheels to a bookshelf and wheeled it in.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I remember at my exam there was a guy that attached wheels to a bookshelf and wheeled it in.

When I proctored the exam, there was a gentleman with 4 milk crates of books strapped to a flatbed dolly. As soon as he was in his seat, he stacked them up like a bookcase and re-strapped them to the dolly. 

Just a warning, hopefully not to scare anyone, but some proctors will require you to put all your references on the table. If it's not on the table before the exam starts, you can't use it.

This is not something I've ever heard of on this board. Or from when I proctored the exam. 

(FYI, I was allowed to proctor the exam and sign an NDA that I would not take the exam for 2 years from the time of my last round of proctoring. When I sat for the PE, that NDA had expired. Some of questioned this in the past so I'm putting this out there now)