Average age of PE exam passers

[civil-nj]

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.

 

[bmark3]

I passed and am 26.

 

[melissaNYPE]

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

 

[civil-nj]

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!!

 

[Katiebug]

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!

 

[civil-nj]

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.

 

[Melanie11]

I passed when I was 27

 

[MEPE2B]

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.

 

[snickerd3]

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.

 

[civil-nj]

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.

 

[NCcarguy]

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

 

[Sschell]

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

 

[dagget]

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.

 

[Griff]

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.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

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.

 

[demax182]

I passed at age 28.

 

[squishles10]

27

 

[hrun]

I passed at age 39.

I regret not taking it earlier.

 

[F.McBagg]

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.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

^^Hey! Way to go McBagg!!!

:multiplespotting: :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting: