FE as an IE?

[IE Steve]

Well today I took my last final exam and I am officially done with my bachelors in Industrial Engineering. I am highly interested in taking the FE this coming October but almost none of my classmates plan on taking it. Would there be any advantage of taking it and passing as an IE?

Also would I have to work directly under a registered P.E. for 4 years or could it be more indirectly?

What type of work would a P.E. do as an IE?

 

[snickerd3]

the test would be likely be easier taking it sooner out of college than later while you remember the basics.

every industry and company is different. but the 4 yr requirement is for the PE, and passing the FE is good forever so if you don't take your PE for say 10 yrs later that's ok.

 

[Judowolf PE]

I have to agree with Snick, better to take the FE and get it done and never have to use it, than decide in 10 years that you need/want your PE and then you have to take the FE that long removed from school and most states start your experience after your FE date, so then you'd have to wait longer yet...

 

[Peele1]

Agree with both above.

If you pass the FE, then you have passed. If you don't take it, then you won't have it. Having a credential, in this case one that requires no additional time, money, continuing education, etc. is a good thing, in my opinion. Better to have and not need, than need and not have.

I did the FE back in college, and passed. I'm glad I did. 15 years later, I wanted the PE, and it would have been a LOT more effort to get the PE if I hadn't done the FE earlier.

 

[solomonb]

Take the FE as soon as possible! I am in IE with a PE license. I have done a wide variety of industrial engineering tasks, however, have never stamped anything-- and seriously doubt that I ever will. That is not the key point. The key point is that you have demonstrated that you are a "full fledged" engineer-- Yes, I know, there is a lot of controversy about that--- however, for this discussion, we will assume that unless you have your PE, then you are NOT a full fledged engineer.

If you decide to go into consulting later in life, the PE is a very valuable credential-- at least for creditabiity, if nothing else. You gain a greater degree of respect and recognition as a PE then without one.

I have worked on the IE PE examination for several years. Go to NCEES and find the IE protocol-- that is the material that you will need to study when you are ready for the PE. You should find that all of it should have been covered in your BSIE program.

Take the FE at your earliest time-- October 2013. You will NOT regret it--.

As a PE, you are going to do the same type of IE work that any other IE will do-- the license does not give you anything special regarding work choice assignments.

You will NOT have to work under a PE for 4 years, however, you will have to have 5 PE's attest to your work. In that regard, start NOW, TODAY by keeping a log of EVERYTHING that you do. You will want to use words such as DESIGN, DEVELOP, CONSTRUCT, BUILD, ANALYZE-- real engineering words, provided that is what you did as opposed to assisted, coordinated, accomplished, etc.. The State board wants to see that you have a progressive set of engineering experiences during your 4 years of practice before you are allowed to take the examination.

Go to NCEES.ORG, NSPE.ORG to learn more about the Professional Engineering license.

Tell your buddies to do the same. They are cheating themselves by NOT taking the FE now and the PE in 4 years from now. In today's world, you never know when you will need a career differentiator.

Go to Engineering In Training Exam.com-- they have a great website to help you prepare for the FE exam.

Good Luck.

 

[IE Steve]

Great advise, I really appreciate it

Since I just finished my last final exam and I'm taking a very light graduate load in Summer and Fall, I'm going to start studying for the FE now for a few hours each day. I based my schedule around taking it in October but just found out there is major changes coming for the April 2014 exam. Those include doing it on the computer, 6 hours instead of 8, and 110 questions compared to 120.

I'm really debating if I should wait until April but that is almost a year away..

Also what did you mean when you said you needed to have 5 PE's attest to your work? I thought you had to directly/indirectly work under 1 P.E. for 4 years? Can you please explain in more detail?

 

[Wildsoldier PE]

Great advise, I really appreciate it

Since I just finished my last final exam and I'm taking a very light graduate load in Summer and Fall, I'm going to start studying for the FE now for a few hours each day. I based my schedule around taking it in October but just found out there is major changes coming for the April 2014 exam. Those include doing it on the computer, 6 hours instead of 8, and 110 questions compared to 120.

I'm really debating if I should wait until April but that is almost a year away..

Also what did you mean when you said you needed to have 5 PE's attest to your work? I thought you had to directly/indirectly work under 1 P.E. for 4 years? Can you please explain in more detail?

Take the FE really recomend doing it now than later...What he mean by 5 PE is because when you are applying for the PEs you need to have at least...depends by the state 3 references that are alredy PEs...they dont need to be IE can be other discipline...But you need only one that you can say that that PE was your mentor. The other PEs can be other engineers, ex. both have been working on the same project.

 

[solomonb]

Take the FE in October 13. Don't put it off-- don't convince yourself you are not ready, etc. If you are in graduate school and taking a light load, <12 hours, then you have plenty of time to study for the FE exam. Go to engineerintrainingexam.com and review what they say there. That looks like a great web site and his explanations are easy to digest.

This is not complicated-- if you earned a BSIE and got into grad school, you have the brains to easily accomplish this. Yes, there is some study involved, but you can do it.

What university did you graduate from? Ballpark GPA, i.e, >3.5, <3.5? REally makes no difference, however, being a recovering academic, I am always interested.

Put your mind on this-- this is not complicated, however, there are some hoops that you have jump through.

Don't plan on taking this test more than once. Some guys like to take the test 2-3 times to get a feel for the questions. Bulls***. Prepare for it and be done with it. Makes no sense to pay for 2-3 times. There is plenty of advice on this board for success. Good Luck!

 

[IE Steve]

Take the FE in October 13. Don't put it off-- don't convince yourself you are not ready, etc. If you are in graduate school and taking a light load, <12 hours, then you have plenty of time to study for the FE exam. Go to engineerintrainingexam.com and review what they say there. That looks like a great web site and his explanations are easy to digest.

This is not complicated-- if you earned a BSIE and got into grad school, you have the brains to easily accomplish this. Yes, there is some study involved, but you can do it.

What university did you graduate from? Ballpark GPA, i.e, >3.5, <3.5? REally makes no difference, however, being a recovering academic, I am always interested.

Put your mind on this-- this is not complicated, however, there are some hoops that you have jump through.

Don't plan on taking this test more than once. Some guys like to take the test 2-3 times to get a feel for the questions. Bulls***. Prepare for it and be done with it. Makes no sense to pay for 2-3 times. There is plenty of advice on this board for success. Good Luck!

Yeah that is true, it would get much harder to go back and take the exam if I don't do it in October.

I graduated with a BSIE from the University of South Florida with a 3.44 gpa and starting the Master of Science Engineering Management and will also get the MSIE directly after the MSEM as both share a lot of required classes.

I'm about to buy the study guides through Amazon for the Industrial part and basic math/engineering part and plan on puttin down 5 months of studying to get ready. Have you taken it yet? If so how was it? Do you have any advise you could offer to help prepare? Also how much is it to take the test?

 

[solomonb]

Yes, I have taken the exams-- in fact, several years ago after having been out of school for almost 30 years!!!!!! Everything that folks are telling you is accurate-- take it NOW! There is nothing spooky about this-- the "hoop" portion is probably the most frustrating, however, we have all jumped through the hoops!

You have a great plan-- BSIE/MSEM/MSIE-- USF is a great place-- I knew a professor there-- Dr. Lucy ?????? Forgot Lucy's last name. She is involved in American Society of Engineering Management---- as am I.

OK, let's review again-- go to NCEES.org and review what they say about the FE. Go to Engineerintrainingexam.com and review what he says and does. Get Lindberg's book, 1000 FE problems and work all of them, over, over, over, over, over and over again until you can do it without thinking about it.

It appears that the CBT portion of the FE will be somewhat different than the paper based exam. In that, I mean, reviewing from the NCEES web site, that the elements of evaluation will change somewhat. At this point, I don't think that is important- get Lindberg's book and study. With your GPA-- you should not have any trouble blowing this out of the water on the first attempt.

Your school may have an FE prep course-- I would take it-- there are some other prep courses here on the web as well. Do not know anything about them-- cannot make any suggestions/recommendations because I never have used them. The reason I do suggest Engineerintrainingexam.com is that the guy makes it fun, is interesting and it is free.

I don't know what it costs to take the test-- the NCEES web site will tell you that, along with your state web site-- plan on spending $500-700 for the FE. That is for all the license fees, registration, etc. If you have to go stay in a hotel at the testing site and have to eat out for a couple of days, add another $300 to that. If you have a friend close, then, buy the friend dinner and subtract $200!!

BOTTOM LINE-- Get the books and get started. This is not spooky. Congratulations on receiving your BSIE degree! You will do well with it. USF is a great school and they have some great IE faculty there. I remain impressed that you have a plan and are executing the plan.

NOW, I will say if you are going to go straight through from BSIE to MSEM to MSIE-- your starting salary will PROBABLY NOT be significantly and substantially different than a beginning IE with a BS degree. Why? No actual job experience. This background, coupled with the FE/PE license will make you golden for a consulting gig--. Money is great-- however your butt is on an airplane every week. Works well with you are single, however, if you find a wife/husband, then, this sometimes does not work ouit near as well.

I have a friend on the faculty at Texas Christian University at the Neely School of Business. He told me yesterday that his top undergrads are getting great jobs in Supply Chain Management-- IE type work. Some of the kids were getting just at $80K/year working for a big consulting agency. Again, consulting money is very, very good. Living in a hotel, eating out and flying is a big deal for about 3 weeks, then it becomes a real drag. If you can gut it out and do it for 10-15 years, you rise up and do very, very well financially. However, most folks are unwilling to make those sacrifices.

 

[IE Steve]

Yes, I have taken the exams-- in fact, several years ago after having been out of school for almost 30 years!!!!!! Everything that folks are telling you is accurate-- take it NOW! There is nothing spooky about this-- the "hoop" portion is probably the most frustrating, however, we have all jumped through the hoops!

You have a great plan-- BSIE/MSEM/MSIE-- USF is a great place-- I knew a professor there-- Dr. Lucy ?????? Forgot Lucy's last name. She is involved in American Society of Engineering Management---- as am I.

OK, let's review again-- go to NCEES.org and review what they say about the FE. Go to Engineerintrainingexam.com and review what he says and does. Get Lindberg's book, 1000 FE problems and work all of them, over, over, over, over, over and over again until you can do it without thinking about it.

It appears that the CBT portion of the FE will be somewhat different than the paper based exam. In that, I mean, reviewing from the NCEES web site, that the elements of evaluation will change somewhat. At this point, I don't think that is important- get Lindberg's book and study. With your GPA-- you should not have any trouble blowing this out of the water on the first attempt.

Your school may have an FE prep course-- I would take it-- there are some other prep courses here on the web as well. Do not know anything about them-- cannot make any suggestions/recommendations because I never have used them. The reason I do suggest Engineerintrainingexam.com is that the guy makes it fun, is interesting and it is free.

I don't know what it costs to take the test-- the NCEES web site will tell you that, along with your state web site-- plan on spending $500-700 for the FE. That is for all the license fees, registration, etc. If you have to go stay in a hotel at the testing site and have to eat out for a couple of days, add another $300 to that. If you have a friend close, then, buy the friend dinner and subtract $200!!

BOTTOM LINE-- Get the books and get started. This is not spooky. Congratulations on receiving your BSIE degree! You will do well with it. USF is a great school and they have some great IE faculty there. I remain impressed that you have a plan and are executing the plan.

NOW, I will say if you are going to go straight through from BSIE to MSEM to MSIE-- your starting salary will PROBABLY NOT be significantly and substantially different than a beginning IE with a BS degree. Why? No actual job experience. This background, coupled with the FE/PE license will make you golden for a consulting gig--. Money is great-- however your butt is on an airplane every week. Works well with you are single, however, if you find a wife/husband, then, this sometimes does not work ouit near as well.

I have a friend on the faculty at Texas Christian University at the Neely School of Business. He told me yesterday that his top undergrads are getting great jobs in Supply Chain Management-- IE type work. Some of the kids were getting just at $80K/year working for a big consulting agency. Again, consulting money is very, very good. Living in a hotel, eating out and flying is a big deal for about 3 weeks, then it becomes a real drag. If you can gut it out and do it for 10-15 years, you rise up and do very, very well financially. However, most folks are unwilling to make those sacrifices.

Thanks for the advise man, I'm going to use it!

I just bought the IE study guide, the FE study guide, the reference book, and the TI calculator for the FE. It wasn't cheap and this is a big investment as you said. I've also signed up for the EIT bootcamp that you mentioned and it seems great so far!

I really appreciate you giving me this advise and I'm sure I will have many more questions and look forward to hearing from you. Please chime in anytime you see me post

 

[solomonb]

OK, go for it! You are well on your way! Figure that you spent whatever dollars you did one time-- you are going to pass-- no excuses. You WILL PASS!

Professor Lucy's Last name is Morris!!! Lucy Morris-- she teaches in Engineering Management.

Good Luck--just do what the bootcamp tells you, work those problems until the calculator wears out-- you will not wear out the calculator, however, you will know the problems every which way from

Sunday.

 

[CU07]

You are getting a bit of conflicting information about what references you need to take the PE exam. If you're looking to practice in Florida, you should read the board website to make sure you will be eligible: http://www.fbpe.org/licensure/application-process

Florida requires 4 years of experience (3 if your graduate degree is ABET-accredited). As Wildsoldier PE said, you'll need 3 references from PEs and you need a practicing engineer (does not have to be licensed but you have to explain why your experience should count) to certify your experience.

Other states, such as NY, have different requirements. In NY I only needed my experience verified by an endorser and no references. The endorser does not need to be a PE, but I think it gives the applicant more credibility if he or she is.

 

[solomonb]

State requirements for the practice of professional engineering are different in various states. I think that he is getting good advice, however, as you suggest, some of it may be conflicting!! It conflicts because not all states are congruent with each other! Not sure why all states aer different, however, they are!

 

[RUIndustrial]

As a newly minted IE PE, I can honestly say that completing the paperwork to sit for the exam is nearly as difficult as the exam itself. After working for 10 years as an IE, I had never encountered a PE nor were any of the professors at my affiliated university licensed. Furthermore in my home state of NJ, there is the experience requirement under a licensed engineer. Fortunately there are several states (NY, VT and PR) that do not require the experience be obtained under a licensed engineer though they do require that 3 licensed engineers provided reference to your character and competency. Fortunately I was able to find 3 licensed engineers through networking. It helped that one of my students was an Electrical PE.

But honestly you should go for it. We industrial engineers are engineers. By becoming licensed it reminds the greater engineering community that we do exist!