Hi from Houston
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Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:
solomonb
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Howdy! We are glad that you are here! Not sure about what kind of help you are seeking, however ,there are many threads here that will give you lots of information-- just read and think about them.
The key to the PE exam is to know your material and know it well. The NCEES site has the unique test specification, i.e, what kinds of subjects and percentage of subjects that are going to be on your test. Study those to see where you need to put your time.
If you have been out of school for a while-- take a refresher course-- there are some on line and some "on the ground"-- a little research here will pay big dividends.
My advise would be to plan on doing this once and being done with it-- you will read lots of posts here that folks take the test 2-3 times to "see" what questions are there and how tough they are--Rubbish. You know how tough they are, they are undergraduate, bachelor's level questions. The test is for "minimal competency" of your engineering discipline. Carefully review the NCEES web site, it tells all you need to know about the process of testing.
Develop a study plan and stick to it--religiously. Some folks just walk in, take the test and pass--some folks study, walk in and take the test and pass. Some folks take the test multiple times, >3 before they pass. With funds as tight as they are right now, plan on doing it once and being done with it. There are many threads here on finding the test site, get a hotel, etc. Read all of them.
I would work as many problems as possible. Did I say work as many problems as possible? Problems, work lots of them, understand what they are seeking in the test-- youi learn this by working many problem sets.
Some jurisdictions allow you to take unlimited reference material with you, some restrict how many books you can take. Check with your state board and know the answer. I took my exam with guys that had grocery carts full of books-- obviously, someone who did not know what he was doing. Depending upon the discipline, there are some key books that are very beneficial to you. A little research here on these boards will pay big dividends as well.
You passed your bachelor's degree, right? You graduated from an ABET accredited program, right? If yes, you can do this. If no, this is not impossible, however, you may have to put some more time and energy into the effort.
I was in my mid 50's and out of school for 25 years before I took the PE exam. Yes, I did take a review course and put in about 20 hours a week for 2 months studying-- I passed the first time.
There is no reason or rationale to sit and stew about the "cut score". It is what it is, knowing it makes no difference because it is different for each examination administration. Your plan should be to have 100% as your cut score-- then, there is no worries about anything less. This is a pass/fail examination-- although some states give you your score, either you pass or you fail. No distinction is made on your license if you scored a 71 or a 99--- you are a registered professional engineer in the state in which you took the examination. Also recall that just because you passed the PE examination, no big miracle is going to occur. If you were a good engineer before the exam, you are probably a good engineer now. Conversely, if you were a poor engineer, the PE is not going to make up for intellectual deficiencies that you may possess!
You can obviously do this. There are a hell of lot dumber engineers than you and they passed, so can you. This is kind of a little mental trick, however, it does work.
Study hard, work problems, don't be afraid to ask questions here-- after researching the many threads that are here-- you will do just fine.
The key to the PE exam is to know your material and know it well. The NCEES site has the unique test specification, i.e, what kinds of subjects and percentage of subjects that are going to be on your test. Study those to see where you need to put your time.
If you have been out of school for a while-- take a refresher course-- there are some on line and some "on the ground"-- a little research here will pay big dividends.
My advise would be to plan on doing this once and being done with it-- you will read lots of posts here that folks take the test 2-3 times to "see" what questions are there and how tough they are--Rubbish. You know how tough they are, they are undergraduate, bachelor's level questions. The test is for "minimal competency" of your engineering discipline. Carefully review the NCEES web site, it tells all you need to know about the process of testing.
Develop a study plan and stick to it--religiously. Some folks just walk in, take the test and pass--some folks study, walk in and take the test and pass. Some folks take the test multiple times, >3 before they pass. With funds as tight as they are right now, plan on doing it once and being done with it. There are many threads here on finding the test site, get a hotel, etc. Read all of them.
I would work as many problems as possible. Did I say work as many problems as possible? Problems, work lots of them, understand what they are seeking in the test-- youi learn this by working many problem sets.
Some jurisdictions allow you to take unlimited reference material with you, some restrict how many books you can take. Check with your state board and know the answer. I took my exam with guys that had grocery carts full of books-- obviously, someone who did not know what he was doing. Depending upon the discipline, there are some key books that are very beneficial to you. A little research here on these boards will pay big dividends as well.
You passed your bachelor's degree, right? You graduated from an ABET accredited program, right? If yes, you can do this. If no, this is not impossible, however, you may have to put some more time and energy into the effort.
I was in my mid 50's and out of school for 25 years before I took the PE exam. Yes, I did take a review course and put in about 20 hours a week for 2 months studying-- I passed the first time.
There is no reason or rationale to sit and stew about the "cut score". It is what it is, knowing it makes no difference because it is different for each examination administration. Your plan should be to have 100% as your cut score-- then, there is no worries about anything less. This is a pass/fail examination-- although some states give you your score, either you pass or you fail. No distinction is made on your license if you scored a 71 or a 99--- you are a registered professional engineer in the state in which you took the examination. Also recall that just because you passed the PE examination, no big miracle is going to occur. If you were a good engineer before the exam, you are probably a good engineer now. Conversely, if you were a poor engineer, the PE is not going to make up for intellectual deficiencies that you may possess!
You can obviously do this. There are a hell of lot dumber engineers than you and they passed, so can you. This is kind of a little mental trick, however, it does work.
Study hard, work problems, don't be afraid to ask questions here-- after researching the many threads that are here-- you will do just fine.
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