Took my 2nd attempt at the MDM PE exam a couple of weeks ago and found out this week that I passed. Joining this forum a few months ago allowed me to get into the right mindset for taking the exam, so thank you to anyone who shared their experience or provided any tips. I do have to say, it's hard to come across anything related to MDM, what's going on guys? lol. Sorry for the long post ahead, just want to share my experience and maybe it'll help make some people more comfortable about taking the exam.
My method for preparing for the exam was very different to anything else I came across online. The best advise I read was that you should study the way that works for you rather than following the general guideline of "you need to study for 3-6 months to pass". You might need more time than that or far less, that is something you need to judge for yourself. I was very unsure about where I stood, I finished my undergrad back in 2017 and had completely forgotten some of the stuff, but I was quite good at the stuff I practice at my job every day. Still, it was uncomfortable to even think about tackling the PE Exam. I went in blind to my first attempt, without studying anything to get a better idea of what I was dealing with and where I stood. I had no pressure since I was already expecting to fail but I still gave it a fair attempt and it allowed me to really get a feel for what the exam is like and what to expect. To my surprise, the exam felt easier than what I had anticipated in my mind (after years of hyping how hard the exam would be in my mind). This gave me the confidence and hope to pass the exam in my 2nd attempt. I looked at my diagnostic and realized I messed up on the relatively easier morning session (mainly because I was feeling sick and couldn't focus).
Registered for my 2nd attempt the day I got my results back for the first attempt and only had 1.5 months or so to prep for the 2nd attempt. Unfortunately, got super busy with work and personal life and wasn't able to study till I had about a week left. Studied about 3 hours each day that week, just read through the NCEES Reference manual and looked up anything I was having trouble with. On the weekend I spent about 7 or 8 hours each day and went through the NCEES Practice exam in depth. Really studied each problem and referenced everything in the manual. Took the exam on the following Monday, decided to keep a tally of the questions I was sure I got correct and managed to get exactly 70% that I was sure about. This time around, the exam did feel harder than the first attempt but could've been just the pressure getting to me. There were 4 or 5 questions that I had no idea how to answer or my answers were not even in the ballpark of the options provided.
Started second guessing everything after I got out of the exam and convinced myself I wasn't going to pass after how little time I had spent studying. Was happy to get my results this week and see I passed.
To anyone taking the exam anytime soon, just think of this as another exam, the more stressed out you are the harder it will be imo. Use the reference manual as your guide and get comfort from the engineering experience you might've acquired through the years. The mindset and strategies you have gained at work will help you on the exam more than you might realize, that's what I relied heavily on for my exam.
References Used:
NCEES Reference Manual
NCEES Practice Exam
My method for preparing for the exam was very different to anything else I came across online. The best advise I read was that you should study the way that works for you rather than following the general guideline of "you need to study for 3-6 months to pass". You might need more time than that or far less, that is something you need to judge for yourself. I was very unsure about where I stood, I finished my undergrad back in 2017 and had completely forgotten some of the stuff, but I was quite good at the stuff I practice at my job every day. Still, it was uncomfortable to even think about tackling the PE Exam. I went in blind to my first attempt, without studying anything to get a better idea of what I was dealing with and where I stood. I had no pressure since I was already expecting to fail but I still gave it a fair attempt and it allowed me to really get a feel for what the exam is like and what to expect. To my surprise, the exam felt easier than what I had anticipated in my mind (after years of hyping how hard the exam would be in my mind). This gave me the confidence and hope to pass the exam in my 2nd attempt. I looked at my diagnostic and realized I messed up on the relatively easier morning session (mainly because I was feeling sick and couldn't focus).
Registered for my 2nd attempt the day I got my results back for the first attempt and only had 1.5 months or so to prep for the 2nd attempt. Unfortunately, got super busy with work and personal life and wasn't able to study till I had about a week left. Studied about 3 hours each day that week, just read through the NCEES Reference manual and looked up anything I was having trouble with. On the weekend I spent about 7 or 8 hours each day and went through the NCEES Practice exam in depth. Really studied each problem and referenced everything in the manual. Took the exam on the following Monday, decided to keep a tally of the questions I was sure I got correct and managed to get exactly 70% that I was sure about. This time around, the exam did feel harder than the first attempt but could've been just the pressure getting to me. There were 4 or 5 questions that I had no idea how to answer or my answers were not even in the ballpark of the options provided.
Started second guessing everything after I got out of the exam and convinced myself I wasn't going to pass after how little time I had spent studying. Was happy to get my results this week and see I passed.
To anyone taking the exam anytime soon, just think of this as another exam, the more stressed out you are the harder it will be imo. Use the reference manual as your guide and get comfort from the engineering experience you might've acquired through the years. The mindset and strategies you have gained at work will help you on the exam more than you might realize, that's what I relied heavily on for my exam.
References Used:
NCEES Reference Manual
NCEES Practice Exam
