No Studying

[VAPSU]

The first time I took structural 1 I didn't study, and failed with a 69%...so although I did come close to passing didn't quite make it. Although I did leave thinking the test was a lot easier than I had heard...obviously I missed some things while taking it!

It's funny how after that I studied more than I think I ever had in my life, I found structural 1 a LOT harder than I did the first time around without studying, and not just because my calculator broke! It actually seemed to be a lot more difficult the second time around.

I did pass the FE without studying...so perhaps I'm just really good at guessing the right answer!

 

[atran]

I took the CA Civil PE exam with Structural PM this past Oct 2010. There were complications with my application process with NCEES and the state board so I didn't find out until the Monday of the week of the exam that I could take the CA seismic and surveying exams. The 8-hour I knew I could take so I spent about a month part time, surveying I only had 3 days, and no studying for seismic at all. I was able to pass all three. I think the seismic and surveying is doable without studying if you had taken courses on it recently. I took a lot of seismic courses in school so it wasn't as difficult. Surveying never took a course or cracked opened a book until that Monday of the exam. If I was informed earlier, you bet I would have spent more time on it, but since I had no choice and luckily was able to pull it off anyways I am sure some people may be able to do it with no studying whatsoever.

 

[willsee]

Maybe it's because in Power I only had one class and 95% of my job doesn't pertain to what is on the exam so I couldn't see passing without studying.

 

[Sharon]

HiHas anyone ever heard of anyone passing the exam with no studying?

just curious

I haven't. That's a pretty tall order.

 

[crashz]

I spent approximately 150 hrs studying for the April 2010 PE exam and failed the afternoon portion. Spent another 200 hours strictly solving problems and passed in October. I spent most of 2010 agonizing over this test in form or another. Glad its over!

On the other hand I walked in to the FE, hung over and with no studying, and passed.

 

[MA_PE]

HiHas anyone ever heard of anyone passing the exam with no studying?

just curious

My boss likes to tell the story of how (~30+ years ago) he applied for the PE assuming he had missed the dealine for the next sitting (less than a month away) when he got notification that he was registered for the test. He crammed (so I guess you can't say "no studying") but because of time did not get much studying in. He passed. He always says he was very grateful because he was planning on doing some intense studying to prepare for the test.

 

[Sharon]

Personally, I think there is a lot of value in the exercize of studying for the PE exam. The studying itself, not just passing the exam. For many of us, the exam comes later in a career, when re-learning this stuff (or learning for the first time) can make for a re-invigoration of your career. Maybe The Civil transportation exam is narrow enough that, if you work in that field, you aren't learning anything new by studying for it. For the enviro field, studying forced me to learn several subjects that I never had a chance to work on in my professional career. After the exam, I was able to volunteer for many additional tasks in these related subjects that I would have avoided before (air pollution modeling, chemistry, hydrogeology, etc.).
I know that passing the PE is a goal in itself, and for some people who are completely satisfied with their jobs, they may never need any additional skills. These people may be able to strategize a way to pass the exam, more so than learn the material. Personally, I'd rather be working with (and hiring) the types of people who want to learn new material, and not just do the bare minimum to get by.

Still, more power to those who were able to pass without studying, or with very little studying. Everyone is different.

I agree!!!

 

[Asha]

Maybe it's because in Power I only had one class and 95% of my job doesn't pertain to what is on the exam so I couldn't see passing without studying.

Ditto. I couldn't imagine passing the Power exam without studying.

 

[Pac73]

I guess this topic is not for me!!

I studied for 6 months before my FE in Oct. 2009. I had been out of school for 13 years and that was in another country (Cuba) so I was not sure how different experience it will be. I did all my preparations alone and was very happy to find out that my math and physics basis were strong. I felt very confident during and after the exam. Passed.

I guess that if you take this exam immediately after (or during) school you could pass without too much studying. Not the case if you wait a few years, too many subjects to forget!.

For the PE I took Mech. / HVAC even tough I work as Fire Protection (sprinkler) Designer, my first 6 years were as HVAC Designer. I studied for 5 months before Oct. 2010 and passed. That exam took a lot of calculations and work. I guess you could pass it without studying but it will take a lot of luck!.

Besides the feeling of seeing how you improve as an engineer during the process of solving problems a lot of times outside your comfort zone is very regarding and at the end I feel today more confident and I really appreciate all the effort put into my PE title.

Now it was very time consuming and my family and friends will agree with me on that!

So if you want to try a shortcut y take the exam just to feel the terrain and surprisingly pass, well then Congratulations to you!

 

[Elecon]

I studied seriously for approximately two days....mostly reveviewing my references and NEC tabs (most important thing I did was to tab all chapters and tables with plastic stick-ons available at Staples. However, my educational background is Power Engineering and I work in Power field that helped me a lot. Its a miracle that everything juct clicked in my head during exam. I was worried till the results came out but thank god, it is over. Knowing NEC gave me a lot of confidence.

 

[fccecc]

Wow reading this post reminds me of ppl getting MD. Maybe it is time now NCEES should follow the same exam standard for medical doctors. With countless of exams within months during residence, not just two FE/PE exams. The passing score should be 98% or above. Not 55% for FE/PE. Is engineer all C or D student nowadays? The minimum educatation requirement should be master or Phd in real engineering degrees (civil, mech, chem, etc.). Not some BS majors like construction management, Eng Tech or Arch Eng.

Thats why PE in the U.S is much less respected compare to Euro countries such as England. And I would never suspect my family doctor will guess his way to get the MD without studies. If you ever wonder why most PE with 10+ yrs of experience and only making $100k/yr or less. Instead of $250k/yr + for a rookie MD. Ask yourself why they will let u pass so easily without study, engineering experience, knowledge and traditional engineering education background.

 

[Sandman VA]

Wow reading this post reminds me of ppl getting MD. Maybe it is time now NCEES should follow the same exam standard for medical doctors. With countless of exams within months during residence, not just two FE/PE exams. The passing score should be 98% or above. Not 55% for FE/PE. Is engineer all C or D student nowadays? The minimum educatation requirement should be master or Phd in real engineering degrees (civil, mech, chem, etc.). Not some BS majors like construction management, Eng Tech or Arch Eng. Thats why PE in the U.S is much less respected compare to Euro countries such as England. And I would never suspect my family doctor will guess his way to get the MD without studies. If you ever wonder why most PE with 10+ yrs of experience and only making $100k/yr or less. Instead of $250k/yr + for a rookie MD. Ask yourself why they will let u pass so easily without study, engineering experience, knowledge and traditional engineering education background.

Why are you slamming the engineering field? Are you not an engineer, because if you are an MD, why are you on this site? I don't think anybody has argued that an engineer is smarter than a doctor. Whether somebody has what you call a real engineering degree (civil, mech, etc.), does not in itself make them a better or smarter engineer. The fact that they even have a degree doesn't make them better. I've known plenty of degreed engineers, from good schools, who have had difficulty passing the PE test. I have also known those without a degree at all to pass the test. Some people are just smarter than others, plan and simple. Some smart people test well, some don't. Also, where do your facts come from? There have been many people posting that they got well over 60% of the PE test questions right and still failed, where did your 55% come from. You think MD's haven't guessed their way, guess again!

Your post would seem to indicate that you believe that engineering is an exact science. The reality is that many principles used in engineering are still only a theory, ones that have been faithful and have worked, but a theory nevertheless. Do you feel an MD is all knowing? People die every single day at the hands of MD's who don't know what they are doing.

The truth is that passing a test and obtaining a license (whether is be an engineer or a doctor) may allow you legally to practice within your field, but doesn't mean you will do it better than the next guy. Oh, and yes, I have a real engineering degree from a real school and have been able to pass any test every thrown at me. I am an engineer by choice, I have no desire to be an MD, if so, I would pass their tests as well.

 

[teammike]

Wow reading this post reminds me of ppl getting MD. Maybe it is time now NCEES should follow the same exam standard for medical doctors. With countless of exams within months during residence, not just two FE/PE exams. The passing score should be 98% or above. Not 55% for FE/PE. Is engineer all C or D student nowadays? The minimum educatation requirement should be master or Phd in real engineering degrees (civil, mech, chem, etc.). Not some BS majors like construction management, Eng Tech or Arch Eng. Thats why PE in the U.S is much less respected compare to Euro countries such as England. And I would never suspect my family doctor will guess his way to get the MD without studies. If you ever wonder why most PE with 10+ yrs of experience and only making $100k/yr or less. Instead of $250k/yr + for a rookie MD. Ask yourself why they will let u pass so easily without study, engineering experience, knowledge and traditional engineering education background.

I love delusional people who spout off without any knowledge of what they're talking about...Show me someone who would pass at 98%. And you'd be very surprised what it took for your family dr to pass. I have several friends that are in med school or finishing up their residencies.

 

[CbusPaul]

Do you know what they call the person who finishes with the lowest score on their med school exams?

 

[DynaMechEng]

Do you know what they call the person who finishes with the lowest score on their med school exams?

That depends on whether or not they PASS.

 

[jlwjbw]

Wow reading this post reminds me of ppl getting MD. Maybe it is time now NCEES should follow the same exam standard for medical doctors. With countless of exams within months during residence, not just two FE/PE exams. The passing score should be 98% or above. Not 55% for FE/PE. Is engineer all C or D student nowadays? The minimum educatation requirement should be master or Phd in real engineering degrees (civil, mech, chem, etc.). Not some BS majors like construction management, Eng Tech or Arch Eng. Thats why PE in the U.S is much less respected compare to Euro countries such as England. And I would never suspect my family doctor will guess his way to get the MD without studies. If you ever wonder why most PE with 10+ yrs of experience and only making $100k/yr or less. Instead of $250k/yr + for a rookie MD. Ask yourself why they will let u pass so easily without study, engineering experience, knowledge and traditional engineering education background.

I think I know what your problem is here. You went the route of continuing your education and got your graduate degree and you want to limit the number of available engineers by requiring graduate degrees for all licensed engineers. By limiting the available engineers, you then can demand a higher salary. The reality is that you have just reailized that you wasted your money on that additional education and you see other engineers with BS degrees around you that have the same job and get paid the same or more than you. Maybe a BS degree engineer is your boss and you cant stand it.

My degree is a BS in Civil Engineering Tech and in your world I would have to be a CAD tech. Fact is though, I passed the FE exam in Oct 09 and the PE in Oct 10. And yet there were graduate degree students that failed it. What does that mean to you?

There is one major difference in the Engineering degree and the Engineering Tech degree. One emphasizes on theory and one emphasizes on application. If I was going into the field of researh and development i would probably need that straight engineering degree. But my job as a civil engineer focuses on the appliaction on proven methods.

I worked with two civil engineers in the past that had their Phd in civil engineering. They were fired soon after being hired because they couldn't do any basic design. So much for that advanced degree.

 

[Dexman PE]

Back on topic, i think the important point is that the amount and type of studying really depends on the individual. Im not going to say that everyone should study for 400+ hours, nor should they not study at all. We all know what kind of test-takers we are and we need to structure our preparation accordingly.

I remember studying for the exam and reading about all the other PE studyers doing hundreds upon hundreds of practice problems. I went through the NCEES practice exam twice and that was all the practice problems i did, i still have never seen a copy of 6minute solutions in person. I saw the libraries some of the other test takers brought with them to the exam. I only had a bankers box and ended up needing 3 books.

During the exam i saw some people with the look of pure terror and confusion, while others looked so comfortable it appeared they were doing a crossword puzzle in the park.

Ive seen people study for 300 hours and fail and others tab a couple references and pass. It all boils down to the individual; their experience, their ability and comfort levels for test-taking, their ability to retain critical information (read it once vs 100 practice problems).

Only you know what you need.

 

[VAPSU]

Wow reading this post reminds me of ppl getting MD. Maybe it is time now NCEES should follow the same exam standard for medical doctors. With countless of exams within months during residence, not just two FE/PE exams. The passing score should be 98% or above. Not 55% for FE/PE. Is engineer all C or D student nowadays? The minimum educatation requirement should be master or Phd in real engineering degrees (civil, mech, chem, etc.). Not some BS majors like construction management, Eng Tech or Arch Eng. Thats why PE in the U.S is much less respected compare to Euro countries such as England. And I would never suspect my family doctor will guess his way to get the MD without studies. If you ever wonder why most PE with 10+ yrs of experience and only making $100k/yr or less. Instead of $250k/yr + for a rookie MD. Ask yourself why they will let u pass so easily without study, engineering experience, knowledge and traditional engineering education background.

Wow...you really shouldn't talk about stuff you don't know anything about. You think AE is a BS major? I'm sorry, but it was ranked the hardest engineering major at the college I went to and ranked the 2nd hardest major in the entire college. In fact, the people who couldn't handle it went into civil and the other "real" engineering because the requirements for AE were so strick (ie had to be about a 3.5 gpa for the first two years to be allowed to stay in). Show me another major in which you graduate college knowing essentially three major fields of engineering (structural, mechanical, and electrical) and have to do a thesis just to get an undergraduate degree.

Even the companies I've worked for now will only hire people from AE programs now since they have been so impressed with the abilities of an AE graduate straight from college. I really hope you're not an engineer because an ignorant engineer is a terrifying thing.

 

[navyasw02]

Wow reading this post reminds me of ppl getting MD. Maybe it is time now NCEES should follow the same exam standard for medical doctors. With countless of exams within months during residence, not just two FE/PE exams. The passing score should be 98% or above. Not 55% for FE/PE. Is engineer all C or D student nowadays? The minimum educatation requirement should be master or Phd in real engineering degrees (civil, mech, chem, etc.). Not some BS majors like construction management, Eng Tech or Arch Eng. Thats why PE in the U.S is much less respected compare to Euro countries such as England. And I would never suspect my family doctor will guess his way to get the MD without studies. If you ever wonder why most PE with 10+ yrs of experience and only making $100k/yr or less. Instead of $250k/yr + for a rookie MD. Ask yourself why they will let u pass so easily without study, engineering experience, knowledge and traditional engineering education background.

When you walk on water, do your feet get wet?

 

[benbo]

Show me another major in which you graduate college knowing essentially three major fields of engineering (structural, mechanical, and electrical) and have to do a thesis just to get an undergraduate degree.

I've spent a great deal of time on this website defending the AE degree from assaults by a particular idiot. But this statement is absurd. AE majors may know the very basics of these three disciplines, but they certainly do not have the in depth specific knowledge that people with these degrees possess. I'm sure it's a rigorous discipline that has its own requirements and knowledge base, but it is not the same as earning all three degrees in EE, CE, and ME. You could use a little humility yourself IMO.

I don't care how "strick" the admission process is.