justin-hawaii
Justin PE
We are not affiliated with NCEES, so we don't have any information besides the outline. We (along with Engineer Boards) also do not condone the sharing of the contents of the actual exam. So I can't say for 100% confidence that I know what the exam will test you on. However, we do have a method that we feel gives us the best chance in preparing everyone for the PE exam.
The Engineering Pro Guides products were produced by researching all the topics in the NCEES outline and then determining the concepts and skills that we felt were key to passing the exam. We used a four part criteria to make this determination, for more information see the end of this post. We also are constantly improving the products. For example, when we heard that our products were lacking in Protection, Power Electronics & Devices and Rotating Machines, then we added more problems to combat this deficiency. I know there is always room to improve, but I do feel confident that through the 3 products, the free cheat sheets and the recommended references that you have everything you need to pass the exam.
I also need to clarify that the technical study guide covers skills and concepts that we felt were best taught through a textbook method. The full exam and references exam teach other concepts and skills that we felt were best taught by doing exam problems. There is some overlap between the three products, but you can't complete the full exam, simply by looking at the technical study guide. There are new concepts and skills in the full exam that are not shown in the technical study guide.
Product Development 4 Part Criteria
(1) First, the concept and skill must be commonly encountered in the Power Engineering field.
(2) Second, the skill and concept must be testable in roughly 6 minutes per problem. There are (40) questions on the morning exam and you will be provided with 4 hours to complete the exam. The same is true for the afternoon portion of the exam. This results in an average of 6 minutes per problem. This criterion limits the complexity of the exam problems and the resulting solutions. For example, power flow calculations are common in the Power Engineering field, but the calculation is often very lengthy because of the number of steps involved, especially if the circuit is complex. Thus, the exam should use simple circuits and the math required to solve the problems should also very simple.
(3) Third, the key concepts and skills must be used or be known by practicing electrical engineers in the Power field. This criterion is similar to the first criterion. However, this criterion filters the concepts and skills further by limiting the field to material encountered and used by practicing engineers. The Power Engineering field is vast and there are many different avenues an engineer can take. Two diverging paths are those engineers involved in research and those who practice. Research engineers are pushing the boundaries of the field and are highly focused in their specific area of the field. The Professional Engineering Exam does not cover emerging technologies or highly focused material.
(4) The PE Exam must test the principle or application of the skill and concept and not the background knowledge of the topic or concept. The exam also does not cover background information on the NCEES topics. The PE Exam is meant to prove that the test taker is minimally competent to practice in the Electrical Engineering field. The exam is less concerned with theory and more with the principle or application of the theory, skill or concept. For example, the PE Exam is less concerned with the theory of thyristors or magnetic flux and more with the performance of a rectifying circuit and the voltage output of a transformer.
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