Reasonable Time Frame?

[just1nh]

Hello,

I'm trying to put together a plan to tackle this thing.

-I've at least touched base on all the major subjects on the exam in school.  I've been out of school for 3 years.

-A lot of my studying will be review, however I will also have many areas where I will have to learn new concepts completely (not covered in my program)

-I'm currently using Lindeburg's manual and the free trial of Prepineer and use Khan Academy on the side.  Suggestions?  I'm not necessarily set on these.

-I work full-time as a Mechanical Engineer (HVAC and Plumbing) 42-45 hours/week.  No kids and not married so decent amount of free time.

What's a reasonable amount of time to study?  I was thinking 6 months but maybe I'm off.  Any and all tips/suggestions appreciated.

Thanks!

Justin

 

[just1nh]

Forgot to mention - I will be taking the "Other Disciplines" exam.

 

[TWJ PE]

How do you feel about the material you are reviewing?

If you feel good, I would recommend NCEES FE Practice Exam in your discipline to gauge where you stand (it's like $40 - well worth it).

If you come out successful on the practice exam, I would suggest making sure you have your calculator down and an understanding where to locate key information in the FE manual.

After that, sign up for the exam. I would say 6 months is the max if you are comfortable with the material.

 

[Def]

Out of school for 3 years and still doing engineering work regularly? I'd say anywhere from 10-80 hours of study time should be sufficient. I also second the suggestion to do a little studying, then take the NCEES FE practice test, it's a good indicator of your preparedness.

The FE reference manual is really good, and will contain 99.9% of the stuff you need to answer the questions on the test. The rest is basic engineering knowledge that you should have a good handle on after 3 years of work experience over a new grad.

My personal expeirence is I was out of school for over 10 years, and ended up studying about 1.5 months due to a wait to take the exam (don't assume you can take it in the next week or two as I did!!! It was a 1 month waiting list for me to take it during a time that worked for my work schedule, around 3 weeks if I were really flexible). I easily passed it, and I really didn't need the last ~2-3 weeks of studying. 

 

[snickerd3]

Forgot to mention - I will be taking the "Other Disciplines" exam.

why?  The fe exams are now tailored to the different types...if not really related it isn't included anymore...so no more chemistry for most people.  The other disciplines is really for those with education/skill set not of the separate types.  you will probably have to study more for the other disciplines than the mechanical.  

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

I took the FE back when it was paper and pencil and I took it right before graduation or right after (it was darn close and who can remember or cares).  I think I studied for about 1 month, and considering that I was so burned out on school at the time, I doubt I put much effort into anything more than electrical, which I knew was a weak point.  I passed first try.  Has the test gotten significantly harder?  My engineering school boasted a 97% first time pass rate for its grads.  No idea if that was right or not but I didn't find it to be too hard a test... just long.

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

6 months study time seems excessive. Back in paper and pencil days, 4 months was about all anyone put in.

 

[matt267 PE]

Not all. Some went overboard.

 

[P-E]

Not all. Some went overboard.

Thought most of that time was spent here.

 

[matt267 PE]

Thought most of that time was spent here.

Yes, there was a lot of spam quality time here.

I found the best way to determine if I was ready for the real thing was to take practice exams (this was true for both the EIT and PE). I saw my scores improve with each practice so I knew I was making progress. I didn't get too caught up on how long I was studying or how many hours I put in. I was more concerned with quality not quantity of hours. 

 

[just1nh]

Thanks for the input everyone.  I'm going to finish reviewing each subject in the study manual, take a practice exam and evaluate where I am at that point.

 

[just1nh]

Failed first attempt. I didn't manage my study time very well, and didn't take the NCEES practice exam until the night before the exam.  I didn't do nearly enough practice problems.  I made it through the entire Lindeburg book and the Lindeburg practice problems book but didn't really quiz myself or go back through them to test if I was retaining it.  I think at this point I have a decent grasp of all the concepts.  I even did well in areas I didn't expect like Chem and Materials Science, but bombed the some areas I was banking on, like ethics, econ, and safety, and statistics.  

For round 2 I'm just going to grind out practice problems, focus on what equations to use and where to find them, and take more practice exams to gauge preparedness.