re: Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Testing - Questions

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I do not understand these people.

We have engineers in our office that have been working for 15 years and still have never taken the PE and it would greatly improve their career if they did.

Why people obtain engineering degrees and do not get their license is beyond me.

Sorry for the rant.

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Many people are involved in Process/Industrial work which for the most part requires no licensure.

I have mine and I'm glad I have it but I wouldn't consider it a game changer.

Most guys may get a small bump in salary, but your PE certificate doesn't come with a huge check in my experience.

ETA:

As far as the OP's question. When I took the FE the NCEES sample test book was a very good representation of what to expect in the exam. I would start there and use a review manual. As I recall I had trouble finishing one of the sessions and ran out of time. If you can't quickly get a solution move on as you may miss out on much simpler (and quicker) questions later in the test booklet.

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No way I would promote you to a PM without the license

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I was immediately hired as a PM.

Any benefit to taking the FE if you have no plans to become a PE? Is it worth taking it just as a resume booster? My current field doesnt require or really care about it but thinking of making a change to PM type roles in Industrial construction industry.

Keep in mind when you're studying to use a scientific calculator. Don't be that guy trying to remember how it works the day of the test.

at UNO, students are required to attempt the FE and pass their practice test in order to graduate.

its part of their "Senior Seminar" class.

I agree with taking a refresher course. Do you work under a PE? A FE isn't going to do much good if you aren't working under a PE to be able to qualify for the PE exam.

I'm in a similar situation for my surveying exam. I took my LSIT back in 97 but only worked under a professional land surveyor for 1 year before we started subcontracting out all of our survey work. I took a new job in 2010 and I am working under a PE/PLS. I do all the survey work here and now I meet the requirements to take the PLS if I want. I am going to be taking my International Facility Managers Certification Exam in June/July and I am strongly considering going ahead and starting to study for the PLS afterwards. The guy I work for is probably going to be retiring in the next year or two, so I need to go ahead and do it.

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A FE isn't going to do much good if you aren't working under a PE to be able to qualify for the PE exam.

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I know guys that did freelance work and were able to take the PE. They did the work for companies who contracted them and they had PE's sign off on the final design. He just got them and other engineers he knew with PE's to sign off for him. If you do any type of actual engineering work, you work with someone with a PE. Maybe not under them, but you can find a way for them to sign. I don't work under a PE, but there are people I know who said all it would take is them calling my manager to understand what I do on a daily basis and they'd be willing to set me up.

I have no interest in studying for it now that I'm full on in operations, but I know there is an avenue available even though I have never worked under a PE.

Honestly, with the electronic format nowadays, I would hardly bother studying for the FE exam. As long as your math skills are still decent, you'll do fine.

With the electronic test, the reference manual is a searchable PDF and so if you get asked about some equation you can't remember you can literally search for keywords from the problem statement and find the exact equation needed. Then it's just plug and chug.