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Posted on 6/25/25 at 2:42 pm to freshtigerbait
I passed the FE studying 2 hours before the test. They legit gave you material to help you during the test. 
Posted on 6/25/25 at 3:57 pm to dj30
Another EE PE checking in.
Took the FE senior year, didn't prepare at all, and thought that it was very easy. I'm sure that I didn't get every question right, but there wasn't a single one that I was clueless on.
Took PE 4 years after graduation. Procrastinated/struggled studying until a week before the test. Took that week off of work, spent every waking hour cramming, and passed on the first try. I thought that it was quite a bit more difficult than the FE, and wasn't terribly confident that I had passed. My work experience barely helped, and I think that it would have been easier taking the PE as soon as possible after college instead of waiting to get the 4 years experience.
I have to say that when I found out that I passed, I was MUCH more excited about not having to take the test again than I was about officially becoming a pro. I'm in MEP (which is one of the few electrical fields where the PE actually matters) and the associated raise for passing was kind of meh. Any company worth a shite isn't going to let a fresh PE with 4 years of experience start stamping drawings for expensive projects, so the mediocre raise makes sense. I'm right around 10 years experience and still haven't stamped anything, as the small company I work for doesn't want to pay the extra liability insurance (and also because I'm retarded and bad at what I do).
Took the FE senior year, didn't prepare at all, and thought that it was very easy. I'm sure that I didn't get every question right, but there wasn't a single one that I was clueless on.
Took PE 4 years after graduation. Procrastinated/struggled studying until a week before the test. Took that week off of work, spent every waking hour cramming, and passed on the first try. I thought that it was quite a bit more difficult than the FE, and wasn't terribly confident that I had passed. My work experience barely helped, and I think that it would have been easier taking the PE as soon as possible after college instead of waiting to get the 4 years experience.
I have to say that when I found out that I passed, I was MUCH more excited about not having to take the test again than I was about officially becoming a pro. I'm in MEP (which is one of the few electrical fields where the PE actually matters) and the associated raise for passing was kind of meh. Any company worth a shite isn't going to let a fresh PE with 4 years of experience start stamping drawings for expensive projects, so the mediocre raise makes sense. I'm right around 10 years experience and still haven't stamped anything, as the small company I work for doesn't want to pay the extra liability insurance (and also because I'm retarded and bad at what I do).
Posted on 6/25/25 at 5:58 pm to jamiegla1
I found the exact opposite. I didn't even study for the FE.
The morning session of the PE was a breeze. The afternoon whipped my butt.
The morning session of the PE was a breeze. The afternoon whipped my butt.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 6:57 pm to freshtigerbait
Go to india and be a workshare coordinator. No need to take the PE.
Signed,
All Houston EPCs
Signed,
All Houston EPCs
Posted on 6/25/25 at 7:01 pm to NYNolaguy1
quote:
I keep hearing rumors the industry is going to move to requiring the SE exam for structurals working over a certain height building- NY is leaning in that direction. The SE is beyond brutal though, last I checked it had like a 20% pass rate, and it's 16 hours of fun.
Non-SE states have been talking about this for years. It will be hard to pass unless current structural PE's are grandfathered in.
Passed my SE exams first time!
Posted on 6/25/25 at 7:59 pm to NYNolaguy1
quote:I thought that was the point of the SE from the getgo. I've heard talks of USACE requiring SEs. But that's just rumors. It would hurt the consulting world. Most SEs are building designers as the SE is mostly geared towards that. Nothing the SE tests would be relevant to USACE structures.
keep hearing rumors the industry is going to move to requiring the SE exam for structurals working over a certain height building- NY is leaning in that direction.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 8:02 pm to freshtigerbait
I took the EIT my senior year. Like the ACT or SAT back then, there wasn’t much prep. You could bring reference material but mostly you either knew your stuff or you didn’t. I found reference material more of a hindrance and wasted time. I never took the PE for my discipline but my civil engineering friends at the time said PE was much easier. I would say it also depends on your actual experience. Large company where projects are divide and conquer or smaller companies where you are a jack of all trades. Worked in both scenarios, hours are longer but you will learn more in a small company.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 9:23 pm to meltingman
quote:
Passed my SE exams first time!
Posted on 6/25/25 at 9:25 pm to CarRamrod
quote:
thought that was the point of the SE from the getgo. I've heard talks of USACE requiring SEs. But that's just rumors. It would hurt the consulting world. Most SEs are building designers as the SE is mostly geared towards that. Nothing the SE tests would be relevant to USACE structures.
Flood structures I can't comment and don't have much experience, but the military construction side of USACE just requires a licensed PE for their structures, and not necessarily in any particular state.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 9:46 pm to theliontamer
quote:
The PE exam is harder than the FE. Not sure who would say the FE is more difficult.
I thought the FE was more difficult than PE. This is most likely due to a completely different career path than 99% of engineers since I spent 5 years in the Army as an artillery officer after graduation. I didn't really prepare much for the FE exam and somehow passed it.
However, taking the PE exam 10+ years later I had to basically relearn everything and prepped for almost a year before taking the exam. I found the sample questions in the "guide" book were significantly more difficult than the actual test.
Good luck!
Posted on 6/25/25 at 9:55 pm to freshtigerbait
I took the PE exam almost 20 years ago. It was super easy. I am pretty sure I could pass now without much effort to study.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 10:38 pm to NYNolaguy1
quote:thats how Post Katrina was. Just a PE from any state. But anything past that we have had to get the state we are working in. I think it's a grey area but if the licencing boards get upset about them building something in that state and they aren't licensed in that state ... Could cause some friction.
Flood structures I can't comment and don't have much experience, but the military construction side of USACE just requires a licensed PE for their structures, and not necessarily in any particular state.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 10:50 pm to jamiegla1
quote:
FE was much harder (ChE). The PE was a breeze
Did you benefit in any way from getting either?
ChE here as well (didn’t take either one) and definitely a lot less ChE take either compared to say Civil for sure.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 10:53 pm to captainpodnuh
quote:
Graduated 1996. Took PE in 2002. FE was a breeze at end of Sr year. PE for ChE was tough. Passed on 2nd try. Once the letter with the P comes, you never really think about it ever again
Did you benefit in any way from getting either?
ChE here as well (didn’t take either one) and definitely a lot less ChE take either compared to say Civil for sure.
Posted on 6/25/25 at 11:28 pm to freshtigerbait
FE was easy AF.
Take it your junior year of college and if you need to retake it, you’re still in college
People who wait 5-10 years after graduating to take it are fools.
Take it your junior year of college and if you need to retake it, you’re still in college
People who wait 5-10 years after graduating to take it are fools.
This post was edited on 6/25/25 at 11:36 pm
Posted on 6/26/25 at 8:56 am to armytiger96
quote:
I thought the FE was more difficult than PE.
quote:
I didn't really prepare much for the FE exam and somehow passed it.
quote:
However, taking the PE exam 10+ years later I had to basically relearn everything and prepped for almost a year before taking the exam.
So you didn't prepare at all and passed the "harder test", and you prepared for almost a year for the "easier test". Got it.
The notion that the FE is harder than the PE is just silly. Be real. There are no medals being given out for claiming the PE was easier for you. Any test that requires "almost a year of preparing" is not easier than a FUNDEMENTALS test. Why would they make you pass the "harder test" (FE) in order to take the "easier test" after?
This post was edited on 6/26/25 at 9:00 am
Posted on 6/26/25 at 10:20 am to GeismarGeauxer
quote:
Did you benefit in any way from getting either?
ChE here as well (didn’t take either one) and definitely a lot less ChE take either compared to say Civil for sure
i wont know until i need it. Ive worked in plants my entire career but if something ever happened and i got laid off, or just got tired of the plants, i could fall back on a contract job that "requires" a PE
Posted on 6/26/25 at 12:11 pm to ThreeYYYz
quote:
So you didn't prepare at all and passed the "harder test", and you prepared for almost a year for the "easier test". Got it. The notion that the FE is harder than the PE is just silly. Be real. There are no medals being given out for claiming the PE was easier for you. Any test that requires "almost a year of preparing" is not easier than a FUNDEMENTALS test. Why would they make you pass the "harder test" (FE) in order to take the "easier test" after?
I'm an EV Engineer that was in one of if not the first EV Engineering programs in the country. Care to guess which discipline wasn't represented on the FE exam in 1996? I'm not sure how it works now but back then the FE exam wasn't discipline specific. The morning session covered all disciplines and the afternoon session they had several discipline specific multi-step problems and you selected two maybe three problems to solve.
When I took the PE exam I was able to take a test that was only EV problems. Again not sure if the format has changed but in 2007 the EV PE exam was 100 short answer multiple choice problems. It was more an exercise in unit management and looking stuff up on charts. The afternoon session didn't have the complex multi step problem that other disciplines had.
Don't get me wrong both tests were difficult. I left both tests thinking I failed them, and I'm still not sure how I passed them. My point with PE exam is that if you dedicate preparation time vs no preparation the exam it will be easier, not easy.
However, I appreciate that you, in true engineering fashion, pointed out that my OPINION about MY EXPERIENCE was wrong.
Posted on 7/2/25 at 7:58 am to Blutarsky
UPDATE:
I passed!!!
I passed!!!
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