I was one of the first rounds of students to take the FE on the computer.
What I did for the FE was study for 18 hours spread over 3 days.
I spent 6 hours a day for 3 days studying, took one day off to rest, and took the exam the next day.
My biggest advice for the FE is to be familiar with the manual provided to you during the exam. Know what they call things -- sometimes terms vary based on what professor or textbook you had for a class. Know what variable symbols are used in case they differ from what you are used to seeing.
Since the FE exam is online, you can use Ctrl+F to search the manual for keywords. That is why it is crucial to know any differences in terminology.
Also, look at the list of topics covered on the exam and focus a portion of your study on the topics that are not in the manual. Some topics, like geotech and surveying, require memorization of basic formulas or methods.
If there is a course you haven't taken, don't sweat it too much. Trying to self-teach a whole subject will be stressful and likely counter-productive.
When I took the exam I hadn't had my water and wastewater treatment course yet. I was able to answer at least one of those questions correctly by searching keywords from the question in the manual and finding the correct formula.
One of the best pieces of advice I received besides knowing the manual was to have a strategy on how you approach the exam.
When you get to the end of the first section, the exam will take you to a review screen. The review screen will tell you what questions have been answered, skipped, and flagged.
Below is a description of my strategy to prevent wasting time and not having to guess on questions I could have solved if I'd gotten to them.
- If I knew I could solve the problem in less than a minute or so (so not looking something up in the reference manual), I answered it when I read it.
- If I knew even with a lot of time I would probably not be able to with any confidence get a correct answer, I just made an educated guess and moved on.
- If I knew I could figure the problem out with more time, I flagged it and moved on.
- If I thought I could maybe answer it with a lot of time, I took an educated guess and flagged it.
When I got to the review screen, I started by clicking to jump back to the unanswered questions.
Then I did the unanswered flagged questions.
Last I worked on the answered but still flagged questions.
There is a such thing as studying too much and doing too many practice questions. Base your study on being confident on your review but not to the point that if something that you didn't study comes up it makes you panic. Remember, it's pass fail; you don't have to get a perfect score to show proficiency.
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Heidi Wallace EI,P.E.,M.ASCE
P.E.
Tulsa OK
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-16-2020 01:02 PM
From: Tung Nguyen
Subject: Questions about licensure
Thanks Heidi! Can you give some recommendation for the Civil FE exam too?
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Tung Nguyen, PhD
Washington State University
Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2020 04:34 PM
From: Heidi Wallace
Subject: Questions about licensure
I highly recommend looking into the School of PE prep course. You get to choose your depth area, and the notes from the class were one of my main resources on the exam.
There are options for how you attend the class (live or on-demand), and it really helped me stay on track to study and pass the exam on the first try.
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Heidi Wallace EI,P.E.,M.ASCE
P.E.
Tulsa OK
Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2020 11:22 AM
From: Ricardo Ayala
Subject: Questions about licensure
I am planning to take the PE Civil: Geotechnical. Can anyone share which references/materials/books helped you answer most depth questions?
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Ricardo Ayala EIT, A.M.ASCE
Geotechnical Engineer
AECOM
Roselle Park NJ
Original Message:
Sent: 07-15-2019 10:39 AM
From: Tirza Austin
Subject: Questions about licensure
Preparing for the P.E. can seem like a daunting task. Please use this thread to ask questions you may have about obtaining licensure.
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Tirza Austin
Senior Coordinator, Online Community
American Society of Civil Engineers
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA 20191
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