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Quick Facts about Each PE Exam
Advice from Previous PE Examinees
General questions...
The engineering licensing
process involves two exams. The first is the Fundamentals
of Engineering (FE) exam. As a rule, this exam may be taken when you are
in or recently graduated from college. The Principles and Practice of Engineering
(PE) exam is the second exam, and most states have an requirement of several
(2 to 6) years of full-time work experience before you can take this test. In
most states, if you qualify for the PE exam in terms of experience, you can
take the FE and PE exams in the same adminsitration if you wish.
The FE exam focuses on the material that you would typically be expectd to
learn in an ABET-accredited undergraduate engineering degree. The PE exam may
include questions that only a person with hands-on experience in a specific
discipline would be able to answer. The FE exam in closed-book, but a 200-page
Reference Handbook, consisting mostly of equations, is provided at the exam
site for your use. The PE exams are all open-book, with little restriction on
what materials you may bring (although you should check with your state
board to be sure).
The Group 1 PE exams--Chemical,
Civil, Electrical, Environmental, Mechanical, and Structural I and II--are given
twice a year in most states, in April and October. They are scheduled on the
same date (and always on a Friday) in every state.
April 11, 2008
October 24, 2008
April 24, 2009
October 23, 2009
April 16, 2010
October 29, 2010
April 8, 2011
October 28, 2011
April 13, 2012
October 26, 2012
April 12, 2013
October 25, 2013
April 11, 2014
October 24, 2014
April 17, 2015
October 30, 2015
April 15, 2016
October 28, 2016
Most states offer the Group 2 exams only once a year, in October, except for
the Naval Architecture/Marine Engineering PE and the Architectural PE exams,
which are offered only in April. Check with your state
board to verify which exams are given when.
The application deadline
varies significantly by state, ranging from 45 to more than 180 days
before the exam date. Check with your state
board for the deadline that applies to you. Your board will also provide
information on exam locations.
The basic PE exams are the
same nationwide. These eight-hour tests are written by the NCEES and have been
adopted by all US states and territories. However, some states require PE candidates
to take additional exams in order to gain their license. For example, California
requires civil PE candidates to pass not only the eight-hour PE exam but also
two additional exams (2-1/2 hours each) covering engineering surveying and seismic
principles. Contact
your state board for specific requirements that may affect you.
For the PE exams that have
multiple afternoon modules (civil, electrical, and mechanical), examinees select
which module they want to take during the exam itself. When you receive your
examination booklet, it will contain all the modules. You may look at the questions
for each of the modules before making your choice. It's strongly advisable,
however, to decide on this ahead of time, so you can study accordingly.
The PE exams are open-book.
In most states, there are few limits on the number or type of books that may
be used as references. (See the checklists of useful references for the Civil
PE exam and the Environmental
PE exam.) Some states do not allow collections of solved problems into the
exam.
Most states permit loose-leaf notes and charts as long as they are securely
held in three-ring binders. (Turn your binder upside down and shake it; if nothing
falls out, it's probably OK.) Loose "scratch" or blank paper is NOT allowed.
All states permit calculators.
To be safe, ALWAYS contact
your state board to check what is and is not allowed into the exam, as they
have the final word.
Most states will allow you
to use "permanent" (glued or taped on, not easily removable) tabs on your references.
Some states even allow Post-It ? notes. You must check with your state
board to determine their policy on tabs.
Your calculator must be battery-
or solar-powered, silent, and nonprinting, and it must not have word-processing
capabilities. Ideally, you should bring two calculators of the same model
with you to the exam, in case one fails.
Some states do not allow certain calculator models into the exam, and a few
restrict the use of plug-in ROM cards in calculators. Check Calculator
FAQs for information about your state. You should also contact
your state board to get their official word on the subject.
You must use the mechanical
pencil that will be provided to you by NCEES at the test site. No other pencils
are allowed. The supplied pencils use .7mm lead. You may bring extra lead and
your own eraser.
Nominally, each PE exam uses
units that reflect current practice in that discipline. For example, the Civil
exam uses both SI and USCS units. The Mechanical exam uses only USCS units.
Units for each exam are listed in
this table.
Steel yourself to having
to select answers that are not exact matches for the solution you have calculated.
On the PE exams, you will see many questions that ask you to complete the sentence,
"The correct value is most nearly..." It can be troubling to choose an answer
when you don't find an exact match for the value you calculated.
Here's how NCEES advises how examinees to deal with this situation:
"Many of the questions on NCEES exams require calculations to arrive at a numerical answer.
Depending on the method of calculation used, it is very possible that examinees working
correctly will arrive at a range of answers. The phrase 'most nearly' is used to accommodate
all these answers that have been derived correctly but which may be slightly different from the
correct answer choice given on the exam. You should use good engineering judgment when
selecting your choice of answer. For example, if the question asks you to calculate an
electrical current or determine the load on a beam, you should literally select the answer
option that is most nearly what you calculated, regardless of whether it is more or less than
your calculated value. However, if the question asks you to select a fuse or circuit breaker to
protect against a calculated current or to size a beam to carry a load, you should select an
answer option that will safely carry the current or load. Typically, this requires selecting a value
that is closest to but larger than the current or load."
Here's an example (it's from the civil discipline, but the same principles
apply for all fields). Suppose you are asked to calculate "most nearly" the
volumetric pure water flow required to dilute a contaminated stream to a specific
concentration. Suppose also that you calculated the answer to be 823 gpm. If
the answer choices are (A) 600 gpm, (B) 800 gpm, (C) 1000 gpm, and (D) 1200
gpm, you should select choice (B), because it is most nearly what you calculated.
If, however, you were asked to select a pump or pipe with the same rated capacities,
you would have to go with choice (C). For issues of capacity, such as the second
example, you must choose the answer that meets the requirement, even if it is
not the numerically closest to your calculation. If capacity is not an issue
(as in the first example), go with the answer that is closest to your calculation.
This can be confusing, and it's very important that you grasp the differences
in the two types of questions. Study these examples until you are comfortable
with the whole "most nearly" concept.
One good source for professional
stamps and seals by mail is Presto Graphics.
Most office supply, stationery, and rubber stamp shops can also help you. We
offer links to other vendors
on our site.
In general, appeals are not
allowed on any multiple-choice questions. In some states, you are allowed
to check your answer sheet to make sure that it was correctly scanned. To do this,
you need to make an appointment with your state
board.
In some states, you may appeal your score on an essay-format exam as long
as your score falls within your state's cutoff. (NCEES will not review an essay
exam with a score below 62 points).
A number of states do not allow appeals, so check first with your state
board to find out whether an appeal is possible.
If you think there is a flawed
question or an error on the exam, you can ask for an Examinee Comment Form at
your test site. Alternately, you can mail your comments to NCEES, P.O. Box 1686,
Clemson, SC 29633. Be sure to include as much information about the question as
possible, including the exam that you took, the session (AM or PM), where you
took the exam, your name, and your Examinee ID Number. All comments about the
exam must be postmarked no later than 10 days from the exam date.
NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam FAQs from PPI
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