Important Concepts For Fe Exam
Do you want to know the important concepts for the FE exam to become a Professional Engineer (P.E)? Here’s everything you need to know about the FE exam course.
Table of Contents
Why Is The FE Exam Important?
The FE exam is administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), where you need to answer 0 questions for a duration of 6 hours. It is a computer-based test where you can choose to take the exam for your respective discipline which includes chemical, electrical and computer, civil, environmental, industrial and systems, mechanical engineering or you can also take up the generic exam for ‘other disciplines’.
This exam will test an engineer’s fundamental engineering concepts which every graduate should know. Thus, clearing this exam ensures that you’re competent enough to dive into professionalism and officially certifies you as an Engineer in Training (EIT).
After this, the next step to take is answering the Professional Engineering (PE) exam which incorporates your basic knowledge along with years of experience. On successfully completing this exam you’ll become a certified professional of the field. Thus, taking the first step is crucial, and knowing more about the FE exam course is imperative.
Exam Layout Of The FE Exam
As mentioned earlier, it is a 6-hour test consisting of 0 questions. However, you won’t get all 6 hours to solve. A 10-minute introduction to the exam and a 25-minute break after the first session will also be incorporated into this time. Thus, the actual exam time you would have to solve is 5 hours 20 minutes.
Moreover, the total questions will be split into two sessions, each having 55 questions. During each session, you’re allowed to skip, bookmark, and return to questions. However, after submitting the first session, you won’t be allowed to return to those questions.
Time management will play a major role in this exam as the timing is to your discretion. There’s no hard and fast rule that you have to finish each session within a particular time limit. You can utilize 5 hours and 20 minutes as per your wish, provided you finish the paper at the end.
You may also leave your seat to take unscheduled breaks, access beverages, food or medication, go to the bathroom, etc. However, the clock won’t stop for you!
One more peculiar thing about the FE Exam is that only certain calculator models are approved. The ones which are acceptable on the test site are stated below:
- Casio FX-5 and FX-991 (all models)
- Texas Instrument TI-30X and TI-36X (all models)
- Hewlett Packard HP-33 and HP-35 (no other models allowed)
The questions will be strictly based on the fundamental concepts which have been covered in your undergraduate engineering program. On the NCEES website, the exam outline is provided under the ‘Exam Specifications’ section. So, take a look at it to know the subjects in your discipline.
Since 5 hours and 20 minutes are allotted to 0 questions, each question should be solved approximately within 2.9 minutes to complete the paper.
How Are The Questions Scored?
The best part about this exam is that there’s no negative marketing, thus no points will be deducted for incorrect answers. Therefore, it’s imperative to attempt all questions, if you’re unsure of some, try to make a potentially correct guess and place your answer. Do not leave any questions unanswered.
Later the exam is weighted based on its difficulty level. Moreover, the pass rate varies by discipline and is in the range of 61% to 77% for first-time takers, attending an accredited engineering college, and taking the FE exam within a year of their graduation.
How To Go About The Fe Exam Course?
The first thing you need to do is to review the exam specifications for your discipline. Then you need to get your hands on the NCEES FE Reference Handbook, which you can download for free in pdf format. You should be familiar with the handbook and know how it is formatted and where to look for equations, tables, and other topics.
Later, you need to take the NCEES FE Practice Exam to see where you stand in understanding the difficult questions, exam format, strengths, and weaknesses. After undertaking this practice exam, you can use other study or resource materials and practice problems to make your concepts stronger and ensure that you know how to apply the equations in the handbook.
Conclusion
Remember, that this test will review and test your basic knowledge. So, if you’ve done well in your undergraduate engineering program, you’ll certainly do well here. There’s no need to overthink because that will just cost you time, which is the most important thing here. Make sure that your key concepts are strong and go through each exam topic in an easy to understand and efficient manner.
Author Bio:
This is Kenza S NelsonI, engineer in Los Angeles and founder of enGINEer, FE Exam Preparation Platform. I tutored and helped over 1000 students in University. Tutoring that many students helped me realize the different learning styles and I tailor my teaching to help students grasp. I share with you the fastest methods to solve engineering problems to prepare for engineering classes and the FE Exam.