<p>What is the FE exam for?
Are all engineering professionals required to pass it to get a license?
Who is required to take it?</p>
<p>The FE exam is the precursor to the PE exam. The PE exam is the final stage of engineering licensure. For the most part, only engineers who design things that can impact public safety get licensed. Typically, that includes the vast majority of civil engineers, a few mechanical engineers here and there, and a few electrical engineers. It all depends on what you work on.</p>
<p>The FE exam is an 8 hour test on pretty much all the engineering topics covered in your undergrad career. I've heard of some schools requiring it for graduation, though I don't believe this is the case at most. Don't take it unless you really think you might need licensure.</p>
<p>Just to add a little... If you pass the FE exam, you're allowed to apply to your state to become an "EIT," or an engineer in training, which means you're hypothetically allowed to practice engineering under the training of an licensed engineer. The experience you accrue as an EIT is hypothetically what counts towards the necessary "qualifying experience" you need in order to take the PE exam.</p>
<p>I say "hypothetically" mainly because there are a lot of exceptions, but this is how it's kind of designed to work.</p>
<p>And yeah, this is primarily for civil engineers and other folks who do things that need to get permit approval by local authorities.</p>
<p>It's nothing to really panic about. I didn't study for it and passed just fine... Pretty much all the answers to the questions are given in the formula book that's provided to you at the exam.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I was just wondering if this was necessary to obtain the "professional" title in engineering.</p>
<p>I guess I don't need to take it. Yay. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>So, its a exam which certifies that the building built by certain engies wont fall off? </p>
<p>jk.</p>
<p>Basically if you work in anything official such as governmental or regulatory/compliance work, you will need a PE. If not, you don't. For example, if you are a EE and you work in certifying a building's electrical system, you need it.</p>
<p>The test itself is simple as a pimple.</p>
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The test itself is simple as a pimple.
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</p>
<p>Um... incorrect. The FE is easy, but the PE is a bit of a nightmare.
Exam</a> Pass Rates- NCEES</p>
<p>I was referring to the FE..</p>
<p>I'm a chemE btw and looks like the PE passrate is good 74% on first try. Maybe our test is easier. </p>
<p>civils and structural on the other hand... wow.. pretty low pass rates.. do you guys get paid more because of this?</p>
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I'm a chemE btw and looks like the PE passrate is good 74% on first try. Maybe our test is easier. </p>
<p>civils and structural on the other hand... wow.. pretty low pass rates..
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I wouldn't draw any conclusions based on the differences in pass rates between PE disciplines, because the number and percentage of engineers who take the different PE exams varies so widely.</p>
<p>NCEES doesn't release the number of examinees per discipline, but the State of California [url=<a href="http://www.dca.ca.gov/pels/e_exam_statistics.htm%5Ddoes%5B/url">http://www.dca.ca.gov/pels/e_exam_statistics.htm]does[/url</a>]. In 2007, for example, California administered the following number of PE exams:</p>
<p>NCEES Civil PE exam: 3,835
NCEES Chemical PE exam: 52</p>
<p>For civil engineers, the PE exam is commonly required for professional advancement, and so the many examinees probably represent a broad cross-section of the total CE population. For chemical engineers, on the other hand, the PE exam is typically optional. Relatively few ChemEs bother to take it, and this "sample" is probably biased towards people who are unusually confident and/or motivated.</p>
<p>The California statistics may be biased by the state's unusual licensing rules, which give Civil PEs more powers than Chemical PEs, but I expect this only accounts for a small part of the difference.</p>
<p>I've heard that PE exams in some disciplines are administered to only a few tens of people nationally per year. Seems plausible, because the 2007 California stats show only a handful of examinees (< 10) in disciplines like agricultural, industrial, or metallurgical engineering.</p>
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do you guys get paid more because of this?
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<p>No.
(10char)</p>
<p>I was recently searching online and it said that one person (at least the owner) has to have a PE license in order to start his/her own company. I’m planning to start my own tutoring business in math/engineering. Would I need a PE license for this since the business would contain some sort of engineering aspect even if no machines are involved?</p>
<p>Each state has their own laws regarding licensure, but most states require licensure if you are holding yourself out to be an engineer to the public. </p>
<p>I think it really depends on the scale of your “company”. If you are doing tutoring on the side for extra cash, don’t worry about it. If you are going to open a center with a business front and say that the owner is a mechanical engineer, well, having a license would be good protection. </p>
<p>But I assume you’re talking small scale and I think you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how small is “small scale”, but I would like to start off with a place in NYC (like one or half of a floor in a building) then maybe expand and have another one somewhere else. Would I still be okay with a license?</p>
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</p>
<p>[FE</a> Exam](<a href=“http://www.ncees.org/Exams/FE_exam.php]FE”>http://www.ncees.org/Exams/FE_exam.php)</p>
<p>Some undergrad schools require all engineering students to take the FE, but I think thats just a marketing thing. Licensing requirements, if any, vary by state.</p>
<p>[NYS</a> Professional Engineering & Land Surveying:Laws, Rules & Regulations:Article 145](<a href=“http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/pels/article145.htm]NYS”>http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/pels/article145.htm)</p>
<p>You’re not offering “practice engineering” services in the State of New York. In the same way that the president of your university doesn’t need a PE license to be the head of your engineering department’s university, I am 99.8% certain that you don’t need a license to offer engineering and math tutoring (but having your PE would really go a long way towards lending credibility to your engineering qualifications). You would likely need a PE to say that hey, a real live engineer is going to be teaching you, but if you just advertise that you majored in engineering, you’re probably okay.</p>
<p>When you start up your company, check with your state board of engineering to make sure. Or make sure now. Either way.</p>
<p>
In California, you wouldn’t need a license to offer teaching or tutoring services in engineering, and I expect other states are probably similar. Many (perhaps most) engineering professors are unlicensed. </p>
<p>But as stated in the previous post, a P.E. license would likely be helpful for marketing purposes. In California, the occupational titles in many engineering disciplines are legally restricted. So you would not be able to legally advertise yourself to potential customers as an “Electrical Engineer” or “Civil Engineer,” unless you earned a P.E. license. You could legally use a corresponding academic title, like B.S.E.E. or B.S.C.E., but not the occupational title. </p>
<p>California would allow you to use the generic title of “Engineer” without a license, but others states might not.</p>
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According to most people that I know, yes, but I guess it depends on the company.
I know mine went up about 10% when I passed my PE recently.</p>