<p>And for any one that already took it... How was it?</p>
<p>This isn’t really a valid question. The test is different depending on what your major/expertise is, so no one major is easier.</p>
<p>The FE exam currently comes in seven different flavors (civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical, environmental, industrial, and “other”). For the PE exam, more than 20 different options are offered nationally by NCEES (including smaller disciplines like agricultural, petroleum, nuclear, fire protection, etc.). Also, some states have developed additional PE exams of their own (like the California traffic PE exam or the Oregon forestry PE exam). </p>
<p>Since there are multiple FE and PE exams, there is no one engineering major that is “best”.</p>
<p>Like the last 2 guys said, there is no best. Each PE exam has it’s own specialty (Mechanical, EE, Structual, etc). The FE you can take and pass with any engineering major. </p>
<p>My advice to you is select a major based on what you like, not based on what licenses someone told you to do in your future. The PE is a a major milestone in your career that is so far down the road it’s not even worth thinking about right now. And yes I said CAREER because it takes multiple years of work experience as an engineer just to qualify to sit for the exam.</p>
<p>The necessity to get licensed will also depend on the field that you enter.</p>
<p>Talking with my girlfriend after she took the FE exam (she’s an EE) it felt a lot more designed for MechE/CivE types. Tons of the stuff she had never even heard of, and thankfully I was able to give her a fairly quick primer course on thermo due to my background in it. Neither of us were at all familiar with any of the fluid flow topics (I’m a materials engineer).</p>
<p>That said, she passed the FE on her first try (even after forgetting to bring a calculator and her car breaking down on the way), so I don’t think you need to worry a whole lot about your major.</p>
<p>Just like the PE, the FE has a morning session that is for everyone and an afternoon session that is more tailored to your major. I honestly dont remember much about the exam except that it was so easy I didnt even sweat it when I walked out of the testing room. The exam isnt designed to weed out people, it’s intended to make sure people have the bare minimum knowledge or reasoning ability to be able to work as an EIT. If you’re graduating from an engineering program, you should have the ability to pass.</p>
<p>Again, to the original poster, if you are considering your choice of major based upon a licensing exam, you should really reconsider your evaluation criteria.</p>
<p>
This correctly describes the FE exam, but is not quite accurate for the PE exam.</p>
<p>In the FE exam, the first 4 hours (the “AM session”) are universal: they are the same for all examinees, regardless of discipline. For the second 4 hours (the “PM session”), you choose a specific engineering discipline (civil, electrical, mechanical, etc.). </p>
<p>So civil, electrical, and mechanical FE candidates will all face identical FE questions in the morning. They will then face different FE questions in the afternoon (assuming, of course, that they choose to test in their own disciplines).</p>
<hr>
<p>In the PE exam, on the other hand, all 8 hours are completely different between disciplines. The civil, electrical, and mechanical PE exams have absolutely nothing in common. </p>
<p>Now, within a given discipline, there may be a choice of subdisciplines in the PM. For example, all civil PE candidates answer the same general civil questions in the AM, then pick a specific civil subdiscipline (structural, geotechnical, etc.) in the PM. The same is true for electrical PE and mechanical PE candidates. </p>
<p>However, the AM questions on the civil PE exam are totally unrelated to the AM questions on the electrical PE or mechanical PE exams. So the AM questions on the PE exam are not universal, as they are on the FE exam. The AM questions on the PE exam are consistent within a given discipline, but not between disciplines.</p>
<p>You’re correct. What I meant to expand upon later is that the PE morning is a more generalized version of your discipline. For example, if you’re a Mech E and you specialize in Machine Design, your morning PE session is the same for all ME’s and has stuff you’re probably not as familiar with as your afternoon specialization (Machine Design).</p>
<p>I think some of you guys misunderstood me. I already had a major and I know about the two sessions the FE exam has. Only the first half worries me because it’s universal so there will be some parts that i will not know.</p>
<p>Ok I think I understand what you’re saying now. Buy the FE prep book and study it. It’s not really hard stuff. You dont have to be an expert with it, the questions are structured so that you only need a cursory knowledge of the general FE portion material. Bottom line - dont sweat it too much.</p>
<p>Do you have to take FE exam or PE exam for Chemical Engineering?</p>
<p>There is a Chemical exam listed on NCEES, but I dont know anything about it.</p>
<p>Don’t sweat it my but.</p>
<p>I go to UIUC and several people failed the FE with just that kind of mentality.</p>
<p>The FE is difficult, it covers everything you could possibly learn in engineering college. You think an exam that gives you 2 minutes per question in the morning is “no sweat”.</p>
<p>Study hard, do lots of practice problems, and review as much material as possible.</p>
<p>To the OP, here’s the non-b.s. answer to your question. The morning exam was built for mechanical, civil, electrical chemical engineers in descending order of their ability to pass the morning exam.</p>
<p>Do not take the FE lightly, though they will deny it, most people posting advice on this site are the engineering students that pull stuff out of their a** all the time on exams and get really good grades. They’re not always representative of the general population, so take their advice in anything with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Chemical by school, civil by work.</p>
<p>There is no major that is best for FE/EIT and PE. That’s like saying which school is best for “engineering” when you get accepted into 9 out of 10 top schools, your chances with each school (each major) is good enough that you’ll get a job/graduate school/etc (pass the exam). When you take the exam, there are prerequisites to be filled out.</p>
<p>Took FE/EIT back in April 08. Passed on first try, brought calculator and my only studying was eating The Hat Pastrami at 11pm and going to Walmart to buy my calculator at 1130pm.</p>
<p>EIT/FE is composed of two sections, a “general” section where everybody takes it in the morning and a “discipline” section where you choose which discipline you want: (Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Environmental, Industrial, Mechanical, Other Disciplines). </p>
<p>I know a friend who didn’t pass the EIT/FE exam on his first try. Most of the people I know who didn’t pass didn’t take it seriously (IE, didn’t stay the whole time, didn’t actually try to solve the problems). I didn’t remember everything on the EIT/FE Exam but I stayed the whole entire team to solve the problems. Best time to take it is when you’re still in college. Usually most states allow you to take it in your senior year.</p>
<p>I took the PE in Civil in California (go figure, hardest state to get licensed in civil). On my first try (Oct 10), I passed the national 8 hour exam and I failed surveying/seismic (crammed 4 years of civil engineering in 3 weeks). I recently (April 11) took the surveying and seismic again and studied my butt off for them.</p>
<p>I know for civil PE, it’s like the EIT/FE, everybody takes a “general” civil morning section, and then you choose the afternoon section you want (environmental & water resources, construction, structural, transportation, and geotechnical). </p>
<p>Only the state of California has two special state exams: seismic and surveying, where you are required to pass all 3 to get your PE. Most other states require just the 8-hour national exam. Alaska is the only state that has a state exam (everything is covered in permafrost, so dynamics/statics/mechanics change).</p>
<p>For PE information go to [Engineer</a> Boards, PE exam, FE exam](<a href=“http://www.engineerboards.com%5DEngineer”>http://www.engineerboards.com)</p>