If you don't know anything about the FE exam and you are just reading this post because you see what has been on my mind lately, I can explain it in brief here. If you have been working as an engineer for a number of years and/or have an engineering degree from an accredited 4 year university, you are allowed to take a state board in engineering dubbed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam [ie the Engineering in Training (EIT) exam]. If you succeed in passing this test and meet a few lesser requirements, you are allowed to take the Professional Engineering Exam (PE). Upon passing this test you become an engineer in the eyes of the state and can sign off on engineering that are matters of public safety. You also get an embossing stamp with your certification number and are allowed to testify in court in addition to some other bitchin' perks.
Lots of engineers do not take this test. Lots of engineers (in the united states) do not even have engineering degrees. For a lot of fields it is endlessly useful and for a lot of fields it is not. For instance, having a PE is a given for civil engineers because civil engineers work on projects that concern the public (hence the word civil, I suppose). Mechanical engineers and hydraulic engineers probably should get them too. Chemical engineers? Maybe not so much. It depends where you want to work.
I actually do not personally know any Professional Engineers. There are none in my work place and I am having a hard time finding people in my field that are acquainted in with this honorific.
I had a big conflict about whether or not this is necessary for my career path. The only thing it would give me is more options should something compromise my job or stability. I also think if I wanted to do it eventually, I should do it now. Despite what they tell me, I am still young yet. And really, if you don't count the $125 test fee, why wouldn't I take it? Might as well. I've got nothing to lose.
I am now signed up for the October 26th exam in Del Mar.
With expectations that a class would help me stay motivated and provide some accountability, I signed up for the FE review class at UCSD extension. It was expensive. It was ~$750 dollars for the whole course. That is like buying a new silk blouse every weekend for 10 weeks. That is like a dinner and a movie date every weekend for 10 weeks. I know I shouldn't think about it like that. This is actually cheaper than any of the classes I took for my bachelors degree. I don't have to pay parking fees or student fees. It is actually a bargain for a 10 week class. Still, I can't deny that it stung.
What stings even more is how poorly this class is being run. Almost have the scheduled classes out of the 6 weeks I have taken so far have been rescheduled, canceled, and were professor no-shows. The professor no-shows were the worst. You sit in that room with all of your classmates and you just don't know what happened. You as the front desk and they know less than you do, really wishing you would stop bothering them about this. It was frustrating.
They have rescheduled make up classes all the way up to two weeks before the test. That is just so uncool. I am allowed to have other plans and they are setting it up so I have no choice but to miss testing dates or cancel plans. I am particularly upset that they are rescheduling a class for the weekend of the Nike Women's Half marathon of which my hotel and flights are already booked and paid. I would ask for my money back but dang it, I am really enjoying having the class. I like sitting in that room for at least 5 of the 7 hours and working on problems. As someone who was really intimated by the problems before I go to the class, it is just such a relief when someone spends 5 minutes explaining it and its just not a big deal. Everything just melts away.
My confidence about passing test is pretty good. The internet is good at increasing one's confidence if you know how to do it right.
I read an argument for why one should only study the Math section before the exam. Apparently if you know that 15% section down pat and make educated guesses with math as your solid foundation, you can get at least 50% of the test answers correct. And that is about, on average, all you need to pass the test.
I am of course going to get all the studying I can in before the test, but that just increased my confidence exponentially. I am going to know math, at least, dang it.