Examination Information - Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists
If youre just getting started out as an engineer, you might be wondering what the FE and PE exams are all about. I remember being just as confused as you when I first heard about these, but after taking them both and becoming a Professional Engineer, its all simple to me. In this article, Ill explain the difference between the FE and PE Exams. To document that you have met all requirement, you can either submit an NCEES Record (your answer to one of the application questions) or complete the "Education" and "Experience" sections of the online application. If you wish to sit for any discipline of the PE exam as a Minnesota candidate, you must first meet the Board's education and examination requirements, then apply to the Board and obtain approval to sit before you register with NCEES (MNRule Subp. 5). PE exam applicants may simultaneously submit evidence of meeting the experience requirements that are necessary for eventual licensure or submit that evidence later. See the Experience section below for more details.
Professional Engineering & Land Surveying
NCEES intends the questions to be unrelated. Questions are independent or start with new given data. A mistake on one of the questions should not cause you to get a subsequent question wrong. However, considerable time may be required to repeat previous calculations with a new set of given data. IMPORTANT! If you do not submit your experience references along with your PE application, note that you have just three years from your application date to do so, or your application will expire and you will need to reapply. If you fail the PE exam, you will also need to reapply. This involves writing your Experience Record (ER) and obtaining references from a licensed PE in your state. Then, send the sealed transcripts to the board. Finally, complete the application paperwork that includes your personal details, work experience, etc. If you already hold a license in another jurisdiction or took the required exams in another jurisdiction, use Online Services to apply for a license in Minnesota. There are two means by which to apply; both are available through Online Servicesyou select your choice within Online Services. The PE exam goes beyond testing academic knowledge and tests expertise gained in the practice of engineering.
The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years post-college work experience in their chosen engineering discipline. The Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design is an affirmative action / equal opportunity employer. The Board does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, public assistance, age, sexual orientation, or membership on local human rights commission. IMPORTANT! If the Board approves you to sit early (prior to providing your experience) for the PE exam, keep in mind you have just three years from your original application date to submit evidence of meeting the experience requirements, or your application will expire and you will need to reapply to be considered for licensure. Advisory Notice: The Board of Regents adopted a regulatory amendment, effective April 3, 2021, that updates the education and experience requirements for licensure as a land surveyor. More information is available here.
While no engineering experience is required to sit for the PE exam, NCEES statisticsshow that first-time examinees are more likely to pass the exam with at least four years of engineering experience. PE exams are offered in a variety of disciplines and sub-disciplines. Because the PE exam is based on the practice of engineering, you should take the exam for the discipline that you are most knowledgeable in (which may not be in what you earned your degree). For details on the format and length of the exam, the topics covered, and applicable design standards, select your engineering discipline below to download the exam specifications. PE exam specifications and design standards are posted 6 months before their effective date. Exam specifications change once every 57 years. Design standards change more frequently. The information below contains design standards for 2022 exams. If you choose not to send an NCEES Record, you'll seeonce you submit paymentadditional forms to complete and instructions to follow in the "Documents" section of the online application, including Experience Reference forms that you must sign and send to the appropriate supervisor(s). The completed Experience form must be sent by the supervisor directly to the Board. An example of a completed Experience form is in the Additional Resources section.
NCEES is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing professional licensure for engineers and surveyors. It develops, administers, and scores the examinations used for engineering and surveying licensure in the United States. Some questions are difficult because they defy the imagination. Three-dimensional structural questions and some surveying curve questions fit this description. If you cannot visualize the question, you probably cannot solve it. Some questions are difficult because the computational burden is high, and they just take a long time. Pipe networking questions solved with the Hardy Cross method fall into this category. Some questions are difficult because the terminology is obscure, and you just do not know what the terms mean. This can happen in almost any subject. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to . We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site.
The only PE exam that remains a pencil-and-paper exam is the structural engineering discipline. The structural exam, which is offered only in April and October each year, is a two-day, 16-hour exam. The first day focuses on vertical forces, while the second day is lateral forces. (You arent required to sit for both parts of the exam in a single exam administration, but you must pass both parts within a five-year period. ) Skip to Main Content Default High Contrast Reset Increase Font SizeFont Decrease Font SizeFont SEVERE ALERT!2015-12-21, 10:17 AM - Flash Flood in the Northern California, Sacramento and Placer Counties until 12:15 PM. Read More PE license requirements vary from state to state. So, for your feasibility, weve gathered all the links together that follow up to the websites of each state board and enlist the PE license requirements by state. Make sure to go through your state boards website to check if you are complying with their procedure. To become licensed, engineers must complete a four-year college degree, work under a Professional Engineer for at least four years, pass two intensive competency exams and earn a license from their state's licensure board. Then, to retain their licenses, PEs must continually maintain and improve their skills throughout their careers.
Pe engineering exam - Currently, many PE disciplines are paper-based exams, but NCEES is transitioning each year more exams from paper based to computer based (CBT). Some CBT exams are administered year round. Others are offered one day in October each year. See the NCEES website for details.
If you choose not to send an NCEES Record, you will also need to have your exam scores, proof of licensure in another state, and evidence of meeting the education requirements (transcripts or an education evaluation). Again, see the "Documents" section. NCEES offersPE Civil practice examsto familiarize you with the exam format and content, includingalternative item types (AITs). These practice exams contain questions that have been used on past exams and questions written just for study materials to give you extra practice. Apply directly with NCEES to take the FE exam. It is administered at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers during four testing windows: January-March; April-June; July-September; and October-December.