Justin

It’s not uncommon to absolutely have zero interest in some of the topics covered on the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.  These topics may be ones that we had previously enjoyed participating in while in college, but for some reason or another, we find ourselves far from interested in picking up a book and diving in.  Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice whether or not they will be on the exam, so with that, we need to find a way to peak our interest so we can best prepare ourselves for success.

Whether your disinterest is in one topic or several, it’s a must to force ourselves in to putting adequate time in to becoming at least semi proficient with the main fundamentals of each subject or else we risk failure on the exam.

It’s obvious that as human beings, we spend our time doing things we enjoy, why would we want to do otherwise?  This is the first barrier we need to confront and overcome before we can make any progress in studying these subjects.  When you sit down to make your study calendar, put the subjects you dislike in the first few weeks.  I suggest this for a couple of reasons:

1. You will likely have the most energy at the beginning of your study journey, giving yourself more of a chance to weather the storm of the discomfort of doing something you don’t enjoy.
2. When you do something you enjoy, you tend to put off the things you don’t, which in this case, may mean not adequately preparing yourself in an entire subject.  Do what you don’t like up front and get it out of the way.
3. Getting in to subjects that you enjoy at the middle and end of your study journey will give you momentum and confidence going in to the exam, they won’t beat you to the ground like the others you don’t enjoy.

We all have to do things we don’t like to do, that’s life.  Understanding that we aren’t alone in this endeavor, we can work on altering our approach and thinking so we can have the best chance of succeeding; this is a stepping stone to becoming a successful Engineer.  The Fundamentals of Engineering Exam isn’t only a content exam, there are relevant life lessons that come from preparing for and taking it as well.

The next thing I would focus on is breaking the subject down into micro study sessions rather than tackling the subject as a whole.  This will give you clear, achievable goals and will keep the overwhelm and disinterest from creeping up.  There’s no silver bullet to it, but approaching these subjects with a steady hill approach, rather than a steep mountain, will be much more manageable while working through the discomfort.

Another approach I stress in all areas of studying for the exam, is to make it personal.  Think about where you will be if you don’t accumulate the drive to study for these subjects.  You will likely put yourself in a position to have to retake the test.  Sometimes when you introduce these “If, then” thoughts in to your thinking, your mind will adjust to take the path of least resistance.  When your mind feels like it is in danger, it will do some miraculous things…so make it personal every time you sit down to study.

Lastly, consider approaching your studies of these subjects in a different way.  Maybe opening up a book and cranking out hours on end of reading text doesn’t work.  Change that up, watch tutorials on the internet, make flash cards, work though practice exams.  Maybe the traditional approach just isn’t going to cut it for these subjects, so make it fresh, and switch it up.

There’s no rule that says we have to love everything there is about engineering, but there is a rule of life that guarantees we will encounter things that bring discomfort.  Adjusting our approach physically and mentally is the best weapon of choice when we encounter these times, and there is no better time than now to begin employing it.

Due to the nature of the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, there is really no way to completely define the difficulty of the problems that will be seen on the AM portion of the exam versus the afternoon session. What is set in stone is that the AM portion is the breadth portion of the exam, focusing on key concepts covering a wide array of engineering topics. This should give us comfort in knowing that any one specific subject will not be gone too far in-depth. However, who is to say what is considered in-depth, it’s a subjective term and that’s where the advice can get a bit choppy.

That’s why you will see many review manuals put together as in-depth reviews of each section covered on the exam. I am a believer in the theory that you can’t be too prepared, especially at this critical point in your career. I write my reviews and my practice exams at a level of difficulty I feel is above what you will see on the exam. My stance is that when you prepare at a level above what you expect to see on the exam, you are more capable to adjust on the fly come exam day. You will be more level headed when you encounter problems you don’t know right off the bat and able to jam through others that seem “elementary” because you prepared far above the level they are written. So to reiterate, soak up as much information as you can in every subject without getting too caught up in whether or not it will be included on the test. You can’t go back exam day and review, so prepare when you can and reap the benefits later.

Engineering degrees from universities outside the United States are accepted on a State by State basis.  No foreign university is ABET accredited, therefore, it is up to the applicant to prove to the state board that their foreign degree is equivalent to a ABET accredited degree.  Some states are more helpful than others, offering guidance for applicants on what outside organization to use to validate such foreign degrees (CPEES, ACCRAO) ; while others don’t offer any support at all.  You can learn more about evaluating a foreign degree by contacting your state board or checking out the Engineering Credential Evaluation International (ECEI) at www.ecei.org.

If you attended and received a degree from a University in Canada accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board then some states accept this as equivalent to EAC/ABET accredited degrees.  Check your specific state’s requirements early in the process of applying for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam to ensure you fully understand what the application process will consist of.

Are you taking part in a University review course that is fast paced and skipping over important parts of theory that you may or may not know and are wondering how to cope with such a situation?

It’s not atypical to experience a fast paced in your face type review class situation. A lot of the University programs are geared towards current students, or recently graduated students, so they work under the assumption that these “Theory” courses are fresh in the students mind and don’t need to be reinforced. Rather than guide the student through a detailed review, the main areas are hit in an effort to stimulate the mind going in to the exam.

In this instance, I would suggest adjusting your studies to include the review course as a complimentary measure to your good ol fashioned “open book” review sessions. Whether your “open book” review sessions include real hard books like those from Kaplan and PPI or online review classes (which Kaplan offer as well), using the University review course more as an augmenter rather than your lifeline will allow you to be more flexible and overall more efficient in your preparation.

Time may be short, but here are a few steps you should consider to get going in adjusting your plan:

1. Get your resources, books, practice exams, if you have the money, make the investment, they will pay off.
2. Review the table of contents in your review book and create a schedule as I outline in the EIT Boot Camp. Work the Universities review in to your schedule, working to coincide it the best you can with the material you plan to study.
3. Take a practice exam, just to get a feel for where you stand. Don’t fret if you don’t do well, it’s just a baseline.
4. Start studying; break your schedule up in to micro sessions, ie, study for an hour everyday instead of 5 hour sessions once or twice a week. Those are just example numbers, but my point is, do many short study sessions, it will keep you fresh for the long haul. Take advantage of your lunch breaks at work!
5. Be consistent and give yourself deserved day offs to completely remove yourself from the process, you will come back reinvigorated.

Garnering experience for your Professional Engineering License is a process separate from your Fundamentals of Engineering EIT certification. The key to experience for your PE license is that you are working beneath a Registered Professional Engineer who is able to guide and lead you in your development as an Engineer. Your experience could come from one job, or ten jobs, as long as they are jobs working directly with a PE then you are satisfying the requirement.

It is possible and I have seen this occur with students who are attending a University that is outside of the State they permanently reside. As long as you fulfill the requirements to sit for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam in the State you plan on taking the exam, then the application process should be smooth. However, if you move from the State that you became a certified EIT, then you will need to go through the process known as “Transfer by Comity”. This process is defined State by State and may be as simple as filling out paperwork, or more complex in the form of a retest.

Currently, Biology is not a subject that is tested on in the AM portion of the Engineer in Training Exam. However, Biology, of some form thereof, is touched on in the PM portion of the “Environmental” and “Other” discipline exam modules. More specifically:

Biology constitutes 5% of the PM portion of the exam if you choose to take the “Other” module. Topics include, cellular biology (structure, growth, cell organization, etc), toxicology (e.g., human, environmental), industrial hygiene (personnel protection equipment (PPE), carcinogens, etc.), and bioprocessing (fermentation, waste treatment, digestion, etc)

In the Environmental module, 30% of the exam is dedicated to Water and Wastewater Engineering. Within this 30%, some unknown percentage will dedicated to covering Environmental microbiology/ecology.