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Frequently Asked Questions
Considering to take the Other Disciplines exam? Read this.
Considering to take the Other Disciplines FE exam is a very personal (and important) decision that you will need to make – Before you make it, read this.
There’s only one goal when it comes to taking the FE Exam…
Passing it.
And it’s no secret that, here at Prepineer, we aren’t afraid to think outside the box to help our students make this goal a reality.
For well over a decade now, we’ve dedicated ourselves to a strategy of preparing all of our students for the Other Disciplines exam regardless of educational background.
If you haven’t settled on a discipline at all yet, start with the bigger-picture decision of which FE exam you should take — then come back here for the deeper case on the Other Disciplines path specifically.
We have found, when approached with an open mind, taking this path can make a lot of sense – if not, the most sense.
Yet, we aren’t surprised when meeting with prospective students, that many don’t even know taking this route was even an option.
The Decision Point
Recently, we had a student come to us for some advice about this strategy.
After multiple failed attempts at the Civil exam, they needed to switch something up and were intrigued by the strategy, weighing the decision for themselves moving forward – this is where they were:
I didn’t even know this was a thing, but now I think I am ready to make the jump. What should I know when considering to take the Other Disciplines exam?
Does this sentiment resonate with you?
Maybe this is where you find yourself today?
Maybe you have already taken the exam once, or twice – or maybe it’s your first time – and you are at the point of just wanting to get it done. The obstacle has become more of a nuisance as it continues to weigh down the opportunities you are seeing.
I understand the frustrations, but you need to know that there are options in how you approach taking this exam, and most students don’t even know, and because of that, they unfortunately give up.
You don’t need to, so:
This is personal
Let me start off by saying that as a Mechanical Professional Engineer myself, this was a decision I had to personally make and ultimately the road that I went down.
It was very personal for me and it will definitely be just as personal for you.
A lot of uncomfortable emotions surface when considering navigating outside the realm of your background, but here’s my experience sprinkled with an additional 2 cents and a few things I weighed as I considered this option.
1) Will you be taking the PE in the near future?
When I decided that it was time to get after the FE Exam, the first thing I did was pull up the Mechanical discipline specifications.
As I scanned down the list of subjects that were defined to be on the exam, I felt solid about the first few –
Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, Ethics and Engineering Economics.
But then I hit the discipline specific subjects that would land at the tail end of the exam.
For me, it was Mechanical Design, amongst others.
For you, these subjects may be Geotechnical Engineering or Transportation or Digital Systems – the list goes on.
Some of these subjects you may have seen during your college days, while others you may not a clue of what is within.
But regardless of how much exposure you have had with these subjects, if you choose to go down the route of taking a discipline specific exam, the NCEES is going to assume that you are well versed with any and all the material that could potentially fall within that area of specialty.
Take this Civil student as an example.
In taking the FE Civil Engineering exam, they’d need to ensure they have ample knowledge of Surveying, Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Structural Engineer, Geotechnical Engineering, Transportation and Construction.
Let’s be real though, a civil undergrad doesn’t dive deep in to all of these areas of study, we specialize in one or two of them and get minor exposure to the others.
So for me – and you – here lay a decision point.
Yes, I had a Mechanical Engineering degree but…
Do I spend the next X number of months teaching myself to depth in some subjects that I really didn’t know all that well in the first place or – do I focus in on learning “just enough” of all the subjects specified for the Other Disciplines exam?
We won’t get in to discussing the theory of “just enough” in this article, but we do dive in to the whole “why” behind it here.
At this decision point, I needed not only to consider my general understanding of the subjects specified, but more so, what my near-future goals were.
- Was I going to roll straight in to the PE after passing the FE?
- Was I going to be be studying for and taking the FE exam this month and transition straight in to studying for the PE and take that within a few months thereafter?
This is certainly something that is worthy of consideration.
When this is the case for an incoming student, where they are scheduled/planning on taking the PE a few months following the FE, then I recommend that sticking with their discipline is probably the move to go with.
I say this because regardless of what discipline exam you take for the FE, when it comes down to the PE, you are going to have to go with your major discipline, or whatever discipline you want to get licensed as, and those subjects you aren’t feeling all that hot about right now will likely need to be honed up on going in to that exam.
So essentially, we are just streamlining the study effort in this case.
In theory, the student will be studying for the next few months for the FE exam, which will include subjects that are on your discipline specific PE specification.
This makes sense because then you aren’t studying subjects now for the Other Disciplines exam that you aren’t going to be seeing on the PE.
The “near-future’ness” of the PE
Now, I do want to highlight the whole “near-future’ness” of this decision point.
Think about coming out of college – how long did it take for you to forget much of what you learned in the classroom?
If you are like most, you began to purge theoretical knowledge at an exponential rate as you weren’t applying much of it in the field.
The same will occur when studying for the FE.
You will spend a number of months getting up to speed with the material and as soon as the exam is over, if you are not using it, it’s going to be gone with the wind.
This decision point is all about streamlining effort.
If there are no plans to take the PE in the near-future then streamlining the study effort becomes moot, you’ll need to ramp your efforts back up at the same level no matter which way you go on the FE Exam.
2) I just need to pass the FE Exam
Forget about the PE, most will realize that they just need to pass the FE Exam.
Maybe for you, the PE isn’t even on the horizon – you are just trying to get past the FE. If you’re still at the stage of figuring out the discipline itself, work through which FE exam you should take first.
I would say, and many would likely echo this sentiment, that the FE can seem like a much steeper feat then that of the PE Exam, we get into this here:
Is the FE Exam harder than the PE Exam?
There is a lot a material that hasn’t been touched on since our first year in University, so the process of clearing the cobwebs and then executing on that material can be a challenge.
On the other hand, the PE is more aligned with what we are focused on in our profession, and with that, the concepts are much more top of mind and likely to return much faster.
My goal going in to the FE Exam was “one and done”.
I had heard the stories from my buddies who had taken the exam multiple times and seemed to be in a perpetual state of studying for it.
No thank you – I’ll pass.
The Other Disciplines FE exam, then?
Again, it’s personal, but –
If the goal at this point is just getting past this milestone, then considering to take the Other Disciplines exam may well be your best bet.
Initially when looking at the Other Disciplines specification, you are going to see a bunch of subjects that you didn’t necessarily feel solid with, or even had been exposed to (i.e. Circuits) and that’s going to bring up some heavy emotions.
I get this – I was right there with you.
But here is the kicker, the Other Discipline specification is built to be a “catch all” geared towards all disciplines that fall outside the power-6, not any one specifically.
This exam specification is written for those with Architectural Engineering degrees, Marine Engineering degrees, Fire Protection Engineering degrees – amongst many others fringe engineering degrees.
For this reason, the exam may span across more subjects, but to a depth that is far less than what you would be expected to know on the discipline specific exams.
As an example of this, let’s take Statics to highlight this point.
As a Mechanical Engineer, you would be expected to have a more seasoned knowledge base at a depth that a Nuclear Engineer wouldn’t – they may have or haven’t seen Statics in their undergrad program.
Now because both the Mechanical Engineer and the Nuclear Engineer can take the Other Disciplines exam, the NCEES needs to gear the questions to accommodate them both.
Can I learn “just enough”?
So again, it comes down to your confidence in your ability to know “just enough”.
I knew personally that I had a comfortable base knowledge in many of the subjects (as there will be a lot of overlap with your discipline specific exam) and also knew of those I didn’t, that I could teach myself enough of the basics.
For me, it was definitely a risk to go down the route of considering to take the Other Disciplines exam, but after looking at the FE Mechanical spec, I knew that the subjects would have more depth to them, and even if I did take the class in college, it was either:
- A long time ago
- I was most likely asleep
- I relied on friends to get me through
All of which put me in a position where I would have to relearn anyways.
Again, my personal goal was to just pass the FE Exam (as it should be for anyone) and worry about the PE Exam when I arrived at that bridge down the road.
I hope this thought experiment helps expand your knowledge of options if you are at the decision point of going with the discipline specific FE Exam or the Other disciplines FE Exam.
Final Thoughts – Zach’s Story
As we close this out, I want to introduce you to Zach Shepard.
His journey from dropping out of the Engineering industry to becoming a licensed Professional Engineer in multiple states is a perfect example of the transformational power of FE Exam prep done right.
Zach always wanted to be an engineer, but after preparing for the FE Exam 5 times and failing, he lost all hope that it was possible for him.
But he had a family who was depending on him and a job that was sucking the life out of him – so he stepped back up to the plate for one last shot.
Here are four specific obstacles Zach faced throughout his FE Exam journey:
- He hadn’t been applying any of the material he was being tested on since college, and because of that, it felt like he forgot it all. He felt that even if he was able to relearn it all, it would take an inordinate amount of time and he would just forget it again on the exam.
- He wasn’t getting any younger and his responsibilities both at home and at work were ever-increasing. Zach had to juggle multiple daily responsibilities while getting in quality, efficient, and effective prep time.
- There was so much on the exam that he hadn’t a clue where to start. He knew he wanted to take the exam by a certain date, but how he should allocate his time properly to make sure he was making the progress necessary to get through it all was always unknown.
- After 5 failed attempts, and just as many humiliating moments in telling people he had failed, he felt that another attempt would just be another embarrassment and further validation that he wasn’t meant to be an engineer.
Do any of those sound familiar to you?
If yes, then you’re in the right place.
Zach, and students like him, didn’t even know considering to take the Other Disciplines exam was an option for them.
But when he decided that it made sense, he put his trust in the hands of Prepineer in hopes that his 6th time taking this exam would bring a different result.
It did.
Are you considering to take the Other Disciplines exam?
Will it work for you?
Getting prepared for the FE is simpler than you think.
Not easy, but simple – let’s get you moving forward.
We are here to help.
Justin Dickmeyer, PE
Founder, Prepineer
I invite you to schedule a one-on-one visit with me to discuss whether we’re a good fit, and if so, how we can bring value in helping you overcome your biggest obstacles and pass the FE Exam
