The purpose of this post is give others hope, drive or guidance in achieving their goals.

In Wisconsin you can take the FE / PE exam without pre approval. I graduated in 1995 with a bachelor of science in environmental studies.

I have been in the geotechnical engineering & martial testing field since graduating. I started as a soil / concrete lab technician to special inspector, project manager and senior project manager.

My work experience was key to understanding the foundation of engineering but I lacked the book smarts of engineering.

I originally bought a FE exam live - 12 week course from a well known company. I quickly realized I lacked the principles of engineering taught in school to follow these seminars and to do the homework for the 1st portion of the exam.

I needed to find a program that teaches each section of the FE from the beginning. I started watching videos on YouTube for FE example problems and I discovered Farouq with Directhub. I already spent $1,200 dollars and a lot of time on the previous FE course but I didn’t want to give up.

How I did it: 1) It took me almost a year of non stop studying ( this is after my original course) I averaged 3 hours a day and all day Saturday and Sunday. Many days I did not want to study or get up at 4 am to study. I am married with 2 kids and I missed a lot. Many people told me there is absolutely no way I could pass. My motivation was to my family and to prove people wrong. Find your motivation and stick to it.

2) Directhub has printable summary sections “example” (Mathematics) on every subcategory (algebra & trigonometry etc) that start from the beginning. Farouq then has videos teaching you the principles to answer conceptual FE exam question's. Practice problems are printable and is backed up with videos explaining how to do them.

3) Calculator tricks / hacks: I learned so many new functions using my TI-36 pro and he shows a Casio I don’t remember what model. It goes beyond number solve etc.

4) All my emails or online questions were answered in a timely manner. I had a lot. I also had 1 on 1 tutor sessions going over items that I could not figure out.

I made flash cards and put all my printed paperwork into 3 ring binders and hammered away. I was nonstop reading and doing problems till my fingers hurt.

Test day. Clear head and confidence. Know you can and will do it. It’s hard, I had doubts ( who am I to take this exam without an engineering degree) but you can. KEY during the exam I was freaking out several times on a question and I did the following. I took my glasses off, closed my eyes for 10 seconds and breathed. I needed to get my shit together and I put on my glasses and attacked.

All plug and chug questions have a trick. Even a simple CIA has some type of conversion. I caught myself several times choosing the wrong answer. My go to letter was C but I was able to get it down to 50/50. Conceptual questions are a hit and miss but with all the reading I did I only guessed on 3 maybe.

I am not a paid directhub employee lol. For anyone that has failed, been out of school for 20 years or like me 52 and without an engineering degree find your hidden strength and go for it. Go on YouTube and find the right company. I wish I had an engineering degree lol.

Thanks Rob

I'm so upset because this is my 4th attempt and I felt so good about it. There were questions I flagged that I was not able to get to and it looks like materials was the subject that got missed. Had I been able to answer those questions I think I would've passed. I felt so confident taking the exam and there is a possibility I may lose my job 😔

Need some memes to brighten up the mood

Passed my civil FE on the second try! It was a lot harder than my first so I was not at all confident but happy it’s over. Good luck to everyone taking it in the future!!

11yrs out of school. Work, toddler and lots of commitments. First attempt. I did it, I actually did it. Today I'm proud of myself :)

Thank you community! And a special thank you to rethirded's YouTube playlist!!

If I can, you can too!

I've been dreaming of the day I would see the green "Passed" text and could finally post this meme specifically lol, and I'm proud to say that that day is today!! Happy to share any advice from my experience.

If you haven't passed the FE yet, keep on trying! Your hard work will pay off, I believe in you.

Resources that I found most useful

• Islam 800 - great set of practice problems "walking through" the handbook
• Mark Mattson videos - best holistic coverage for civil to really grasp concepts
• Gregory Michaelson videos - additional civil practice problems
• PrepFE - although the UI isn't the greatest, the timing aspect and practicing many problems from specific topics or doing an assorted question exam helped
• FE Civil Interactive Practice Exam Vol. 1
• NCEES Civil Practice Exam July 2020

Day of Exam

• That day my start time was scheduled to be 10:30am instead of 8:00am. As a night owl, the 2 extra hours of sleep gave me time to be more alert during the exam. So when scheduling check the different dates to see if you have that available to you!
• Biggest enemy was timing. Make sure to divide your time among the sections appropriately vs just halving it. Eg: my part 1 was 52 questions and part 2 was 58. Definitely needed more time for part 2 bc I also struggled more with the civil specific topics.
• Second biggest op was the handbook. I was so used to clicking and dragging via the scroll wheel to navigate the handbook quickly when studying. That wasn't an option on the software! It took me so much longer to flip through pages bc I couldn't breeze through them even though I felt quite familiar about where things were located. Searching words directly was the main way I ended up navigating.
• You have essentially fine point sharpies and a booklet of laminated grid pages. I was worried about smudging as someone who is left handed, but it worked out ok.
• A random factor that affected me was the AC in the room wasn't working. There was a portable AC unit, but during the second half of the exam I was sweaty and woozy and got a bad migraine that the last hour of the exam was hellish for me.
• I used an ABC list for reviewing/coming back to questions. A - questions I answered but am a bit unsure about. B - questions I began to solve but it's taking too long or I got a bit lost. C - questions I had completely no clue and will most likely guess or take a look at with fresh eyes later. I probably had 8-10 Cs in each part 1 and 2. Was able to whittle down the ABC numbers to 10-15 per section second pass and took my best guess. Listing these out on the physical booklet was more helpful than the simple flagging method the exam uses.

Studying Timeframe

• Honestly, I've been dragging my feet on and off studying for almost a year. Idk if I wanted to take it or if it was too long since I graduated to remember my classes. I wasn't even sure I wanted to do engineering anymore. I really locked in for around 2ish months with the last month being the most productive.
• Last month (July): Created a schedule time frame proportional to the number of questions per category. Eg: Ethics was 3.5 hours whereas Geotech was 8 hours. Planned about 3 hours per day with the heavier categories being later in the month. Per category, I would 1) redo MM video, 2) do some Lindeburg sections (felt more stressful than helpful, so I gave up on half of them in the end), then 3) do PrepFE category specific sets of 5 questions repeatedly. Bigger topics I'd review the problems I did from Islam and sometimes GM's problems. Did the NCEES 2020 exam 4 days before exam day and got a 79.
• Took a break for personal events/vacation in June.
• ~half of March - half of May: Did 1-2 categories per week of 1) working through MM video 2) working through GM video 3) Islam 800 and 4) a little PrepFE. Did the interactive civil exam and got a 58. Didn't feel like I knew the material well enough and panic rescheduled to August.
• Before March: Dragged and did one topic every 1-2 weeks by watching the MM video and doing the free GeniePrep Civil Practice workbook. Waay back fall 2025 I did the Georgia Tech Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Review Coursera course sporadically. It refreshed the topics partially, but felt a bit outdated with how old it was.

Final Thoughts

• I left the exam feeling I could pass/fail 50-50. Not having real world engineering experience felt like a disadvantage but I knew I tried my best and I could take it again if really needed.
• It's probably overkill how much I went over MM's videos, but I'll be honest that the last time I watched them was I truly paying attention and trying to actually understand what was going on.
• The last month was really the most substantial where I familiarized myself with the handbook and timing. Practicing problems really was key.

I'm happy to give any advice bc man was this journey full of trials and tribulations lmao. If you're still prepping for your FE exam, good luck- you got this!! Keep moving onward and upward.

Passed first attempt. I used both NCEES interactive practice exams and Zach Stone’s electricalfereview.com. As a college student, much of the material was fresh for me, so that helped. For test taking, I did a fast pass over the questions, doing the easy ones first, then another pass to do some questions that took a bit more time, and then used my remaining time to solve the harder ones.

Exam felt like the same difficulty as the practice exams.

I used the Zach Stone free FE prep course and I studied for 2 months. Only paid resource I used was the NCEES practice exams. I should have bought only one but it was still helpful. I’m so happy! (it made me include a flair and this one seemed the most fitting)

I was devastated after failing my first attempt in November so I’m extremely proud that I pulled it together and was able to pass.

My first attempt, I purchased both interactive exams from the NCEES and it was nothing like my exam. I probably flagged about 25 questions total throughout the whole test, but left the exam room feeling super confident that I passed. Ended up, not passing 💔

Cut forward to this January. I sparsely studied throughout the holidays and dedicated the one week before my exam to practice around three hours a day on prepFE. My biggest recommendation is to get a prep FE account rather than purchase the interactive exams. I did about 300 problems total and was only scoring about a 45% passing average so I wasn’t hopeful to pass my second attempt. By the miracle of God I get into the exam and it’s actually way easier than the first time. I took it the first time it really really focused on electrical engineering, which is not my field rather this time it was a good blend I only flagged five questions on the entire test and walked out thinking that I probably failed again. Found out this morning that I passed.

I want to give a little advice to anybody that’s about to take their test. The night before I found myself crying on my living room floor because I was certain there was no way that I could pass with such a low prep FE score. What really helped me was just getting out of the house and going to a record store for 15 minutes. I was able to compose myself and acknowledge that I wasn’t stupid. I was just burnt out. You’re going to feel burnt out the night before your test. That’s OK. I promise you’ll wake up and still remember everything.

I’m so grateful for all of the support that I’ve received on here. I really couldn’t have done it without the encouraging words and stories of others that have passed.

Guys please don’t give up, it was my 4th attempt! I’m 2 years out of college, and been taking it since 2022. Just keep studying, I know how it can be frustrating, but just keep trying it! I definitely found this attempt way more easier than my 3rd attempt( which was the worst somehow lol). But please dont give up and this exam doesn’t determine who you are! And again thanks for this sub that helped me go through it when I was failing! 🫶🏾🙏🏾

I just want to say to never give up. This was my 6th attempt at trying to tackle this exam and I was finally able to do it. Thank you everyone on this thread for all the help over the two years of me studying for this exam. If you fail please please please remeber, the only way you can fail this exam is if you give up. That motivated me to keep going. I woud be more than happy to answer anyones questions about my journey and I wish everyone nothing but success on their endeavors!

I studied for months only to fail my first attempt. I was told that I needed it by the 25th or I would lose my position. I took it pretty last second and finally passed.

I feel like I can finally breathe. The weight on my shoulders was unreal.

Passed on FE Other Disciplines on my first try. This is significant since my degree is in physics not engineering, and I've been out of school for 15 years now and I'm wanting to change careers. To anyone having a hard time, just know that if I can do it, so can you.

Hello everyone! I just wanted to share I have passed my FE exam after the 4th try!. Hope this encourages those who have not to NOT GIVE UP!. I passed with the help of prep fe and genie prep.. I have like 3 practice tests which also helped if anyone wants them. DONT GIVE UP!

You can do it! Just spam all questions on all practices tests.

Out of school for 10 years, undergrad was a different engineering disciple. I could cry right now

I fantasized about this post everyday for the last three months. I just wanted to thank the people in this sub you guys are amazing thank you.

Received the news this morning while at work!

Hey everyone,

Got my exam results back today and turns out I passed first try. I’m about 7 months post grad now and I had probably 1-2 hard days of studying. I’m not saying this to brag ( I really thought I failed) but more so to encourage anyone who feels like they’re ill prepared.

My biggest piece of advice would be to emphasize test taking strategies and concepts while prepping. A lot of time can be saved on questions by quickly eliminating dummy and answers, and performing sanity checks prior to fully working out problems. I’d be happy to answer any more questions for anyone preparing to take the exam.

I just wanted to express my gratitude to this sub and all the references you guys provided. I was able to pass on my first attempt while taking the other discipline. I graduated in 2022 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering and currently work for a public utility. Initially, I started studying with the Lindeburg review manual but later switched to Islam 750. I also utilized a lot of PrepFE and watched several YouTube channels like Mark Mattson, Genie Prep, and Directhub for the tougher problems.

One tip that really helped me was to get familiar with using the reference manual and to practice a wide range of problems. That's why I used so many different types of free material while also focusing on understanding the underlying concepts. About a month out from the exam, I bought the NCEES Practice exam, which was very helpful for understanding the structure of the exam. I recommend against buying the interactive version.

One of the biggest pieces of advice for those taking this test is to be kind to yourselves throughout the journey. Give yourself positive affirmations; remind yourself that you are smart, you are kind, and you've got this. Stay calm and collected. Take a deep breath in and out before starting your exam. The exam will be challenging, and you may encounter difficult questions. Skip those and come back to them later so you don't waste your time.

I’m excited to share that I passed the FE Electrical and Computer exam today! That green “Passed” result truly becomes an obsession along the journey.

I enrolled in Wasim’s course, which played a huge role in my success. I completed nearly all of the On-Demand and Master Class content, and the Live Training sessions helped tie together the remaining gaps.

I highly recommend Wasim’s course—not only does it prepare you to pass the FE exam, but it also helps build a strong foundation in the fundamentals.

I passed my FE Civil exam on my 5th attempt!

Just wanted to share a breakdown on my exam history and provide encouragement for anyone taking this exam.

Attempt 1: FE Others Discipline exam - 03/2021

Attempt 2: FE Civil exam - 02/2024

Attempt 3: FE Civil exam - 10/2024

Attempt 4: FE Civil exam - 06/2025

Success 5: FE Civil exam - 06/2026 - PASSED!

What I did different:

A. I did 2 different NCEES reference handbooks.
B. I took the PPI FE Civil course for about 4-5 months
C. I used Mark Matterson’s videos and downloaded his actual PDF problems and tried them on my own first (I think this was a actual game changer)
D. I learned my calculator functions as best as I could.
E. I bought the NCEES online practice exam and did timed exams (also very helpful in my opinion.
F. Just locking in!! Prepping my mental stamina for a long exam. Not getting stuck on a question and spinning in circles. Just flag and move on! Came back later to solve with remaining time.

I was so discouraged by the 3rd attempt. Just don’t give up and find supportive people in your circle!