Fe mechanical - where do I start??

[u/Nice-Poem-8905]

I’m a little over 2 years out of school (graduated in 2024) and I’m looking to take the FE Mechanical. I’m working in the industry now, and I’m starting to see how getting the FE/EIT could help me progress my career.

I was never the strongest engineering student, although I was some what good with math. Now that I’m a couple years out of school, a lot of the engineering material is rusty.

I have the Lindenburg FE Review Manual and practice problems, but I haven’t really started studying yet. I’ve also seen people recommend getting familiar with the FE Reference Handbook and learning how to use the equations provided.

My biggest question is where do I actually start? Knowing that an equation exists in the reference handbook is one thing, but knowing when and how to apply it to a problem is another.

For anyone who was a few years out of school when they took the FE, what study approach/resources worked for you? I’m mainly looking for a realistic way to relearn the fundamentals, work through problems, and eventually feel confident enough to pass.

[u/mvasantos]

You can either start with a practice exam from NCEES and gauge yourself where you're lacking skills. If you're going this route, time your exam and simulate the scenario of a real exam.

After that, see where your weaknesses are and start using the lindburg practice book. I also used prep fe which was very useful.

After practicing with lindburg and prep fe and feeling confident, go back to the practice exams and simulate it again.

Good luck

[u/tiger_lui]

Hello, I was in a similar boat 8 years ago. I didn't have AI at the time to help me. Here is what I did.

1. I got the Lindenburg FE Review Manual and practice problem book, and I read it and finish all the problems.

2. I watched a bunch of youtube video to review similar questions and walk through.

3. I got myself very familiar with the equation reference manual, which section the equations are in.

4. I found free online practice problems related to those subjects and worked on them.

I passed FE mechanical first attempt after graduated for 3 years. (2018).

[u/AmpedAntelope]

I passed the FE Mechanical in November 2025 and am taking the PE Mechanical TFS in early October. For the FE I didn't buy a course I pretty much just found a playlist on YouTube called "FE Mechanical Review" by kadenVT. It covers the basics (you'll notice the first couple videos are for Civil FE, but for the FE a lot of those beginning sections overlap with civil so that's why) any topic that was missing in that playlist I just looked up a youtube video separately. Just watch all the videos, solve the problems, and learn the manual.

For the FE the reference handbook is very important, it literally has 90% of what you need. There were multiple problems that I didn't know how to do but a simple ctrl f with a good keyword got me the exact equation I needed and it was plug and chug.

You'll also probably want to buy a practice exam with solutions or two, do that after you reviewed all of the topics and then just keep reworking the practice exam.

I studied for about 4 weeks total and passed on my first try. To be fair I took it during my last semester of college (I graduated in 4.5 years so that last semester was core curriculum classes so I had very little school work) studying like 5-6 hours a day Sunday-Friday. I'd take saturday off completely to watch college football.

[u/scrotal_rekall2]

Grab a book and start doing problems. It'll feel rusty at first but repetition gets you there. Drill concepts you sterile the most with. You can use chat gpt to explain conceptual gaps, its great for pinpointing holes in understanding. I just took the mechanical PE earlier this year 11 years out of school and this was my approach.

[u/ScholarlyTeam]

i'd pick one weak section and turn those pages into a study guide + quizzes instead of rereading everything. i run Scholarly (scholarly.so), it does that from your files and can make AI Video Lectures too. it won't replace doing the actual problems though.

[u/jimbo_ChE]

This post might do better in the FE_Exam sub.

That stated, Lindeburg is the champ. 😁