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Davy McDowell is the CEO of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).
He received his BS and MS in engineering from Clemson University.
OnlineEngineeringPrograms: What’s something you wish more people knew about licensure as a Professional Engineer and/or the PE exam?
McDowell: Two aspects come to mind. First, a professional engineer’s first and primary responsibility is to the public. They put the public’s health, safety, and welfare ahead of anything else in all that they do. The public is priority number one—not the company’s bottom line, not ego, not even the client.
Second, the FE and PE exams are not developed in a vacuum by a small, select group of engineers. They are developed by literally thousands of volunteers. NCEES has exam volunteers from all over the United States, with every state represented at some point in the exam development process.
Volunteers have diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender, and age, and come from varying work backgrounds, including consulting, academia, government, and industry. Exam volunteers have a great passion for giving back and sharing their knowledge and skills with NCEES, so our exams measure what they need to measure, which is competency.
OnlineEngineeringPrograms: Do you have any advice for new or aspiring engineers who are considering licensure as a Professional Engineer?
McDowell: Take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam as soon as possible. The FE exam is a test of the knowledge an engineer should gain while studying engineering in school. It covers courses seen by freshmen all the way through senior year. Taking the exam when those courses are fresh on your mind makes the exam less daunting. Statistically speaking, the longer one waits to take the FE exam after graduation, the more difficult it is to pass.
Take the Principles and Practice (PE) Exam as soon as you think you are ready. Each PE exam has a specification that lays out the topics on the exam. Review the topics covered and prepare appropriately.
As for licensure, be prepared to tell the state board the type of work you have performed when you apply for your license. Boards want to see what you have been doing. Concisely explain the engineering decisions you have made, the design elements of your work, how you analyzed a specific situation, etc. And keep a log of that work and the work performed on a specific project, especially in the first few years after college.
OnlineEngineeringPrograms: How do you see the PE exam and the licensure process evolving in the near future?
McDowell: It has been said that the world is shrinking and everything today is more global. We are seeing that happen within the engineering profession as we speak.
NCEES and the United Kingdom Engineering Council recently signed a mutual recognition agreement allowing reciprocity between participating state boards in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. NCEES sees this as a potential stepping stone to working with other countries on similar agreements to allow U.S.-based licensed engineers to practice globally and for engineers licensed in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. to bring their expertise to collaborate on projects in the U.S.
Applicants for PE licensure typically need an engineering degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. Upon graduation, they’ll need to take and pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, which tests their understanding of basic engineering principles. After passing the FE exam, engineers will need to obtain relevant work experience, typically four years’ worth, under the supervision of a licensed PE. They’ll need to pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam in their focus discipline. This exam is more specific and technical than the FE exam, testing knowledge of a specific engineering discipline and its application to real-world engineering scenarios.
While the steps outlined above represent the most commonly accepted path to licensure, there is room for deviation. Most states have now decoupled the experience requirement as a prerequisite for sitting for the PE exam, and many state boards have alternate pathways to licensure outside of an EAC/ABET degree.
After passing the exam, aspiring Professional Engineers must submit their application for licensure to a state licensing board. Note that PE licensure is granted by state licensing boards in the US, and some states may have additional requirements, such as state-specific exams on laws and ethics.
The PE Exam is a comprehensive test of an engineer’s understanding of their specific engineering discipline. Depending on the exam, it can range from 8 to 8.5 hours, from 80 to 85 questions that include both multiple-choice and alternative item types (AITs).(AITs).
Each discipline and sub-discipline has its own exam. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), which plays a crucial role in the PE licensure process, offers official specifications for each exam. These specifications outline in detail what topic areas the exam covers and to what extent. Exam specifications are updated every 5-7 years.
Some PE exams, with large examinee populations are available year-round. Others, with smaller examinee populations, will have limited testing windows once or twice a year. All examinees can schedule a seat at an exam in advance. The fee for any PE exam is $400 (except PE Structural, which is $350), and scores are generally available 7-10 days after taking it. Further registration information is available in the NCEES Examinee Guide.
To get more details on PE exam availability, topic coverage, and exam specifications, read on.
Agricultural and Biological
Topic areas include common systems applications; natural resources and environment systems; processing systems; facilities and structures; and machinery systems.
Architectural
Topic areas include building system integration, electrical systems, mechanical systems, structural systems, and project management and construction administration.
Chemical
Topic areas include mass/energy balances; thermodynamics; heat transfer; chemical reaction engineering; fluids; mass transfer; and plant design and operation.
Civil: Construction
Topic areas include soil mechanics, site layout and development, material properties, estimating quantities and costs, project planning and scheduling, material, production, and execution quality control, structural mechanics, hydraulics and hydrology, construction operations and methods, design for supporting construction loads, and health and safety.
Civil: Geotechnical
Topic areas include site characterization, soil mechanics, laboratory testing and analysis, construction observation and monitoring, and quality assurance/quality control and safety.
Civil: Structural
Topic areas include analyzing structures’ loads and load applications, analyzing structures’ forces and load effects, designing temporary structures, designing and detailing structures’ materials and material properties, and designing and detailing structures’ components.
Civil: Transportation
Topic areas include project management, traffic engineering (capacity analysis, transportation planning, and safety analysis), roadside and cross-section design, horizontal and vertical design, intersection geometry, traffic signals, traffic control design, geotechnical and pavement design, and drainage.
Civil: Water Resources & Environmental
Topic areas include project planning; soil mechanics; materials, analysis and design; hydraulics-closed circuit; hydraulics-open channel; hydrology, groundwater and wells; and surface water and groundwater quality.
Topic areas include measurement; control systems; final control elements; signals transmission and networking; and safety systems.
Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering
Topic areas include computer systems; embedded system software; hardware; and computer networks.
Electrical and Computer: Electronics, Controls, and Communications
Topic areas include general electric engineering knowledge; digital systems; electromagnetics; electronics; control systems; and communications.
Electrical and Computer: Power
Topic areas include general power engineering; circuits; rotating machines and electric power devices; and transmission and distribution (high, medium, and low voltage).
Environmental
Topic areas include water; air; solid and hazardous waste; site assessment and remediation; environmental health and safety; and associated engineering principles.
Fire Protection
Topic areas include fire protection analysis; fire dynamics fundamentals; active and passive systems; egress; and occupant movement.
Industrial and Systems Engineering
Topic areas include: systems engineering; facilities engineering and planning; operations engineering; work design; and quality engineering.
Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration
Topic areas include principles (e.g., thermodynamics, psychrometrics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics) and applications (e.g., equipment and components, heating/cooling loads, and codes and standards).
Mechanical: Machine Design and Materials
Topic areas include principles (e.g., basic engineering practice, material properties, and vibration) and applications (e.g., mechanical components, joints and fasteners, and manufacturing processes).
Mechanical: Thermal and Fluid Systems
Topic areas include principles (e.g., fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass balance); hydraulic and fluid applications; and energy/power system applications.
Metallurgic and Materials Engineering
Topic areas include structure; performance; processing; and characterization and properties
Mining and Mineral Processing
Topic areas include exploration (e.g., site geologic and geotechnical conditions, exploration methods and techniques), mine planning/operations, and mineral processing.
Naval Architecture & Marine
Topics: naval architecture (e.g., hydrostatics and stability, hydrodynamics, ocean engineering, structural design), marine engineering (e.g., piping system design, propulsion, and power generation, auxiliary equipment selection), and common core (e.g., corrosion, hull outfitting, shipbuilding, and repair).
Nuclear
Topic areas include radiological analysis and consequences; the nuclear fuel cycle; nuclear systems and components; reactor physics and criticality safety; and safety analysis.
Petroleum
Topic areas include drilling; production/completion; facilities; reservoirs; and economics and management.
Structural: Vertical Forces
The breadth section focuses on analyzing structures. For the depth portion, examinees must choose between buildings and bridges.
Structural: Lateral Forces
The breadth section focuses on analyzing structures and their design and details. For the depth portion, examinees must choose either buildings or bridges.
Those licensed as Professional Engineers will need to maintain and renew their license. Most states require PEs to complete a certain number of Professional Development Hours (PDHs) as part of that process. The number of hours differs from state to state, but typically ranges between 15 and 30 per year or renewal cycle (which is often two years).
Acceptable activities for earning PDHs vary by state and may include activities such as attending workshops, completing online courses, publishing technical papers, serving on technical committees, or participating in professional society activities. This renewal requirement ensures that PEs are in a state of constant learning, engagement, and contribution to their profession.
Matt Zbrog is a writer and researcher from Southern California. Since 2018, he’s written extensively about a wide range of engineering disciplines, with a particular focus on the potential impacts of major technological breakthroughs. His work largely centers around conversations with engineering faculty at top universities, highlighting their research in areas such as nuclear power, artificial intelligence, soft robotics, and semiconductor design. He’s also worked with leaders and subject matter experts at the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
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