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Showing posts with label PE Exam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PE Exam. Show all posts
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
P. E. Exam Day
Well, yesterday I took the exam. I stayed in a hotel the night before nearby and man, Baton Rouge sure does suck.
I made sure to load up on coffee. I arrived early (they threaten you with not letting you in if you show up late) and the other test takers, being engineers, also showed up early. It was a pretty interesting sight there, all the engineers with their suitcases full of books. Wish I had taken a photo.
One nice thing: the proctors were extremely efficient and courteous. They kept the exam on time (unlike when I took the F.E.) and you didn't notice them during the exam, as it should be.
The exam was flat out hard. There's no other way of putting it. The test makers are extremely paranoid about content being posted, so I'll skip through that. I'll say that there were a few of my strengths that were completely absent from my question bank.
The morning section I was almost finished after 2 1/2 hours. There were a few questions I struggled with the rest of the time.
The afternoon section was far harder than the morning (although it matched up with my areas of expertise more). Each question took much longer. I used all the time allotted to me.
Especially in the afternoon, you've got to move quickly. There's no time to look through solved problems (I tried in the morning and it didn't help). The references that are the best are those that provide shortcuts or are tabulated data. A book full of tabulated data (like Keenan and Keyes or Crane 410) beats out the equations. I now know how all the old farts were able to launch a rocket to the moon with slide rules and all. It was those books of tabulated data. They are awesome and go a long way towards cutting down on calculation errors.
Out of the entire suitcase of books, here's what I actually touched during the exam:
The MERM (all hail the MERM). I also xeroxed the index (3-hole punched and bound, so it met the rules). That saved a lot of time.
Keenan and Keyes Steam Tables
Mark's Standard Handbook. I was able to pull a problem from one of the weirder tables inside.
Keenan's Gas Tables. A book I really, really wished I had studied with more.
Engineering Unit Conversions. A must. Big time saver.
Cameron Hydraulic Data. All the info in Cameron is in the MERM, but Cameron is so much handier. I think I also may have used Crane 410.
Shigley's Machine Design. I think I used it once.
Pocket Ref. Flipped through it for a value on something, I think.
All other texts in my giant suitcase were useless. For all of the code questions (CFR/ASME/etc.), they gave you the section of the code and you had to interpret it.
The best thing I did, honestly, was my own 3-ring binder full of material. I had several psychrometric charts, tons of Wikipedia data on the molecular weight of common gases, etc. I was flipping through that almost as much as the MERM.
I made sure to load up on coffee. I arrived early (they threaten you with not letting you in if you show up late) and the other test takers, being engineers, also showed up early. It was a pretty interesting sight there, all the engineers with their suitcases full of books. Wish I had taken a photo.
One nice thing: the proctors were extremely efficient and courteous. They kept the exam on time (unlike when I took the F.E.) and you didn't notice them during the exam, as it should be.
The exam was flat out hard. There's no other way of putting it. The test makers are extremely paranoid about content being posted, so I'll skip through that. I'll say that there were a few of my strengths that were completely absent from my question bank.
The morning section I was almost finished after 2 1/2 hours. There were a few questions I struggled with the rest of the time.
The afternoon section was far harder than the morning (although it matched up with my areas of expertise more). Each question took much longer. I used all the time allotted to me.
Especially in the afternoon, you've got to move quickly. There's no time to look through solved problems (I tried in the morning and it didn't help). The references that are the best are those that provide shortcuts or are tabulated data. A book full of tabulated data (like Keenan and Keyes or Crane 410) beats out the equations. I now know how all the old farts were able to launch a rocket to the moon with slide rules and all. It was those books of tabulated data. They are awesome and go a long way towards cutting down on calculation errors.
Out of the entire suitcase of books, here's what I actually touched during the exam:
The MERM (all hail the MERM). I also xeroxed the index (3-hole punched and bound, so it met the rules). That saved a lot of time.
Keenan and Keyes Steam Tables
Mark's Standard Handbook. I was able to pull a problem from one of the weirder tables inside.
Keenan's Gas Tables. A book I really, really wished I had studied with more.
Engineering Unit Conversions. A must. Big time saver.
Cameron Hydraulic Data. All the info in Cameron is in the MERM, but Cameron is so much handier. I think I also may have used Crane 410.
Shigley's Machine Design. I think I used it once.
Pocket Ref. Flipped through it for a value on something, I think.
All other texts in my giant suitcase were useless. For all of the code questions (CFR/ASME/etc.), they gave you the section of the code and you had to interpret it.
The best thing I did, honestly, was my own 3-ring binder full of material. I had several psychrometric charts, tons of Wikipedia data on the molecular weight of common gases, etc. I was flipping through that almost as much as the MERM.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
P.E. Exam Tomorrow
I'm in Baton Rouge. Tomorrow, it's me and the MERM (with a few other resources) vs. the P.E. Exam.
Wish me luck.
Wish me luck.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
P.E. Exam - Still Studying
8 days left until the trek to Baton Rouge for the exam... Still buried in engineering books...
Monday, August 30, 2010
P.E. Exam, then what next?
Out sick still, so doing a fair amount of posting. I'm still studying. I'm fully registered for October. All I need is to study and take the test.
After all this studying, then what? The P.E. Exam will allow me to stamp drawings (taking on liability for any errors) or work on my own. Even the later is subject so all sorts of caveats. For example, the state of Louisiana prohibits offering engineering services without a license (P.E.), but does allow for the much-maligned "industrial exemption".
Anyway, the P.E. is very important with what I do, but for other industries, the P.E. is useless. I've chatted with a few of my coworkers that work in aerospace, and their companies are all about the Master's degrees, especially if you deal directly with NASA. The NASA employees look down their nose at an engineer that just has an undergrad degree.
Just throwing out random additional ideas:
* Petroleum Engineering/Geology
Petroleum Engineering textbook set I picked up
When times are good, Petroleum Engineering is the highest paying of all engineering professions (when times are not so good, they all go on the unemployment line). I've got the SPE Guide to the P.E. Exam and it seems about 1/3 production system (which I know), 1/3 reservoir engineering (mostly geology), and 1/3 drilling. Now, normally someone who works on drilling would never work on production and visa-versa, but BP has taught me a whole lot about drilling.
* Naval Architecture/Marine Engineering. Recently, I've been working on a lot of offshore and marine systems (ballast systems and the like) and I've found it pretty interesting. If I were to pick up the requesite undergraduate courses, UNO happens to have one of the best NAME programs in the country. Maybe I should look into getting a degree before the Legislature's budget cuts make UNO "ain't dere no more."
* Nuclear. Nukes have always been fascinating to me. It's 20% of our electricity comes from nukes and we actually produce more power, GW(e) to GW(e), than France. I've picked up a guide to the nuclear P.E. test as well.
* Materials Science. There's always a need for a "materials/corrosion guy" on all large projects. An extensive knowledge of materials, galvanic corrosion, welding, etc. It also is a nice balance between specialization and generalization. I don't like the idea of doing just one little niche with no idea on how it fits into the total project. One cool resource: the entire ASM Metals handbook is now online.
After all this studying, then what? The P.E. Exam will allow me to stamp drawings (taking on liability for any errors) or work on my own. Even the later is subject so all sorts of caveats. For example, the state of Louisiana prohibits offering engineering services without a license (P.E.), but does allow for the much-maligned "industrial exemption".
Anyway, the P.E. is very important with what I do, but for other industries, the P.E. is useless. I've chatted with a few of my coworkers that work in aerospace, and their companies are all about the Master's degrees, especially if you deal directly with NASA. The NASA employees look down their nose at an engineer that just has an undergrad degree.
Just throwing out random additional ideas:
* Petroleum Engineering/Geology
Petroleum Engineering textbook set I picked up
When times are good, Petroleum Engineering is the highest paying of all engineering professions (when times are not so good, they all go on the unemployment line). I've got the SPE Guide to the P.E. Exam and it seems about 1/3 production system (which I know), 1/3 reservoir engineering (mostly geology), and 1/3 drilling. Now, normally someone who works on drilling would never work on production and visa-versa, but BP has taught me a whole lot about drilling.
* Naval Architecture/Marine Engineering. Recently, I've been working on a lot of offshore and marine systems (ballast systems and the like) and I've found it pretty interesting. If I were to pick up the requesite undergraduate courses, UNO happens to have one of the best NAME programs in the country. Maybe I should look into getting a degree before the Legislature's budget cuts make UNO "ain't dere no more."
* Nuclear. Nukes have always been fascinating to me. It's 20% of our electricity comes from nukes and we actually produce more power, GW(e) to GW(e), than France. I've picked up a guide to the nuclear P.E. test as well.
* Materials Science. There's always a need for a "materials/corrosion guy" on all large projects. An extensive knowledge of materials, galvanic corrosion, welding, etc. It also is a nice balance between specialization and generalization. I don't like the idea of doing just one little niche with no idea on how it fits into the total project. One cool resource: the entire ASM Metals handbook is now online.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Going into hibernation
Not much posting lately. Lots to study for October.
My application has been accepted by the state and all I have to do is register with NCEES and pay a couple hundred bucks. I haven't registered yet because I'm still not sure what I'll do for the afternoon section. I've narrowed it down to HVAC or Thermofluids. I have until September 16th to decide.
I'm confident I could pass either one, but it's also possible I could fail either one; there's simply so much material on it. I like to explain Mechanical Engineering to people by saying it's "anything that moves" from cars, to refrigeration, to engines, to aircraft, to pumps, etc.
I've got lots more studying to do. I don't even want to think about how many hundreds of hours I'll be putting into this before I'm done. I want to pass on the first try and would HATE to have to do this all over again. I'm not going to lie, it's starting to get old. It wears on a man, doing engineering all day and all night.
To stay motivated, I've had lots of help from Candice and I've also gotten myself a little reward for after the exam:
My application has been accepted by the state and all I have to do is register with NCEES and pay a couple hundred bucks. I haven't registered yet because I'm still not sure what I'll do for the afternoon section. I've narrowed it down to HVAC or Thermofluids. I have until September 16th to decide.
I'm confident I could pass either one, but it's also possible I could fail either one; there's simply so much material on it. I like to explain Mechanical Engineering to people by saying it's "anything that moves" from cars, to refrigeration, to engines, to aircraft, to pumps, etc.
I've got lots more studying to do. I don't even want to think about how many hundreds of hours I'll be putting into this before I'm done. I want to pass on the first try and would HATE to have to do this all over again. I'm not going to lie, it's starting to get old. It wears on a man, doing engineering all day and all night.
To stay motivated, I've had lots of help from Candice and I've also gotten myself a little reward for after the exam:
Saturday, July 3, 2010
P.E. Exam Application Status
Sorry the posting has fallen off a bit. I've still got a lot of studying to do.
My application to LAPELS is now complete and it's now "being reviewed by the committee. It takes 6-8 weeks, allegedly. NCEES registration starts on July 6th (Tuesday), but stays open until September. Right now, I'm waiting on LAPELS to give me the OK to register to take the exam. I'm playing a waiting game...
In the meantime, more studying. I'm going through machine design and I'm very glad I still have my old textbooks. Shigley's is fabulous. I've also borrowed Machinery Handbook from a coworker and I've found it really comes in handy. I wish I had bought that instead of Rourke's. It's much easier to find what I need in Machinery Handbook than Rourke's.
After all the machine design problems I've worked, I think I'll stick with either Thermofluids or HVAC for the afternoon section.
My application to LAPELS is now complete and it's now "being reviewed by the committee. It takes 6-8 weeks, allegedly. NCEES registration starts on July 6th (Tuesday), but stays open until September. Right now, I'm waiting on LAPELS to give me the OK to register to take the exam. I'm playing a waiting game...
In the meantime, more studying. I'm going through machine design and I'm very glad I still have my old textbooks. Shigley's is fabulous. I've also borrowed Machinery Handbook from a coworker and I've found it really comes in handy. I wish I had bought that instead of Rourke's. It's much easier to find what I need in Machinery Handbook than Rourke's.
After all the machine design problems I've worked, I think I'll stick with either Thermofluids or HVAC for the afternoon section.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Yet more studying...
I've done lots of trips to Rue for coffee and studying.
Well, I've put in my application to LAPELS to take the P.E. Exam in October. I'm still awaiting word that the application is 100% complete. They go through the forms with a fine-tooth comb. They give you an extra month after the initial due date to make sure the application is complete.
Next, I'll have to register with NCEES. That's the national board that proctors the actual exam. They have a $150 fee. One thing I just realized is there has been a rule change. Now, when you register in July, you have to pick which subset for the afternoon you want to do on the exam in October. Sort of nuts, if you ask me. It used to be that you could mix and match problems based off what you felt confident or at least you could flip through the books and see what the problems looked like first. Not anymore.
As a MechE, I have 3 choices for the afternoon section:
HVAC
Machine Design
Thermofluids
Machine Design is probably the "easiest", but as I've worked problems, I've found it's entirely too easy to make mistakes on those types of problems. The P.E. Exam is now 100% multiple choice with no credit for just missing a sign or something like that.
HVAC is surprisingly quick. I like that I can get an answer (right or wrong) in a reasonable amount of time for just about any question.
Thermofluids is the closest to what I do at work. It's probably what I'm going to take on the exam, primarily because of my familiarity with it. The disadvantage is that there can be some extremely complicated 15-state thermodynamics problems and even the easiest heat transfer problems take forever to do.
I have to pick what I do in October in July.
-------------
More P.E. news:
Professional engineers provide the needed link between industry and public welfare
NCEES response to the Deepwater Horizon incident. Note that Mark Hafle, BP's engineer that designed the well, is not a P.E.
Well, I've put in my application to LAPELS to take the P.E. Exam in October. I'm still awaiting word that the application is 100% complete. They go through the forms with a fine-tooth comb. They give you an extra month after the initial due date to make sure the application is complete.
Next, I'll have to register with NCEES. That's the national board that proctors the actual exam. They have a $150 fee. One thing I just realized is there has been a rule change. Now, when you register in July, you have to pick which subset for the afternoon you want to do on the exam in October. Sort of nuts, if you ask me. It used to be that you could mix and match problems based off what you felt confident or at least you could flip through the books and see what the problems looked like first. Not anymore.
As a MechE, I have 3 choices for the afternoon section:
HVAC
Machine Design
Thermofluids
Machine Design is probably the "easiest", but as I've worked problems, I've found it's entirely too easy to make mistakes on those types of problems. The P.E. Exam is now 100% multiple choice with no credit for just missing a sign or something like that.
HVAC is surprisingly quick. I like that I can get an answer (right or wrong) in a reasonable amount of time for just about any question.
Thermofluids is the closest to what I do at work. It's probably what I'm going to take on the exam, primarily because of my familiarity with it. The disadvantage is that there can be some extremely complicated 15-state thermodynamics problems and even the easiest heat transfer problems take forever to do.
I have to pick what I do in October in July.
-------------
More P.E. news:
Professional engineers provide the needed link between industry and public welfare
NCEES response to the Deepwater Horizon incident. Note that Mark Hafle, BP's engineer that designed the well, is not a P.E.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
4 Years of Engineering
As of yesterday, I've worked as an engineer for 4 years. I graduated on a Saturday, got a job offer Monday, started the Monday after that.
I'm now eligible to take the P.E. Exam. Most states require 5 years of experience before you can take the Principles and Practice in Engineering Exam. Louisiana only requires 4 (and up until this year, you could take it with 3 years, 9 months experience and the time that lapsed between applying and taking the exam an getting the results would take care of the 4 years experience).
The application is due on June 1st and I have everything done. I was just waiting for the official 4 year mark to appear on my experience record, that way there could be no hiccups. You're given an extra month to finalize the application in case of an error or an incomplete application.
I'll take the exam in late October. I've been studying for November and there are times where I'd just prefer to go to the bar and watch baseball. I've gotten pretty frustrated sometimes because, at least for the mechanical exam, there is SO MUCH MATERIAL on the exam.
I've been pretty fortunate in that I've been switched around and gotten lots of experience in different areas; I haven't been pigeonholed doing just one thing. Despite this, I've had nowhere near enough exposure to everything on the exam. The three main areas on the exam are Machine Design, Thermofluids, and HVAC. I've never done any HVAC work and have been teaching that to myself.
The only thing that I've personally worked on enough where I feel like I could take the exam without studying is pumps and piping. Everything else, I have to study. I wonder how hard mechanical engineering is compared to some of the hyper-specific exams like nuclear or petroleum. It's not enough just to know the subject, but you also have to be able to work the problems quickly and efficiently without a computer. So far, I've worked out HVAC problems so quickly that, despite the fact that I've never done that for my job, I'm leaning towards taking that as the "in-depth" portion of the exam.
I'll be making lots of trips to Rue this summer to study...
I'm now eligible to take the P.E. Exam. Most states require 5 years of experience before you can take the Principles and Practice in Engineering Exam. Louisiana only requires 4 (and up until this year, you could take it with 3 years, 9 months experience and the time that lapsed between applying and taking the exam an getting the results would take care of the 4 years experience).
The application is due on June 1st and I have everything done. I was just waiting for the official 4 year mark to appear on my experience record, that way there could be no hiccups. You're given an extra month to finalize the application in case of an error or an incomplete application.
I'll take the exam in late October. I've been studying for November and there are times where I'd just prefer to go to the bar and watch baseball. I've gotten pretty frustrated sometimes because, at least for the mechanical exam, there is SO MUCH MATERIAL on the exam.
I've been pretty fortunate in that I've been switched around and gotten lots of experience in different areas; I haven't been pigeonholed doing just one thing. Despite this, I've had nowhere near enough exposure to everything on the exam. The three main areas on the exam are Machine Design, Thermofluids, and HVAC. I've never done any HVAC work and have been teaching that to myself.
The only thing that I've personally worked on enough where I feel like I could take the exam without studying is pumps and piping. Everything else, I have to study. I wonder how hard mechanical engineering is compared to some of the hyper-specific exams like nuclear or petroleum. It's not enough just to know the subject, but you also have to be able to work the problems quickly and efficiently without a computer. So far, I've worked out HVAC problems so quickly that, despite the fact that I've never done that for my job, I'm leaning towards taking that as the "in-depth" portion of the exam.
I'll be making lots of trips to Rue this summer to study...
Thursday, October 15, 2009
When to take the P.E. Exam?
I've been an EIT/EI (term varies by state) for about three and a half years now. I'm almost ready to take the P.E. Exam. In legal terms, the main thing that separates a Professional Engineer is the ability to stamp and certify drawings. It means the P.E. is taking full responsibility for the design.
In order to become a P.E. you need to graduate with a Bachelor's of Science* in Engineering from an ABET-accredited university. You'll generally have about 100 credit hours worth of math, science, and engineering out of 120-ish total for your diploma.
Then, you take the Fundamental of Engineering exam (FE Exam). I took and passed the FE a few weeks before I graduated in Spring 2006. The FE is only given twice a year, so as long as your school certifies that you're going to graduate on time, you're allowed to take it the semester you graduate. Tulane, despite having many graduates in Biomedical Engineering who don't have a full load of thermodynamics, hasn't had a student fail the FE in over 30 years. That's partially because it's graded on a state-by-state curve (thank you, LSU students, for anchoring down the scores!).
Once you pass the FE Exam, you become a EIT/EI. Engineer In Training (EIT) is a more common term, but Louisiana uses Engineer Intern (EI).
You then gain experience while working under a licensed Professional Engineer for usually 4-5 years. I've been very fortunate in that I work for a firm that's got the best reputation in town for over 50 years and I've had the opportunity to work in several different industries (mining, oil & gas, commercial, etc.) under several different P.E.'s and gain some great experience.
I was originally planning on taking it as soon as possible, but I'm pretty much settled into taking it in October of 2010. I've recently learned, however, that Louisiana technically only requires 3 years, 9 months of experience, due to the exam being scheduled only twice per year (April/October) and once per year for less common exams (nuclear, industrial, etc.). I could, if I chose to, take it in April of 2010, about 6 months from now. Unfortunately, that April date is very close to another busy day for me. I'd also have only 6 months to study for it (a full year studying about 10-20 hours a week to prepare is recommended).
I've asked around and from what I can tell, Mechanical Engineering and Civil/Structural are the two most difficult subjects. Mechanical Engineering is extremely broad; I like to describe it as 'everything that moves.' The three main subjects on the Mechanical P.E. exam are Thermo/fluids, Machine design, and HVAC/Refrigeration. If the exam were just on fluids, I could probably take it in my sleep, but I've done virtually no HVAC work. It takes learning a huge amount of material to pass.
Anyway, that's what I'm considering now. I'm probably going to take it in October 2010, like I was planning. The only consideration I might have is I might want to study as much as I can and just take a stab at it in the spring. If I pass, I pass and if I fail, I know what to study. It's $255 to take the test, plus $100 to LAPELS, so I'm not sure I want to take it just for kicks.
_______________________
* There are other ways to become a P.E., but I'll stick with the most common route. This is how 90+% of new P.E.'s go. See NCEES for more.
In order to become a P.E. you need to graduate with a Bachelor's of Science* in Engineering from an ABET-accredited university. You'll generally have about 100 credit hours worth of math, science, and engineering out of 120-ish total for your diploma.
Then, you take the Fundamental of Engineering exam (FE Exam). I took and passed the FE a few weeks before I graduated in Spring 2006. The FE is only given twice a year, so as long as your school certifies that you're going to graduate on time, you're allowed to take it the semester you graduate. Tulane, despite having many graduates in Biomedical Engineering who don't have a full load of thermodynamics, hasn't had a student fail the FE in over 30 years. That's partially because it's graded on a state-by-state curve (thank you, LSU students, for anchoring down the scores!).
Once you pass the FE Exam, you become a EIT/EI. Engineer In Training (EIT) is a more common term, but Louisiana uses Engineer Intern (EI).
You then gain experience while working under a licensed Professional Engineer for usually 4-5 years. I've been very fortunate in that I work for a firm that's got the best reputation in town for over 50 years and I've had the opportunity to work in several different industries (mining, oil & gas, commercial, etc.) under several different P.E.'s and gain some great experience.
I was originally planning on taking it as soon as possible, but I'm pretty much settled into taking it in October of 2010. I've recently learned, however, that Louisiana technically only requires 3 years, 9 months of experience, due to the exam being scheduled only twice per year (April/October) and once per year for less common exams (nuclear, industrial, etc.). I could, if I chose to, take it in April of 2010, about 6 months from now. Unfortunately, that April date is very close to another busy day for me. I'd also have only 6 months to study for it (a full year studying about 10-20 hours a week to prepare is recommended).
I've asked around and from what I can tell, Mechanical Engineering and Civil/Structural are the two most difficult subjects. Mechanical Engineering is extremely broad; I like to describe it as 'everything that moves.' The three main subjects on the Mechanical P.E. exam are Thermo/fluids, Machine design, and HVAC/Refrigeration. If the exam were just on fluids, I could probably take it in my sleep, but I've done virtually no HVAC work. It takes learning a huge amount of material to pass.
Anyway, that's what I'm considering now. I'm probably going to take it in October 2010, like I was planning. The only consideration I might have is I might want to study as much as I can and just take a stab at it in the spring. If I pass, I pass and if I fail, I know what to study. It's $255 to take the test, plus $100 to LAPELS, so I'm not sure I want to take it just for kicks.
_______________________
* There are other ways to become a P.E., but I'll stick with the most common route. This is how 90+% of new P.E.'s go. See NCEES for more.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Studying for the P.E. Exam
Last year, I talked about being halfway to the P.E. Exam. It's now a year later and I'm about one year away from being eligible to take the exam.
The 2010 tests in April and October 2010. I think I graduated 2 weeks too late to take the April exam, plus it would be right about the time of a certain special event, so it will probably be October.
I've started to gather materials and start studying. I've got a couple of sample exams and a P.E. prep manual. Lindeburg is what most of my coworkers used during their exam, so that's what I'll start with.
I've started with an older edition of the sample exam and reference manual. They are a lot cheaper and I can get a sense of whether I not I like the book before I buy the latest version next year. I did get the latest sample exam, because the exam has a new format.
The exam takes all day and is split into 2 parts. It's open book. No graphing calculators. The new format has 40 multiple choice questions in the morning on general mechanical engineering topics. The afternoon allows you to choose what subject you want to concentrate on ("HVAC and Refrigeration, Mechanical Systems and Materials, or Thermal and Fluids Systems"), once again 40 multiple choice questions. The new format also mixes SI and Imperial units (the P.E. exam has traditionally been strictly Imperial).
I haven't been studying for that long, but here are a few of the useful things I've learned so far:
* UNITS- Checking the units of the problem are critical to getting the right answer they're looking for. Unit Analysis [DOC] a great check to make sure you're on the right track, too.
* Having handy conversion factors is a must. Kurt Geick's book has been great in that department.
* No computer! Not having Google to do unit conversions and quickly look up definitions threw me at first. I've got a decent supply of reference materials to help me out, but I need to get faster at using them.
* One thing that's great about graphing calculators is you can see what you entered and see if you typed something in wrong. I discovered a newer scientific calculator that comes pretty close in idiot-proofing calculations that's proven quite handy. All it really does that a normal scientific doesn't is makes it more legible and easier to track calculations, but that can be a big help in solving problems quickly and accurately.
As far as sample questions, here's one from the obsolete format of the exam to give you an idea. The suggested allotted time for this problem is about 24 minutes.
***************************
An electrical generator and an air conditioning unit on a passenger aircraft use 68 lbm/min of compressed air at 100 psia and 640 degrees F bled off from one of the jet engine compressor sections. The air conditioner runs on an open cycle and maintains the passenger cabin at 80 degrees F and 12 psia. The electrical generator is driven by an air turbine whose expansion is a polytropic process with a polytropic exponent of 1.2. The mechanical efficiency of the turbine is 85%. Prior to entering the air turbine, compressed air from the engine is cooled to 250 degrees F in a crossflow heat exchanger using ram air from outside the aircraft. The pressure drop across the heat exchanger is negligible.
Here's my sketch of the problem:
Requirements:
(a) Assuming air is a real gas, what power (in kW) is developed by the turbine?
(b) Assuming that air is a real gas, what is the total cooling load [NOTE: in Tons] from the passenger cabin?
(c) Repeat (a) assuming air is an ideal gas, the turbine expansion is isentropic, and the efficiency remains the same.
(d) Repeat (b) assuming air is an ideal gas, the turbine expansion is isentropic, and the efficiency remains the same.
***************************
Answers in the comments.
The 2010 tests in April and October 2010. I think I graduated 2 weeks too late to take the April exam, plus it would be right about the time of a certain special event, so it will probably be October.
I've started to gather materials and start studying. I've got a couple of sample exams and a P.E. prep manual. Lindeburg is what most of my coworkers used during their exam, so that's what I'll start with.
I've started with an older edition of the sample exam and reference manual. They are a lot cheaper and I can get a sense of whether I not I like the book before I buy the latest version next year. I did get the latest sample exam, because the exam has a new format.
The exam takes all day and is split into 2 parts. It's open book. No graphing calculators. The new format has 40 multiple choice questions in the morning on general mechanical engineering topics. The afternoon allows you to choose what subject you want to concentrate on ("HVAC and Refrigeration, Mechanical Systems and Materials, or Thermal and Fluids Systems"), once again 40 multiple choice questions. The new format also mixes SI and Imperial units (the P.E. exam has traditionally been strictly Imperial).
I haven't been studying for that long, but here are a few of the useful things I've learned so far:
* UNITS- Checking the units of the problem are critical to getting the right answer they're looking for. Unit Analysis [DOC] a great check to make sure you're on the right track, too.
* Having handy conversion factors is a must. Kurt Geick's book has been great in that department.
* No computer! Not having Google to do unit conversions and quickly look up definitions threw me at first. I've got a decent supply of reference materials to help me out, but I need to get faster at using them.
* One thing that's great about graphing calculators is you can see what you entered and see if you typed something in wrong. I discovered a newer scientific calculator that comes pretty close in idiot-proofing calculations that's proven quite handy. All it really does that a normal scientific doesn't is makes it more legible and easier to track calculations, but that can be a big help in solving problems quickly and accurately.
As far as sample questions, here's one from the obsolete format of the exam to give you an idea. The suggested allotted time for this problem is about 24 minutes.
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An electrical generator and an air conditioning unit on a passenger aircraft use 68 lbm/min of compressed air at 100 psia and 640 degrees F bled off from one of the jet engine compressor sections. The air conditioner runs on an open cycle and maintains the passenger cabin at 80 degrees F and 12 psia. The electrical generator is driven by an air turbine whose expansion is a polytropic process with a polytropic exponent of 1.2. The mechanical efficiency of the turbine is 85%. Prior to entering the air turbine, compressed air from the engine is cooled to 250 degrees F in a crossflow heat exchanger using ram air from outside the aircraft. The pressure drop across the heat exchanger is negligible.
Here's my sketch of the problem:
Requirements:
(a) Assuming air is a real gas, what power (in kW) is developed by the turbine?
(b) Assuming that air is a real gas, what is the total cooling load [NOTE: in Tons] from the passenger cabin?
(c) Repeat (a) assuming air is an ideal gas, the turbine expansion is isentropic, and the efficiency remains the same.
(d) Repeat (b) assuming air is an ideal gas, the turbine expansion is isentropic, and the efficiency remains the same.
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Answers in the comments.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Rising Tide and thoughts about being halfway to taking the PE
Great to see everyone out and about last night. I even got to shake Ceresoli's hand (3 times, no less). If you haven't seen Gambit's wrap up of last night's events, check it out.
I've slacked on my posting a bit lately and various and sundry individuals suggested I get back to it, so here's one post I've been kicking around in my head for a while.
To become a licensed Professional Engineer you need to get a Bachelor's in Engineering, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam, spend 4-5 years (depending on the state, LA=4) working under a licensed engineer, and then finally take the Principals and Practices in Engineering (PE) Exam. There are some minor details that vary by state, but all states follow that basic formula.
I passed the FE and I'm a little over halfway to taking the PE. That makes me an EI/EIT (term varies by state - Engineer Intern/ Engineer In Training). I have a few observations about the current state of engineering:
This is the best job market for engineers in 30+ years. Oil & Gas, mining, heavy industry, alternative energy, nuclear, it doesn't matter; they are all booming. There are very few young engineers and lots of experienced engineers are retiring now and within next 2 years. Companies that never used to hire recent grads are hiring them in bulk. Engineers always used to make decent money, but there was always a glass ceiling at around $100,000 or so in 2000 dollars. A friend's dad took 30 years to reach that level. That glass ceiling has been blown away.
As a result of the shortage of engineers, minor engineering work is being taken over by non-engineers. I wouldn't be surprised if a specialty engineering assistant (non EI's/EIT's) emerged similar to lawyers/paralegals.
The other thing that has saved us from a real crunch in engineering has been lots of productivity improvements. AutoCAD and processes of taking real life data and digitizing it into computer models have saved millions of man hours of labor. Research is now done on computers. Engineering libraries are now unlimited in size. That being said, gains in productivity are limited by management. All you have to do to know what I mean is read Dilbert or watch Office Space.
That's all for now. In a few more months, I'll start studying for the PE. And then we'll see what happens after that. Right now, I'm fortunate to work for a consulting firm that does very diverse work, so I've been exposed to a broad range of fields. No pidgeonholing for me (at least, not yet).
I've slacked on my posting a bit lately and various and sundry individuals suggested I get back to it, so here's one post I've been kicking around in my head for a while.
To become a licensed Professional Engineer you need to get a Bachelor's in Engineering, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam, spend 4-5 years (depending on the state, LA=4) working under a licensed engineer, and then finally take the Principals and Practices in Engineering (PE) Exam. There are some minor details that vary by state, but all states follow that basic formula.
I passed the FE and I'm a little over halfway to taking the PE. That makes me an EI/EIT (term varies by state - Engineer Intern/ Engineer In Training). I have a few observations about the current state of engineering:
This is the best job market for engineers in 30+ years. Oil & Gas, mining, heavy industry, alternative energy, nuclear, it doesn't matter; they are all booming. There are very few young engineers and lots of experienced engineers are retiring now and within next 2 years. Companies that never used to hire recent grads are hiring them in bulk. Engineers always used to make decent money, but there was always a glass ceiling at around $100,000 or so in 2000 dollars. A friend's dad took 30 years to reach that level. That glass ceiling has been blown away.
As a result of the shortage of engineers, minor engineering work is being taken over by non-engineers. I wouldn't be surprised if a specialty engineering assistant (non EI's/EIT's) emerged similar to lawyers/paralegals.
The other thing that has saved us from a real crunch in engineering has been lots of productivity improvements. AutoCAD and processes of taking real life data and digitizing it into computer models have saved millions of man hours of labor. Research is now done on computers. Engineering libraries are now unlimited in size. That being said, gains in productivity are limited by management. All you have to do to know what I mean is read Dilbert or watch Office Space.
That's all for now. In a few more months, I'll start studying for the PE. And then we'll see what happens after that. Right now, I'm fortunate to work for a consulting firm that does very diverse work, so I've been exposed to a broad range of fields. No pidgeonholing for me (at least, not yet).
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