FE & PE exam guides
Straight answers about the NCEES exams — difficulty, pass rates, study plans, and exam-day strategy — with no email wall and no fluff.
How hard is the FE Mechanical exam?
The highest first-time pass rate of the seven FE disciplines — 69%. Why that is less reassuring than it sounds, and which knowledge areas mechanical engineers reliably underestimate.
Read the guideHow hard is the FE Civil exam?
The most-taken FE exam is also the joint-hardest by pass rate — 61%. Fourteen knowledge areas, three minutes a question, and wrong answers that are the right answer to a slightly different problem.
Read the guideHow hard is the FE Environmental exam?
67% of first-time takers pass — third-highest of the seven FE disciplines. Why that number is more encouraging than it should be, and what the exam actually asks of you.
Read the guidePE Power exam: what the problems actually look like
Three real PE Power problems, fully worked — plus the six codes NCEES hands you in the exam, and why one of these questions is not in the handbook at all.
Read the guidePE HVAC exam: what the problems actually look like
Three real PE HVAC problems, fully worked — and why every wrong answer on this exam is an engineered mistake rather than a random number.
Read the guideHow hard is the PE Power exam?
The lowest first-time pass rate of any PE depth most engineers sit — 58%. What NCEES's data says, why prepared engineers fail it, and how to prepare.
Read the guideHow hard is the PE Mechanical HVAC exam?
One of the friendlier PE depths at 74% first-time — but the topic weighting most study plans get wrong, straight from the NCEES specification.
Read the guideFailed the FE exam? Here is what actually works next
You are one of roughly 16,500 engineers who retake the FE each year. The retake rules, how to read your NCEES diagnostic report, and the one thing to change.
Read the guideHow long should you study for the FE exam?
NCEES publishes no official study-time guidance. Here is an honest answer, plus how to budget your hours using the exam's real published question weights.
Read the guideHow hard is the FE exam?
NCEES's own pass rates by discipline, why prepared engineers still fail, and a study plan that matches how the exam actually works.
Read the guideReady to practice? Every guide pairs with a full question bank, mock exams, and an AI tutor grounded in the reference handbook — see all 11 exams we cover.