1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,440 Welcome to the Mechanical PE Exam Prep podcast, the podcast where I give mechanical engineers like 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:10,720 you the tools and motivation to get your professional engineering license and take your career to the 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:17,360 next level. In today's episode, we're going to be talking about three tips for retaking the PE exam. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:24,080 So if you're someone who has taken the PE exam in the past and failed and you remain committed to 5 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:29,280 getting your professional engineering license, but you're not sure what adjustments you need to make 6 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:35,760 in order to pass the exam, this is the episode for you. And even if you've failed multiple times, 7 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:40,640 these are suggestions that I've compiled from working with hundreds of candidates that are in 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:46,480 the same situation that have failed one or more times, even some that have failed four or five 9 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:53,840 times and not passed until their sixth try. So this is some of the key ideas that I've distilled 10 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:59,680 from working with candidates in that situation over the last several years. So the first tip 11 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:05,680 is to recalibrate your expectations. And what do I mean by this? Well, one of the most common 12 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:12,720 questions that candidates ask themselves, ask me or ask anyone on Reddit, and this is not just folks 13 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,320 that have failed the exam, this is even folks that are taking the exam for the first time, 14 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:24,240 everybody wants to know how hard is the mechanical PE exam? And the answer depends 15 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:31,280 on a variety of factors such as what you studied in school, how long since you were a student, 16 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:38,560 how accustomed you are to thinking critically for hours at a time, what you work on day to day, 17 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:45,520 your ability to make time to study, your willingness to establish consistent study rituals, 18 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:52,480 your access to trusted study resources, and the presence or absence of accountability structures 19 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:59,040 in your life the way things are set up. So in short, from this list, what we can say is that 20 00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:05,440 how hard the exam actually is turns out to be a function of the candidates capabilities in 21 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:11,920 relation to the exam, not an objective statement about the exam itself. So it's impossible to talk 22 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:17,600 about how difficult the exam is or isn't without talking about all of these factors, which are 23 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:24,080 really a statement about that candidate personally. And since when folks ask this question, they 24 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:30,480 rarely supply all those details, none of the answers that are offered by me or anyone can 25 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:36,480 really provide much insight because we have to dig deeper. So then the question becomes, 26 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:42,960 how do candidates actually assess the difficulty level if they're not looking at the question 27 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:50,080 in this more structured and deeper way? How do you actually decide how hard you need to work 28 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:56,640 to get ready for the PE exam? And from what I can tell, this is how people are coming about 29 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:03,120 their determinations of how hard the PE exam actually is. Some are basing their effort level 30 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:11,200 on their recollection of the FE exam. And this usually doesn't turn out well because the FE 31 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:18,880 exam is broader and not as deep. So what will happen is these candidates will have superficial 32 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,360 learning because they're expecting to just kind of hit the tops of the waves, learn a lot of things 33 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:29,600 on a shallow level, and they're envisioning being able to solve problems in just a few minutes each 34 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:35,600 so they tend to not go deep enough. Some will base their assessments on what a colleague tells them, 35 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:41,920 maybe this colleague passed, and they're able to share anecdotally some about their experience on 36 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:46,800 the PE exam. But the problem with this approach is that people tend to describe their experience 37 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:51,760 with hindsight bias so they make it sound easier than it actually was because they already know 38 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,160 what the result was and it makes them look good because it sounds like it was easy for them. 39 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:02,160 So these anecdotes often can't be trusted. And some folks will look at the published pass rates, 40 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:08,160 which NC's puts out, and those pass rates are around 70%. They vary a little bit from year to year. 41 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:13,200 But once you kind of look at that, you might convince yourself, hey, I can't possibly be in the 42 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:20,560 bottom third of applicants, so therefore I'll be fine. And the last thing that 43 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,760 repeat takers will do is they'll get their diagnostic report. So if you fail the PE exam, 44 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:31,760 NC's furnishes you with a PDF showing whether you were above or below the average candidate 45 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:38,240 that passed the exam for each major topic area. And candidates seem to want to put these reports 46 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:44,080 under a microscope and extract some deep insights about their personal strengths and weaknesses 47 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:49,360 that they would hope to go back and kind of retool and figure out how to make 48 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:55,760 adjustments for the next try. But I'll let you in on a little secret. When I review diagnostic 49 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:02,080 reports, what I do is I roll my computer chair back away from the screen until the text is no 50 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:10,640 longer legible. And I roughly gauge the size of the colored areas. If the gray and the white 51 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,920 are about equal, right, gray means you're over, you've gotten more correct, white means less. 52 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:22,160 If they're about equal, when I'm sitting that far away, then I tell candidates that they were 53 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:27,760 very close to passing. And all they need to do is revisit some hard problems, go a little deeper, 54 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:32,880 spend a few more weeks, reschedule, try again, and just make sure to work really carefully 55 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,480 and manage your time. If you get enough little things right, it'll tip the scales in your favor 56 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:43,920 and you'll pass. But unfortunately, a lot of the times when folks send me diagnostic reports, 57 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:50,400 they're not showing more gray than white, it's just the opposite. We have the all too common 58 00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:57,040 gross shortfall across most or all topics. And at that point, there's no use in drilling down 59 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:04,080 into individual topics, right? We have to notice at that point that a major recalibration of 60 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:10,640 expectations is what's needed. And this is a tough moment for folks sometimes, because the 61 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:17,360 candidate expected the exam to be much easier than it actually was. Or maybe they just honestly 62 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:24,000 weren't sure what to expect. So they just took a chance to see what would happen. Now, to be fair, 63 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:29,360 there's nothing actually wrong with this approach, right? I think there are definitely folks out 64 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,320 there that only want to do it once and want to make sure that they leave no stone unturned. I 65 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,800 would put myself in that camp, but not everyone's that way. And that's okay. Some engineers are 66 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:44,000 extremely pressed for time due to external commitments. And they're more concerned with the 67 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:49,680 risk of overstudying than being underprepared, right? You could spend three to 500 hours like I 68 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:55,520 did, and it's not really necessary to pass the exam. So, you know, if that would take time away 69 00:06:55,520 --> 00:07:01,040 from other things that are important to you, doing that may be a mistake. And some of these 70 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:07,440 candidates that are not looking at it in such a severe manner, they're able to take the news in 71 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:12,240 stride, right? If they took a chance to see what would happen and weren't too clear on how hard 72 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:17,200 the exam would be, then it's not super painful when the result comes back. And now they have a 73 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:21,520 clearer picture of the task at hand, and they're able to set about putting themselves in a better 74 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:27,120 position for next time. Other examiners have a harder time taking the news. And that's because 75 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,640 they honestly thought they were doing well when they were studying and during the exam. 76 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:39,280 The exam almost always has answer choices available for common but incorrect solution paths. So, 77 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:44,800 it's easy to get lulled into a false sense of confidence when your preparation is superficial. 78 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:51,840 And no one enjoys the feeling of disappointment and having to ramp up and start studying again, 79 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:57,760 much less admitting to colleagues and family that they failed. So, ultimately, there's this 80 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:04,400 humbling process that repeat takers have to go through in order to eventually be successful. 81 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:09,920 And it's a process of recalibrating their expectations to be as aligned as possible 82 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:18,480 with the actual exam in relation to their abilities and how they have to grow and change to get ready 83 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:24,720 for the next attempt. So, this is less about technical skills sometimes and more about personal 84 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:31,920 and more about personal growth. So, it's a sticky subject and it's something that folks generally 85 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,960 don't want to talk about. They want to talk about, you know, why am I good at fluids and not at 86 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:44,160 psychometrics? You know, why am I doing this topic well and this topic not so well? But it's 87 00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:49,680 kind of something we have to dig deeper for before we can recalibrate and figure out what's 88 00:08:49,680 --> 00:08:54,800 going to be different the next time around. Any attempt at this stage in the process to externalize 89 00:08:54,800 --> 00:09:00,800 and explain the result away, I failed because of some external reason or the exam is like this 90 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:05,760 or NCCS is like that. They want to trick you. All of this stuff that's outside of your control, 91 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:12,080 it only leads to repeated failures because nothing new is going to happen during your study process 92 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:19,200 if the reasons for not getting over the line are external. We have to actually take the result on 93 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:24,720 board and do something differently the next time. And that's what this episode is all about, 94 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:29,280 is getting you to realize that there's something different that has to happen for the next attempt 95 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:36,000 to be different. The second tip is a little bit counterintuitive. I actually want you to find 96 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:44,640 enjoyment in the study process as you go deeper than you have in the past. So after we've gone 97 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:52,960 through this recalibration and hit the reset button, repeat takers are ready to take it on board that 98 00:09:52,960 --> 00:10:00,160 they need to go much deeper and show up ready to do the work. That's great. Now the challenge becomes 99 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:06,240 about cultivating patience and endurance because studying is genuinely hard when it's done in the 100 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:14,240 right way. But, and this is a super important caveat, it shouldn't be torturously hard. It shouldn't 101 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:21,120 be filled with constant despair and seemingly impossible questions. You shouldn't feel like 102 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:24,640 every time you go to study that you're just wasting your time and getting nowhere, 103 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:30,560 banging your head against the table. That's not the point. There'll be moments of minor frustration 104 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:35,280 and disappointment and confusion along the way. That's to be expected, but these moments should 105 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:39,840 be relatively brief as you're pushing into the boundaries of your knowledge and skills 106 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:47,280 and expanding your abilities incrementally. So encountering sticking points as you're studying 107 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:53,120 is inevitable and your ability to push through those is a positive signal that you're doing the 108 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:58,720 right work in the right way. And we know this because if you already knew everything there was 109 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,960 to know about mechanical engineering, there'd be nothing to learn in the study session. There would 110 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:08,240 be no point in studying. We would just show up and take the exam. And on the other side of the 111 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:14,160 spectrum, if the material was so impenetrable that you couldn't break through any of it, then that 112 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:20,320 would leave anyone stuck and deflated and not very many people would pass. So there's a sweet spot 113 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:27,120 between these two extremes where the problems are challenging, but doable. Sometimes we're the bit 114 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:31,440 of external assistance in trying a few dead ends first, spending a bit of time overcoming a bit of 115 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:39,120 frustration. Yes, but the problems are doable. This is the way this is the makings of real learning. 116 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:43,600 This is the kind of learning that will stay with you for the rest of your career and life 117 00:11:44,560 --> 00:11:50,080 well beyond exam day. This is the kind of learning that is worthwhile if you want to become a 118 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,880 professional engineer. So you don't have to worry about, oh, I'm going to forget this between now 119 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,680 and my exam. No, if we're doing it deeply, you're never going to forget it. So you don't have to 120 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:06,000 worry about that when you're studying in the right way. And when you find this flow where you're 121 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,720 generating new questions and then discovering answers, right, you're closing the gaps, you're 122 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:17,360 continuing forward, the process of studying can become deeply satisfying without the challenges 123 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:22,640 and uncertainty along the way without hitting these sticking points. Doing practice problems 124 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:28,560 would basically be like basic algebra and the exam would be a cakewalk and the pass rate would be 125 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:34,560 nearly 100% and getting your PE license would mean nothing. And this isn't really what we want. Deep 126 00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:39,760 down, we want to be challenged. We want the opportunity to enrich ourselves professionally. 127 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:45,360 And we want to stand out from the crowd because we set out on a mission to do something that was 128 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:52,720 hard but worthwhile. So the takeaway here is when the going gets rough, be gentle on yourself. 129 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:59,280 As much as the last part of the process, this recalibration stage where we have to kind of raise 130 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:05,680 the bar and go much deeper, when it actually comes down to the day to day work of studying, 131 00:13:05,680 --> 00:13:11,040 we actually have to be a little bit gentler and take breaks when you need them. Take care of 132 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:16,720 yourself along the way. Make sure you're doing all the little things. And find satisfaction 133 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:23,280 each time you study. We're looking for that little spark of joy when you're able to 134 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:28,560 figure out something that was tricky before and add something new. And when it's fun, 135 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:34,400 it goes a lot better. That little voice in your head that's telling you to constantly push harder, 136 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:38,960 work longer, and you know, it shouldn't take you so long to get something you should have gotten 137 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:46,560 that concept already. That voice is not helpful. So taming that mentality, that harshness that comes 138 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:53,600 from internal, sometimes we can be our own harshest critic, taming that is going to make it easier 139 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:59,200 and more pleasant to show up day after day after day as your exam date approaches. And 140 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:05,840 having a consistent study ritual is essential to your success, but whipping yourself every day to 141 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:10,960 go do something that's not enjoyable is an uphill battle and it doesn't have to be like that. So 142 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:17,280 find a way to make it a little bit more enjoyable as you go deeper. And the third tip is to use a 143 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:25,600 study program you trust. Candidates who fail the PE exam either on the first try or on subsequent 144 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:31,600 attempts often did not invest in a study program because of the calibration issue that we previously 145 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:37,600 discussed. And it's understandable why. The logic is if the exam is easy, why should I bother with 146 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:43,360 a program? I don't need a program. I'll just figure it out as I go along. But this reasoning overlooks 147 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:49,840 several factors. First of all, when you study without a structured plan, you end up spending a 148 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:55,600 substantial portion of your quote unquote study time, not actually studying, because you're trying 149 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:01,040 to figure out what topics are worth your time. So what a trusted program is doing is it's giving 150 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:06,160 you an opportunity to outsource all of that effort that would be directed toward figuring out what's 151 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:12,800 in scope. So all you have to do is show up ready to work. I can't tell you how many times I speak 152 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,800 to candidates and the first thing you're telling me is, well, I'm doing this and I'm doing that, 153 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:22,400 but I'm not sure if I should be using more of this. And they're spending so much time debating what to 154 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:28,560 do that they're actually not getting deep into anything that they're doing because they're not 155 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:34,880 sure it's the right thing. So the beauty of a program, if it's a good one, is that you can just 156 00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:39,040 start at the beginning like a conveyor belt and go from beginning to end. And by the time you get 157 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:45,360 off at the end, you should be ready. So if the program has a proven track record, and if it doesn't 158 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:51,600 then find one that does, you can truly buy into the process. And, you know, the opposite of this, 159 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:56,720 when you doubt the process, what ends up happening, and I've had candidates come through my program 160 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:04,480 without fully buying in, and this can happen. It's rare, but they may cherry pick topics based on 161 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:10,720 what you like or dislike, or what you heard will or will not be on the exam. For some reason, 162 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:15,600 people think certain things need to be emphasized and not others. So there's not that trust of 163 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,920 saying like, okay, if it's in the program, I got to know it. If it was important and it's not in 164 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:26,320 here, then it must not be critical. So believe in the process. When you go all in with the right 165 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:30,480 program and you believe it's going to work, then you end up doing everything that's in there as 166 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:36,400 it's laid out, knowing that you'll ultimately achieve the desired result. And success becomes a 167 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,400 self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe it's going to work, then it works. If you believe it's not 168 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:45,760 going to work, then it doesn't work because you didn't do it the way it was laid out. Good programs 169 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:51,360 also include not just technical guidance, but also personalized support. So if you're stuck 170 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:56,640 for longer than you should be, you can get moving again and avoid wasting time. Again, efficiency. 171 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:01,680 So we're delegating all of the figuring out what to do. That's a huge time save. That could be 172 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:07,600 30 to 50% of your study hours gone because you don't have to figure out what to do. And when you 173 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:14,000 get stuck, instead of swirling in that for many, many hours, you can get the support you need to 174 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:21,760 get unstuck and keep moving. So getting a lot of time back and not just time, but uncertainty and 175 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:27,200 you know, just confidence to keep moving. In terms of accountability, in addition to friends, 176 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:32,560 family, colleagues, a quality program may offer additional accountability in the form of a guide 177 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:38,160 who understands exactly what you're up against and is aligned with your objective. If a program 178 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:45,600 is truly able to produce the result it promises, then the returns will outweigh the investment many 179 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:53,760 times over easily within a year of getting your PE. And a good program may also include a guarantee 180 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:59,600 that you'll pass so that there's no financial risk for you. That's something we added a mechanical 181 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:06,240 PE exam prep recently because the program has such a high pass rate that why wouldn't I want to put 182 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:10,640 my skin in the game with you? If you're willing to do all the work, I want you to have the confidence 183 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:17,040 to know there's no financial risk. It's just a matter of do you have the level of commitment to 184 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:22,160 go through a trusted process that's going to get you where you want to go. And if you do, I have every 185 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:27,680 bit of confidence that it'll take you there. And lastly, the act of investing in yourself often 186 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:33,680 helps with the motivation that's needed to get you to establish and maintain a consistent study 187 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:39,920 routine, which as we know is essential to getting fully prepared. So in conclusion, 188 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:46,480 PE candidates that have come up short on the PE exam and want to make the necessary adjustments 189 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:53,920 to pass on the next try should do three things. Recalibrate expectations, look for enjoyment 190 00:18:53,920 --> 00:19:00,240 in your studying as you go deeper, and find a trusted study program to help you on your journey. 191 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:05,360 Hope you enjoyed this episode. And if you are a repeat exam taker, feel free to reach out. 192 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:10,880 I would love to hear your story and offer any guidance I can to help you pass the PE exam 193 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:16,240 once and for all and get your license. Thanks for listening to the Mechanical PE Exam Prep podcast. 194 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,480 If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review to help other engineers find the 195 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:25,440 podcast. And if you're looking for a program that will help you pass the PE exam, check out the 196 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:31,440 full access bundle available at mechanicalpeexamprep.com. And feel free to reach out with any questions. 197 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:57,440 I would be honored to be your guide on the journey to becoming a professional engineer.