In the United States, the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (also known as the FE exam) is the first of two examinations engineers must pass in order to be certified as a Professional Engineer. Other short terms for the exam include EIT, which comes from the former official name for the exam, Engineer In Training, and EI, which comes from Engineer Intern, another former name used in some states. It is open to anyone who has a degree in engineering or a related field, or is in their last year of an ABET-accredited engineering degree program. Some state licensure boards permit students to take it prior to their final year, and numerous states allow those who have never attended an approved program to take the exam if they have a state-determined number of years of work experience in engineering. Michigan allows anyone in the last years of an ABET accredited Engineering program to take the exam, according to ELSES - Michigan Exam Registration. The exam is administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). A selection of states allow those with ABET accredited Engineering Technology degrees to take the examination. Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Professional Engineer is the term for registered or licensed engineers in some countries, including the United States, and Canada who are permitted to offer their professional services directly to the public. ... The Accredition Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) is a non-profit organization that serves the public by making accreditations of the universities and scientific institutions which live up to certain qualities defined by the organization. ... The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is a national non-profit organization composed of engineering and land surveying licensing boards representing all U.S. states and territories [1] The NCEES is responsible for the administration of the exams that engineers must pass in order to get...

The exam is eight hours long altogether, split into two four-hour sessions with a lunch break. The morning session is a 120-question general exam for which all examinees must sit, while the afternoon session consists of 60 questions and is more discipline-oriented. For this second half, examinees choose one of the following seven tests: chemical engineering, civil engineering, environmental engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, or general engineering (similar in content to the morning exam, but far more detailed). The choice does not have to be made in advance, but rather on the day of the test. Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science (e. ... The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ... Environmental engineering[1][2] is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites. ... Electrical Engineers design power systems… … and complex electronic circuits. ... Mechanical engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ...

Writing tools and scratch paper may not be brought to the testing site. Mechanical pencils are issued to all examinees, and the test booklet may be used as scratch paper for working problems. No calculators are allowed except for those specifically approved by NCEES; these models have no programming or communications capabilities which could allow people to cheat. The only reference material that may be used is a handbook issued to all examinees on the day of the test.

The topics covered by the general exam are covered in the courses taken by engineering undergraduates, and include (as of 2007):

• Mathematics
• Chemistry
• Computers
• Statics
• Dynamics
• Strength of materials
• Material science
• Electrical circuits
• Thermodynamics
• Fluid mechanics
• Engineering economics
• Engineering Management
• Ethics
• Environmental Engineering
• Biology

A scaled score of 70 is required to pass the exam. This does not mean you need to answer 70% of the answers correctly, however. The tests are benchmarked against the October 1990 exam, where 124 out of 280 was deemed a passing score by a panel of experts. A portion of previous exam questions are then given on subsequent exams. After the exam, a statistical analysis of these questions is used to equate the new test to the benchmark test. In Oct. 1990, a score of 124 was given a 70/100 grade. This means you generally need to answer 45% of the questions correctly to pass. The score which receives a 70/100 grade on newer tests is chosen based on the average score of people who receive about a 45% on the old test questions. This makes all of the tests somewhat equally difficult. Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... Chemistry - the study of atoms, made of nuclei (conglomeration of center particles) and electrons (outer particles), and the structures they form. ... The tower of a personal computer. ... Statics is the branch of physics concerned with physical systems in static equilibrium, that is, in a state where the relative positions of subsystems do not vary over time, or where components and structures are at rest under the action of external forces of equilibrium. ... In physics, dynamics is the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the effects of forces on the motion of objects. ... Strength of materials is materials science applied to the study of engineering materials and their mechanical behavior in general (such as stress, deformation, strain and stress-strain relations). ... The Materials Science Tetrahedron, which often also includes Characterization at the center Materials science is an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and engineering. ... An electrical network or electrical circuit is an interconnection of analog electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, diodes, switches and transistors. ... Thermodynamics (from the Greek θερμη, therme, meaning heat and δυναμις, dunamis, meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale by analyzing the collective motion of their particles using statistics. ... Fluid mechanics is the subdiscipline of continuum mechanics that studies fluids, that is, liquids and gases. ... Engineering economics, previously known as engineering economy, is a subset of economics for application to engineering projects. ... Engineering management is a field that bridges the gap between engineering and management. ... Ethics (from the Ancient Greek ēthikos, the adjective of ēthos custom, habit), a major branch of philosophy, including genetics is the study of values and customs of a person or group. ... Environmental engineering[1][2] is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Those who pass the exam are designated Engineers In Training or given an equivalent designation, such as Engineer Intern by their state's licensure board for engineers, and are partway through the certification process. After completing an apprenticeship (the length of which is set by state law and based on the type of degree received) an EIT may qualify to take the Professional Engineer (PE) exam. Certification is awarded upon successful completion of the PE exam. The standard time of apprenticeship under a Professional Engineer is 4 years of work experience for graduates of an ABET-accredited engineering program. Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of skilled crafts practitioners, which is still popular in some countries. ... Professional Engineer is the term for registered or licensed engineers in some countries, including the United States, and Canada who are permitted to offer their professional services directly to the public. ...

U.S. Patent Office

Passage of the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, coupled with graduation with any bachelor's degree, satisfies the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's stringent technical requirements for sitting for its registration examination to become either a registered patent attorney or patent agent. The typical way the technical requirements are satisfied is by possessing a bachelor's degree in a specified technical area or at least amassing a certain number of undergraduate credit hours in a designated technical area. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO or USPTO) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides patent and trademark protection to inventors and businesses for their inventions and corporate and product identification. ... A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition. ... A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition. ...

External links

• Official NCEES website
• State Licensing Boards
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office