PE for Software Engineers

Transcription

1 1 PE for Software Engineers Introduction to the State s Professional Engineer Exam in Software Engineering Dr. Soliman Khudeira, PE, SE Soliman.Khudeira@iit.edu

2 2 Software Engineering Industry certifications:. Microsoft. Oracle. Cisco Government license for computer professionals: A model for licensing IT and computer professionals is the NCEES model:. Degree (from an ABET-accredited engineering college). FE Exam. Work Experience. PE Exam

3 3 Steps to be a Professional Engineer (PE) 1. Pass the FE exam, then you are an EIT 2. Graduate from ABET-accredited college 3. Pass the 8 hours PP exam 4. Have 4 years of engineering experience Then you are a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE)

4 K 4 FE / EIT

5 5 Starting 2014, the FE exam is Computer Based Testing (CBT) Seven (7) free-standing, discipline-specific exams: 1. Chemical 2. Civil 3. Electrical and computer 4. Environmental 5. Industrial 6. Mechanical, and 7. Other disciplines It is clear form above that Software Engineers should take the FE exam in the Other discipline See our other file named Introduction to the FE Exam for more info. about the FE

6 6 FE Exam The exam appointments is a total of six hours: 8-minutes tutorial 2-minutes nondisclosure agreement 5 hours and 20 minutes exam 25-minutes break 5-minutes post-exam survey

7 7 FE Exam - Time You will have 5 hours and 20 minutes (= average of 2.9 minutes/question) to complete the entire exam. After answering approximately half of the questions, you will be prompted to review and submit those questions. You will no longer have access to those questions after you submit them. You will then have the option of taking a 25-minute scheduled break, during which the exam clock will stop. The exam clock will automatically begin again after the 25- minute scheduled break even if you have not returned to the exam. You may also take unscheduled breaks during the exam, but the exam clock will not stop.

8 8 FE Exam English vs. Metric: Whatever typically is practiced in that subject You can flag a question, so you go back to it and double check it. Each exam includes a limited number of items that are not scored and will not impact your score. This is used by NCEES to evaluate pretest items for potential use in the future.

9 9 Sample FE Passing Rates Exam Volume Pass Rate FE Chemical % FE Civil 4,874 70% FE Electrical and Computer 1,217 75% FE Environmental % FE Industrial % FE Mechanical 3,547 82% FE Other Disciplines 1,439 81%

10 10 FE Exam Tools: You will be provided with a reusable notepad (it contains five laminated sheets) and dry-erase pen. Exam result You will receive the result within 7 to 10 days. Passing score The standard of minimum competence is set by a committee of licensed engineers in each discipline. NCEES does not publish the passing score because it changes from administration to administration based on the difficulty of the exam. NCEES does not release the passing score only the pass or fail results.

11 11 FE Exam Practice exams Computer-based practice exams is available for purchase from NCEES website. Each practice exam will consist of 50 questions and will function much the same as the actual exam. Linear vs. Adaptive exam The CBT exam is linear, not adaptive, i.e. the exam questions are not personalized according to each examinee s responses. The exam uses linear-on-the-fly (LOFT) algorithm. This means all candidates will have the same number of questions (110) and relative difficulty per topic area, but not the exact same questions Retaking the Exam NCEES policy allows you to take the exam once during any two-month testing window and no more than three times in a 12-month period. However, your licensing board may have a more restrictive policy.

12 12 FE Exam - Time You will have an average of 3 minutes/question After answering approximately half of the questions, you will be prompted to review and submit those questions. You will no longer have access to those questions after you submit them. You will then have the option of taking a 25-minute scheduled break, during which the exam clock will stop. The exam clock will automatically begin again after the 25- minute scheduled break even if you have not returned to the exam You may also take unscheduled breaks during the exam, but the exam clock will not stop.

13 13 FE Exam Tools You will be provided with a reusable notepad (it contains five laminated sheets) and dry-erase pen Exam result You will receive the result within 7 to 10 days Passing score The standard of minimum competence is set by a committee of licensed engineers in each discipline. NCEES does not release the passing score (only pass or fail result)

14 14 FE Exam The other disciplines exam is envisioned to provide an equitable exam for candidates who are not majoring in one of the six specific disciplines; it is not intended to be an alternative exam for students in the six disciplines Examinees will take one of the seven individual exams Each exam will consist of 110 questions

15 15 FE Exam Practice Exams Computer-based practice exams are available for purchase from NCEES website. Each practice exam consists of 50 questions and will function much the same as the actual exam. Linear vs. Adaptive Exam The CBT exam is linear, not adaptive, i.e. the exam questions are not personalized according to each examinee s responses. The exam uses linear-on-the-fly (LOFT) algorithm. This means all candidates will have the same number of questions (110) and relative difficulty per topic area, but not the exact same questions Retaking the Exam NCEES policy allows you to take the exam once during any two-month testing window and no more than three times in a 12-month period.

16 Search window SK Typical FE Exam Screen 16 Reference Manual on the left hand side Question on the right hand side

17 17 FE Exam English vs. Metric: Whatever typically practiced in that subject The 25 minutes break is not fixed at ½ of the exam time, it is fixed at when you complete ½ of the 110 questions. You can flag a question, so you go back to it and double check it. After you close the 1 st section (i.e. the 55 questions) and take the 25-minute break, you can not go back to that section. Each exam include limited number of items that will not be scored and will not have impact on your results. This is used by NCEES to evaluate pretest items for potential use in the future.

18 18 FE Exam specifications Page 1 of 4

19 19 FE Exam specifications Page 2 of 4

20 20 FE Exam specifications Page 3 of 4

21 21 FE Exam specifications Page 4 of 4

22 FE: NCEES Reference Manual SK The FE exam is closedbook The reference manual will be available electronically onscreen during the actual exam. It s searchable for easy use during the exam. This is the official reference material used in the FE exam room. Review it prior to exam day and familiarize yourself with the charts, formulas, tables, and other reference information provided. 22

23 23 FE Exam The other disciplines exam is envisioned to provide an equitable exam for candidates who are not majoring in one of the six specific disciplines; it is not intended to be an alternative exam for students in the six disciplines. Examinees will take one of the seven individual exams Each exam will consist of 110 questions Each individual exam include content from only the areas that are common to that discipline s curriculum. For example, all examinees will be tested on mathematics, but electrical engineering students will no longer be tested on dynamics.

24 K 24 PE

25 PE Disciplines Agricultural and Biological Engineering Architectural Engineering Chemical Civil: Construction (with design standards for the 2015 exams) Civil: Geotechnical (with design standards for the 2015 exams) Civil: Structural (with revised design standards for the October 2015 exams) Civil: Transportation (with revised design standards for the October 2015 exams) Civil: Water Resources and Environmental Control Systems Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering Electrical and Computer: Electrical and Electronics Electrical and Computer: Power Environmental Fire Protection Industrial Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration Mechanical: Mechanical Systems and Materials Mechanical: Thermal and Fluids Systems Metallurgical and Materials Mining and Mineral Processing Naval Architecture and Marine Nuclear Petroleum Software Engineering Structural 25

26 PE Exam 26 All PE exams are offered twice a year except for the following: PE exams offered in April only Agricultural and Biological Engineering Architectural Engineering Industrial Engineering Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Software Engineering PE exams offered in October only Control Systems Engineering Fire Protection Engineering Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Mining and Mineral Processing Engineering Nuclear Engineering Petroleum Engineering

27 27 PE Allowed Reference Materials in the Exam The PE exam is open book. Candidates may bring printed reference materials, as long as they are bound and remain bound during the exam. Loose paper may be bound with ring binders, brads, plastic snap binders, spiral-bound notebooks, and screw posts, but not with staples. Sticky notes and flags are permitted only when they remain attached to book pages.

28 PE exam pass rates 28 Exam First-time takers Repeat takers Volume Pass Rate Volume Pass Rate PE Agricultural and Biological 27 70% 5 80% PE Architectural % 17 6% PE Chemical (CBT) % 3 67% PE Civil: Construction % % PE Civil: Geotechnical % % PE Civil: Structural % % PE Civil: Transportation % % PE Civil: Water Resources and Environmental % % PE Control Systems (October 2017) % 52 48% PE Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering 24 50% 5 20% PE Electronics, Controls, and Communications % 31 26% PE Electrical and Computer: Power % % PE Environmental % % PE Fire Protection (October 2017) % 77 48% PE Industrial and Systems 86 66% 13 8% PE Mechanical: HVAC and Refrigeration % % PE Mechanical: Machine Design and Materials % % PE Mechanical: Thermal and Fluids Systems % % PE Metallurgical and Materials (October 2017) 63 70% 11 36% PE Mining and Mineral Processing (October 2017) 61 57% 15 60% PE Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering 46 57% 14 36% PE Nuclear (October 2017) 34 71% 7 29% PE Petroleum (October 2017) % 51 33% PE Software Engineering 12 42% 3 0%

29 29 PE Software Engineering Exam The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years postcollege work experience in their chosen engineering discipline. The PE Software exam is an 8-hour exam with 80 questions. It is administered in pencil-and-paper format once per year in April. Prepare for your exam by: Reviewing the PE exam specifications Reading the reference materials and examinee guide Understanding scoring and reporting Viewing the most up-to-date PE exam pass rates

30 30 Exam Preparation Books (FE and PE) or

31 31 NCEES For more information on See:

32 Software Engineering 32

33 33 PE Exam specifications Page 1 of 3

34 34 PE Exam specifications Page 2 of 3

35 35 PE Exam specifications Page 3 of 3

36 PE - Exam Facts NCEES determines a suggested passing score All states adopt NCEES s suggested passing score 40 points in the mooring 40 points in the afternoon Exam questions might have additional/ unnecessary data Commonly made mistakes are represented in the available answer choices. Therefore, check your answer SK 36

37 PE - Exam Schedule YEAR PE, PS, SE Vertical SE Lateral 2018 Apr 13, Oct 26 Apr 14, Oct Apr 5, Oct 25 Apr 6, Oct Apr 17, Oct 23 Apr 18, Oct Apr 23, Oct 22 Apr 24, Oct Apr 22, Oct 21 Apr 23, Oct Apr 14, Oct 27 Apr 15, Oct Apr 12, Oct 25 Apr 13, Oct Apr 11, Oct 24 Apr 12, Oct 25 SK Check NCEES website for updated dates 37

38 FE and PE - Calculators Allowed SK Check NCEES website for updated list The only calculator models acceptable for use during the exam are: Casio: All fx-115 models. Any Casio calculator must contain fx-115 in its model name. Examples of acceptable Casio fx-115 models include (but are not limited to) fx-115 MS fx-115 MS Plus fx-115 MS SR fx-115 ES Hewlett Packard: The HP 33s and HP 35s models, but no others. Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models. Any Texas Instruments calculator must contain either TI-30X or TI-36X in its model name. Examples of acceptable TI-30X and TI-36X models include (but are not limited to) TI-30Xa TI-30Xa SOLAR TI-30Xa SE TI-30XS Multiview TI-30X IIB TI-30X IIS TI-36X II TI-36X SOLAR 38

39 39 FE and PE - Preparing for the Exam Study only topics which are directly related to the Exam Solve more examples and sample exams, rather then study more in-depth theory The selected examples should be as close as possible to the type, length, and format to those given in the exam The instructors will introduce as many exam topics as possible, but you need to solve more problems in each topic

40 PE Reference Materials in the Exam) 40

41 41 Importance of Licensing License distinguishes you among other candidates / peers Owning a firm (consulting) Only a Licensed Engineer can sign/seal designs Prestigious Shows commitment to the engineering profession PE was an option Now: PE is a must You will earn more than peers with a PE U.S. News & World Report: [Engineering] licensure is crucial for career advancement and top pay.

42 42 Importance of Licensing Your degree, work references, and technical skills are not necessarily an objective way to assess the engineer s competence. However, the PE License is a universal standard that is recognized throughout the profession

43 End SK 43