Engineers love acronyms; This is a fact. So it’s no surprise that to answer the simple question, “how do I become a licensed engineer?” you have to eat more alphabet soup than you want.

Here are the basics:

• The FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) and PE (Principles and Practice of Engineering) exams are tests created and administered by the NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying).
• Passing the FE exam awards the title of EIT (Engineer Trainee), sometimes known as EI (Engineer Trainee).
• In some areas, the FE exam is called an EIT exam.
• Passing the PE exam grants the title of PE (Professional Engineer).
• Both the FE and PE exams are eight hours long and are divided into two four-hour sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon (with a 60-minute lunch break in between).

The FE exam, which is the first of two, is designed for students who are close to completing their college education. The morning session tests the breadth of knowledge of general engineering principles and practices; This is where you’ll see general engineering course topics such as statistics, circuits, fluid dynamics, statics, and chemistry (among others). The afternoon session tests your depth of knowledge of the most specific material in your chosen field. So if you used your old notes and books to fuel a huge post-graduation bonfire, you probably need to figure out how to reverse the entropy and turn the ashes back into notes. No problem.

The physical education exam is the second step in receiving a physical education license and is designed to assess competency in a specific engineering field. To take it, you must have passed the FE exam and have worked in the industry for at least four years (exceptions exist in certain states). For most engineers, the exam will basically be an eight-hour test on a wide range of topics within their fields of study. However, civil engineers, electrical and computer engineers, and mechanical engineers will need to select specific concentrations for their exams. For them, the morning sessions will broadly cover topics common to their fields as a whole, and the afternoon sessions will cover their selected concentration in greater depth.

More information about the exams, including the different subject areas, as well as the material that will be covered in each exam, can be found on the NCEES website.