Blog Archives

04Jan 2025 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

How to Pass the Mechanical PE Exam: A Complete Guide

The Mechanical PE Exam is one of the most significant milestones for engineers aiming to earn their professional licensure. Passing this exam is not just about adding two letters to your name; it’s about elevating your career, gaining authority, and opening doors to opportunities that would otherwise remain closed. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to pass the Mechanical PE exam, from understanding the importance of the PE license to crafting a study plan and acing the exam with confidence. If you pass the PE exam, you will enhance your career opportunities significantly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrsKab4ixTM Why Earning Your PE License Matters For mechanical engineers, earning a PE license is a career-defining achievement. It signifies expertise, credibility, and the ability to take on more significant responsibilities. At…

03Dec 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

Mechanical PE Exam Strengths and Weaknesses

Preparing for the PE exam can be challenging, but it’s also an opportunity to assess your strengths and weaknesses as an engineer. Whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced professional, this journey allows you to refresh and deepen your technical knowledge. Embracing both your strengths and challenging topics is crucial for becoming a well-rounded engineer. In this post, we’ll discuss how to leverage your strengths, address weaknesses, and develop a balanced approach to mechanical PE exam preparation. Let go of pre-conceived notions about the mechanical PE exam. Looking at the PE exam specification, you may get flashbacks to the good, the bad and the ugly from your undergrad years. It is natural to recall that you were strong in one course and struggled in another. However, studying for the…

08Oct 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

Parenting and the PE Exam | Finding Balance

There is nothing quite like finding out that you are becoming a parent to light a fire under anyone with significant goals. Many of the engineers I’ve had the privilege of supporting in the last few years became highly motivated to pass the PE exam prior to the arrival of a new baby. This is undoubtedly a wise approach as the addition of a new person in your life brings about a reorganization of priorities, and rightfully so. As a recent father myself, I have a newfound appreciation for how challenging studying for the PE exam can be with a little one in the house. Some days it is hard to get around to washing the dishes, much less carve out blocks of time for deep critical thinking. Pursuing a…

07Aug 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

PE Exam Success Factors for Seasoned Professionals

The vast majority of PE candidates are within the first 10 years of their career when they pursue professional licensure. My personal experience puts me in this majority, having obtained my PE license in 2014, 6 years after completing my undergraduate engineering degree. However, there is a smaller cohort of PE candidates that have been in their careers for a decade or more and are only now seeking to obtain their PE. Having served as a guide to both groups, I’d like to share the following success factors for the PE Exam that are unique to more experienced engineers. Respect the limits of practical experience. NCEES expects qualified Professional Engineers to have a sufficient level of practical experience and technical knowledge. The experience portion is documented in the written portion…

05Jul 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

5 Ways to Push Yourself When Studying for the PE Exam

When an aspiring Professional Engineer decides to get serious about pursuing engineering licensure, he is inspired to take action. Motivation is at its highest when we first decide to embark on a major goal like preparing for the PE Exam. But motivation works in a cycle. And when the process becomes tough or boring, it is easy for procrastination to creep in, and in the worst case, abandonment or deferral of the endeavor. Sometimes the first attempt doesn't work out and you have to retake the PE exam. Conscientious and well-intentioned PE candidates understand this challenge. They recognize the need to push themselves to stay the course and keep moving forward, but the various methods they choose are not always effective, and in some cases may be counterproductive. In this…

06Jun 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

PE Exam Prep for Every Budget

Disclaimer: This article is not intended as financial advice. Everyone has different financial resources and values. There's no right or wrong way to study for the PE Exam, but I believe the broad framework outlined in this article may be helpful for figuring out which course of action makes sense for aspiring professional engineers. Studying for the PE Exam is a journey much like traveling to a faraway destination. You have a variety of options for how you choose to travel, and different modes will make sense for different people, or the same person under different circumstances. This article describes four levels of exam preparation that candidates broadly fall into. Level 1: The Gritty Minimalist Method (aka Walking) Level 2: The Independent & Self-Directed Method (aka Driving) Level 3: The…

05May 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

Beyond the Books: Fueling Your Brain and Body for the PE Exam

Any successful study plan must incorporate the use of resources that are rich in technical detail, sequenced appropriately, and consumed thoughtfully in order to develop the necessary knowledge and skills required for the PE Exam. However, there are additional considerations beyond what to study and how to go about it. Studying is a cognitive process and the quality of our thinking depends on having enough energy and mental clarity to do the work day after day. Cultivating this state of readiness is a metaskill that creates the possibility of building new skills, and it rests on three pillars: sleep, nutrition, and fitness. This brief article, while far from comprehensive, offers a few practical tips for engineers pursuing PE licensure. You will notice an outsized benefit for each additional tactic you…

07Apr 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

Slow Studying for Faster Results

I recently finished reading Cal Newport’s book Slow Productivity and was inspired to share how his insights can be applied to preparing for the PE Exam. Cal observes that many of us are overwhelmed by work and have a difficult time recognizing what our priorities are, so we just try to work on a lot and hope to make progress. We have learned how to look busy from years of knowledge work in offices, but when it comes time to block out distractions and focus, many of us struggle. The goal of Cal’s three “rules” that follow, adapted from the book, is to enable us to apply our cognitive effort and transform our time and energy into something of lasting value. Specifically for PE candidates, we wish to build the…

06Mar 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

The PE Exam Motivation Cycle (and What to Do About It)

When you first start considering going for your PE, the possibility feels exciting! You may find yourself dreaming of your future career, exploring possible job opportunities, researching the application process in your state, asking colleagues what their PE journey was like, and scouring the web for the best study resources. In fact, all of this may happen before you are fully committed to the process. Even if you’re not sure whether it is the right time in your career, or you’re worried the process may be too complicated, or you’re concerned about asking your references to endorse you, you may find yourself compelled to take on the challenge in spite of these obstacles. The Start When your reasons are stronger than what could stand in the way, you feel motivated. …

03Feb 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. 1 Comment

3 Tips For Retaking the PE Exam

Have you taken the Mechanical PE Exam and failed? Are you committed to getting your professional engineering license but not sure what adjustments you need to make in order to pass the exam? Here are three suggestions I've compiled from working with hundreds of candidates in the same situation, including multiple repeat takers that passed on their sixth try! 1. Recalibrate Your Expectations One of the most common questions candidates ask themselves, me, and anyone on Reddit willing to venture a response is: "How hard is the Mechanical PE Exam?" The answer depends on a variety of factors, such as: What you studied in school How long since you were a student How accustomed you are to thinking critically for hours at a time What you work on day to…

07Jan 2024 by Dan Molloy, P.E. 2 Comments

10 Steps to Get Started Toward Your PE

This article is for you if you have already decided you want to get your Professional Engineering License in Mechanical HVAC & Refrigeration or Thermal & Fluids Systems and you are figuring out how to get started. Gather State Board Requirements Before you start studying, find out what the requirements are for the state you are getting your license in. Specifically, some states require the application and approval before you sit for the exam. Other states allow candidates to take the exam any time, even before they have met the experience requirements, then they apply later once they have enough experience. To quickly find out how your state works, here’s a map we put together, and you can also find your state board’s official website from the NCEES website. Describe…

05May 2021 by Dan Molloy, P.E. No Comments

What Comes First? The PE Exam, or the Application?

If you are going for your PE license, one of the first questions you need to figure out is the order of events. If you are seeking your PE license in the state of New York, you must submit your application and wait for approval before registering for the PE Exam. If you are applying in New Jersey, you can now (as of Spring 2021) register for and pass the PE Exam first, then put your application together later. To help you figure out if your state is more like New York or New Jersey, check this map! Each state has it's own process and it's a good idea to read about your state board's requirements directly from the NCEES Website.

14Jun 2020 by Dan Molloy, P.E.

How Long Should You Study For the PE Exam?

You have decided to get your Professional Engineering License, which means your journey has already begun. Now you are thinking about the future. What potential opportunities will open up to you once you have become a P.E? But you also know you have some work to do. Perhaps it’s been 5 or 10 years since you really studied for something. Maybe the last serious exam you took was the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) that allowed you to become an Engineer In Training (EIT). Or has it been even longer for you, and perhaps you do not have an educational background in engineering and are taking an alternate route to licensure. Regardless of your personal circumstances, the important question arises: How long will it take to study for the PE Exam?…

16Jan 2019 by Dan Molloy, P.E. 2 Comments

The First Marathon I Never Ran

And How It Helped Me Beat Procrastination and Pass the P.E. Exam I spent the summer before my senior year of High School running every night, after sunset, while most my friends were getting into trouble, and then rewarding myself with ice cream. One evening, my classmate drove up alongside me as I was running up the biggest hill on the route, rolled down his window, and yelled: “Hey man, why are you running?” I was startled to see him and stumped by the immediacy of his question. “I don’t know,” I shot back through labored breathing, and he sped away. But the question still gnawed at me. Neither the short term possibility of guilt-free dessert nor the incremental fitness accumulated before the upcoming basketball season was a satisfying rationale…

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