The seven FE disciplines

NCEES splits the Fundamentals of Engineering exam into 7 disciplines. Every one is 110 scored questions in 5 hours 20 minutes against its own specification, and you sit exactly one. Here is which of them we have a question bank for.

Ready to practise

Not ready yet

We would rather say this plainly than sell you a bank that does not exist. Join the waitlist for a discipline and we will write once it is worth your time — not before.

Which one should you sit?

Three rules settle it for almost everybody. The exam you pick changes the subject matter, not the format: every FE is 110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes with the same reference handbook on screen.

Pick the one closest to your degree

Not your job title, and not what you hope to do later. The FE is a fundamentals exam, and the fundamentals you can still recall are the ones you were taught. A mechanical graduate two years into a civil role is usually better off sitting FE Mechanical.

Your FE discipline does not lock your PE

NCEES does not require the two to match. Passing any FE makes you an engineer-in-training, and the PE you eventually sit is a separate decision made years later. Choosing the FE you are most likely to pass costs you nothing further down the line.

Other Disciplines is a real answer

It exists for people whose field has no dedicated exam, and for anyone who graduated long enough ago that the specialised content has faded. It is broader and shallower rather than easier — but broad and shallow suits some candidates better than deep and narrow.

Before you book

• What passing the FE gets you: EIT certification and the path to PE
• How the FE Reference Handbook behaves during the exam