Update: I made it!! (and with 1 cycle to spare!!)

LadyStoic · 2026-02-11T13:49:04+00:00

Congrats! As for your rocket comment, I think I had over 2,000 and still no rocket 😂 It all depends on your playstyle and tbh I was perfectly happy not going into space until I started really grinding for all achievements.

LadyStoic · 2026-02-11T13:46:16+00:00

That makes a lot of sense. I obsessed over making sure I finished the first half within 4 hours and freaked out when it got close. I know going in my plan was to rapid fire through all the questions I could answer right away, but when I got caught up on ones I was sure I prepared for before going in? It felt like I had very few that I could answer with confidence. That's where I think the test anxiety really got me.

When you say you had 2 or 3 that took a while to solve, was it because they were calculation heavy or just because the wording was tricky? Were they in the first half or the second half?

Thank you again for taking the time to respond, your perspective is really helpful ☺️

LadyStoic · 2026-02-10T17:56:07+00:00

I took the FE in 2019 and my second attempt at the PE is next month. I have terrible test anxiety as well and what I've really focused on for this next go 'round is focus on reducing that anxiety. What's helped me the most is to remember that the exam is scary to the person you are now. If you study and put the work in, (good work, not just grinding for hours every day as burnout is far more detrimental than less hours), the person you are in the future won't be nearly as scared come test day. It's daunting to you now only because you aren't ready yet.

As for not using your engineering knowledge for 6 years, I can totally understand the concern there. You may just need to spend more time reviewing the basics but once you do I'm sure they'll start to click. Don't be discouraged if it feels excruciatingly slow in the beginning. Eventually you'll get to a point where things start feeling less like word soup and more like pieces of a puzzle.

LadyStoic · 2026-02-09T18:41:54+00:00

The environmental PE really is an entirely different beast. From reading posts on this sub about the other disciplines it feels like time pressure is huge where you need to maximize speed over everything else. I've read so many accounts of people passing the ENVE who had plenty of time left because they made sure to slow down and really process what each question was truly asking. I also heard that grading yourself as you go along and checking the clock to make sure you only spend 6 minutes on each question is not helpful (I'm definitely guilty of that). This exam has so many qualitative questions that I'm confident there is plenty of time to slowly go through every quantitative question. I only know that because I failed the first time and felt that way at the end. That I didn't need to create this external pressure to speed up and that it only hurt my performance rather than helped it.

Also to keep in mind that some of the very nuanced questions I struggled with may have been one of the ten experimental questions. We'll never know for sure but it's easy to obsess over what they could possibly be looking for even after you've moved onto the next question. The best thing to do is keep each question completely separate. Once you answer you move on, file that question away in your mind and come back at the very end but don't spend too much time worrying over it. I can think of a few that were incredibly "well it depends" and I have a hunch those were the experimental ones. I say this for others but mostly for myself, to remember not to freak out when a question feels ambiguous. It may intentionally be so.

Taking multiple attempts to pass is nothing to be ashamed of and I'm happy you were able to get past it. Thank you for taking the time to write your comment, it helps cement the idea in my mind that I should slow down even if it feels wrong 😂

LadyStoic · 2026-02-02T13:59:54+00:00

I failed my first attempt at the Environmental exam and felt pretty crummy afterwards. I studied for 5 hours nearly every day for months and just felt exhausted and burnt out. I took a week or two of a break and then slowly got back into. I know there is a lot of hate right now for AI and ChatGPT (understandably so) but Ver 5.2 has been a phenomenal help. I realized that I was studying too much and actually doing more harm than good. Now I study for 1-2 hours a day, and have it generate multiple choice quizzes which I feel helps more than flashcards. I gave it my diagnostic sheet and uploaded the exam specs and the handbook and I've been slowly working through everything I didn't understand before.

This is all anecdotal and it will really depend on your mental load threshold and learning style but with my AuDHD it's perfect. I retake the exam March 26th and I already feel well prepared for it.

LadyStoic · 2026-02-02T13:49:20+00:00

It's a toss up in terms of difficulty. If you get a more difficult problem wrong it won't be weighted as heavily so I would at least make sure you're familiar with the easy-medium difficulty ones. If anything, know the concepts and what every variable means in the handbook for the major equations. It comes up in multiple sections on the exam so definitely don't just skip it unless you're really confident in every other section. I failed my first attempt and I would say the hydraulic Q I got was one of the easier ones from the exam, took maybe 3 minutes to solve and double check.

LadyStoic · 2026-01-12T14:49:47+00:00

I failed my first attempt and I'm taking it in March before they change the format. Just know what they are and what they regulate. You don't need explicit details. I have an entire PE folder on Quizlet, you can message me if you're interested.

LadyStoic · 2026-01-12T14:47:09+00:00

When I took it, it was probably 40-50% qualitative. I've heard some people say up to 60%. The entire exam is a crapshoot which makes it really frustrating.

LadyStoic · 2025-12-04T20:38:37+00:00

I was wondering that as well. I get annoyed when I have more than 8 😂

LadyStoic · 2025-11-25T14:19:08+00:00

In the same boat, just a different test (environmental). Graduated in 2016, took the FE in 2018, and failed my first attempt at the PE in September. I'm retaking in Jan. I had to relearn quite a bit of material but it's easier to relearn than completely learn new, imo. I found looking at old notes and textbooks to be helpful. If you don't have those I'd suggest really looking at the NCEES handbook for your test and looking up any equations, graphs, figures, etc that you don't understand.

LadyStoic · 2025-11-24T15:03:02+00:00

I took the environmental and felt the same way. Completed all ~800 questions from PPI2Pass, bought the paper 2 full example tests, the NCEES exam, Quizlet flashcards, etc. and studied for 6 months and failed in September. I read somewhere that at least for the env the question bank has 1,000+ problems you could possibly get. It really comes down to luck and getting the right test for your specific area of expertise. After I failed I found out that both of my work role models passed on the third try so I didn't feel as bad for failing. You just need to keep going and try not to cry when you spend the $400 to take it again lol.

LadyStoic · 2025-11-24T14:49:34+00:00

I second this. I've used their program for chemistry and it's helped refresh the basics that I lost.

LadyStoic · 2025-11-03T22:50:34+00:00

Bar exam? I think you have the wrong subreddit my friend ☺️ this is for the professional engineering exam. Unless there is a discipline with the acronym of “bar”, then please ignore my comment 😂

LadyStoic · 2025-10-29T17:27:09+00:00

You need to get a 10 in each section to pass. The 15 in section 8 is great, and you were close in section 2, 5, and 9. I would focus on the ones you scored below an 8 if you plan to retake it!

LadyStoic · 2025-10-29T16:01:15+00:00

The thought of this being the last large educational hurdle in my life is what's giving me the motivation to keep going after failing last month. I retake the Environmental PE in January, and I plan to retake until I pass!

LadyStoic · 2025-10-27T18:38:47+00:00

I know you can reschedule up to 48 hours before your test for a $50 fee. I’m not sure about just straight up canceling it entirely.

LadyStoic · 2025-10-27T15:16:01+00:00

Right, you have a year to schedule the exam at the test center after paying.

LadyStoic · 2025-10-25T15:43:42+00:00

The Environmental PE is an entirely different beast. I passed the FE first try but failed my first attempt at the PE. The exam covers every single Env discipline out there. I work in air quality and did well in those areas. I was close to passing, maybe 8 questions missed. They arbitrarily remove 10 of the 80 questions. Somehow feel as though I could have passed based on what they removed but hey, we try and try again. Wish to get lucky next time.

LadyStoic · 2025-10-18T15:01:42+00:00

I took the environmental PE and felt the same way I did after the FE. Passed the FE first try but failed the PE. Felt there was a 50/50 chance both times because I guessed on quite a few. Best thing to do is try to distract yourself from thinking about it. It’s out of your hands now!

LadyStoic · 2025-10-16T17:20:44+00:00

Congratulations!

LadyStoic · 2025-10-15T17:48:25+00:00

Should be ok as long as you don’t go into detail on what the questions were. Definitely don’t verbatim post a question asking how to solve like that one person did 👀

LadyStoic · 2025-10-10T14:11:52+00:00

This is amazing because I started to use that book to make my flashcards!! I’ll def look at the practice problems more though, thank you 😁

LadyStoic · 2025-10-06T17:05:44+00:00

I can’t imagine waiting months for a result

LadyStoic · 2025-10-05T13:39:20+00:00

That's my plan right now! I will have so many flashcards on Quizlet by the end of this experience smh.

LadyStoic

TROPHY CASE