Peter Zawycky, who recently passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a critical step in pursuing the Professional Engineering (PE) license, shares how he prepped and what he hopes to do next.

With an eye on entering the architecture, engineering and construction spaces, mechanical engineering alum Peter Zawycky (ENG, 20) recently passed the more than five hour  Fundamentals of Engineering exam, a critical step in pursuing the Professional Engineering (PE) license. Sharing his experience and preparation for the exam, the Northeast Philadelphia native added that he can now pursue a position as an Engineer-In-Training, specializing in Building-Information-Modeling (BIM).

"It's a fascinating specialization, because I feel like I'm playing a video game where I'm designing the inner workings of a variety of buildings," Zawycky said. He recommended that engineering students interested in pursuing the EIT consider taking the FE exam during their junior year, after getting some internship or co-op experience. Also, studying, studying, studying.

"I put in between three-to-five weeks of preparation, and spoke with some of my civil and mechanical engineering peers who already took the exam and asked them what materials they used to prepare and how long they prepared for," Zawycky said. "The mechanical engineering exam mostly consisted of Statics, Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer, Engineering Economics, Ethics, and some controls engineering. I have to give credit to almost every professor that I had at Temple."

In addition to preparation, finding the proper materials and fees, Zawycky cautioned those interested in pursuing the exam to simply make the decision to get started.

"Everyone will have their own study regimen, but just make sure you have a decent grasp of the fundamental concepts of the subjects covered on the exam," Zawycky said. "Once you get into a studying groove and cover most of the material and reference manual, the test should be 100% passable. Good luck!"

To learn more about the exam, visit https://ppi2pass.com/fe-exam/resources/main or speak to your academic advisor