ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN?

Fundamentals of Engineering Examination Elegibility?

• I'm currently pursuing a degree relating to Electronics Engineering Technology and wish to someday take the FE exam followed by the PE exam. I'm currently Active Duty AF PMEL (calibration technician) and wish to continue with this career field. What I don't know is if the degree plan I wish to pursue will be enough to let me take the FE exam. The link to the degree plan is Thomas Edison State College: Electronics Engineering Technology. If the link doesn't work, I've copied the degree requirements below. Any help would be great. This degree is not ABET accredited and I am a Georgia resident (could also switch to NJ as I'm currently stationed in NJ). Thanks, Jason BSAST in Electronics Engineering Technology The Bachelor of Science in Applied Science and Technology (BSAST) degree in Electronics Engineering Technology is designed for technologists employed in various phases of the electronics industry, including computer hardware, avionics and communications. Required courses include DC Circuits, AC Circuits, Digital Electronics, Microprocessors, Control Systems, Electronic Devices, Communications Electronics and Engineering Graphics. Corollary requirements are Physics I and II, Calculus I and II, and Computer Programming. The degree is a 120-credit program. Subject Area/Category Credits I. General Education Requirements 60 A. English Composition 6 B. Humanities 12 Technical Report Writing (3) Humanities Electives* (9) C. Social Sciences 12 Psychology or Sociology (3) Social Science Electives* (9) D. Natural Sciences and Mathematics 21 Calculus I & II (6) Statistics (3) General Physics (6) Second Science (3) Computer Programming (3) E. General Education Electives 9 II. Area of Study: Electronics Engineering Technology 42 A. Electric Circuits Direct Current (DC) Circuits Alternating (AC) Circuits 6 B. Electrical Devices Solid State Theory/ Semiconductor Devices Integrated Circuits/ Electronic Circuits 6 C. Digital Electronics 3 D. Microprocessors 3 E. Communications Electronics Communication Systems/Receivers and Transmitters 3 F. Control Systems 3 G. Electronics Engineering Technology Electives Industrial Electronics Instrumentation or Electronic Tests and Measurements Advanced Digital Circuits Computer Architecture or Logic and Automata Instrumentation and Control/Robotics Radar/Microwaves/Avionics Data Communication/Telecommunication Drafting and CAD Radio and TV/Radar and Navigation Systems Electrical Machines/Electronics Lab Motor Controls/Electrical Networks Biomedical Electronics/Power Generation and Transmission Fiber Optics/Laser Electro-Optic Devices 21 III. Current Trends and Applications 3 IV. Free Electives 15 Total 120 *Must include at least two subject areas. Note: Courses listed in the Area of Study are offered as a guide. Other courses may also be considered appropriate for the program. The inclusion of similar courses must be reviewed by the Evaluation team. Students must submit their program plan for review to ensure that course selection is appropriate for the degree. Learner Designed Area of Study (LDAS)

• Answer:

  Eligible or not, you are extremely unlikely to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination on the basis of a program that requires only 1 year of calculus and 1 year of general physics. The morning part of the exam includes a certain amount of material from thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, statics & dynamics; my guess upon reviewing the content of that exam is that more than half of the morning test consists of material you will NEVER see in the degree program you describe. The afternoon part (assuming you choose the EE test) looks better, but I have some suspicion that the level of the electronics courses in the program you describe may not include enough "theory" to get you through even the afternoon part of the FE exam...because your fellow students, if they have had only 1 yr of calculus and 1 yr of physics, will not know enough to permit the electronics courses to be presented at a high level. Note that the % of first-time FE exam takers who pass varies from 58% (for EE majors) to 86% (for nuclear engineering majors), other high-passing majors being aeronautical and chemical. Keep in mind that EE is typically more rigorous and more "mathy" than "electronics engineering technology," but EE students are disadvantaged in the FE exam by not knowing thermo and fluids and strength of materials. YOU would be a double disadvantage, since you really would not know an awful lot of what EEs know. Of course, the test can be repeated, but less than a third of the repeat takers pass the test, if they were EE majors. In the NCEES website I don't see any particular restrictions on who is ALLOWED to take the FE exam, but I may be missing something. Your state's professional engineering board has to approve you to sit for the exam...so you can look into that with the state of NJ (or whatever).