4 Outdated FE Study Tips I Don’t Recommend for Anyone
The FE is an exam that can help engineers excel in their careers and earn more. But many engineers stay stuck and never pass their ncees FE exam due to outdated study practices. Now let’s find out if these FE study tips are stopping you from passing your FE faster!
Here are four outdated FE study tips that I don’t recommend and will keep you stuck in the FE journey for years.
#1 Using the review manual
A lot of engineers would recommend that you use the review manual. For example, I used it when preparing for my FE exam; it did help me in some ways, like exposing myself to different types of problems.
But after talking to thousands of students, many find it intimidating, overwhelming, and irrelevant to the FE exam. I spoke to Shrayva last year, and she says it’s not up-to-date, too tough, and not user-friendly. It ultimately led to losing confidence in being able to pass the FE exam.
What I usually recommend to students is that if you want to use the review manual, go ahead and try it. If you’re learning and making progress, great, but if you’re not, don’t keep using it. Because it will keep you stuck. That’s the mistake many students make; just cause it worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you. We all learn differently.
If you want to check if you have the right study material and are on the right track to passing your FE, answer these 8 questions.
#2 Cramming
Stop cramming, waiting for the last minute, and expecting to learn everything in a month – or LESS!
When students cram, it can lead to burnout. Cramming causes you to study long hours and end up memorizing instead of understanding. When you memorize concepts and problems, you miss the key component of knowing how to use them. You might not be able to answer many of the questions in your FE exam.
Cramming increases stress levels and anxiety and makes it harder to retain information.
Give yourself time. I encourage students to spend 3-4 months preparing for their FE in my courses. It doesn’t have to take you three years, but you also don’t want to rush studying into three weeks.
#3 Winging it
Not going into the exam with a plan of how to study, what to study, and how long to study is risky. The FE exam tests you on 13-17 engineering topics, and it’s not an easy exam. You NEED a study plan. It doesn’t have to be a complicated one.
A few things I recommend adding to your study plan are making sure that you know your calculator really well and all its functions. Taking practice exams and mimicking the exam environment. And don’t forget to carve out some time during the day to relax and recharge.
If you want an FE study plan, like my students’ ones, that can help you pass the FE faster, click on this link.
#4 Multitasking
Multitasking is a myth! Tour brain is not wired to move from one focus to another constantly. And if you get into some deep work and then get distracted, it can take you 20 minutes to get back on track. That is all valuable study time you can’t afford to lose when you have your future on the line.
When it comes to studying, it’s best to remove all distractions by turning off your phone and TV and have quite a designated study area. You’ll want to make sure you close all your tabs! So that when you face a difficult problem or concept, you’re not tempted to scroll on social media.
Bonus FE Study Tip: Don't ignore your mistakes and weaknesses
It can be very easy to fall into the trap of studying what comes easy to you and never challenging yourself. Doing easy problems or problems that we already know makes us feel good and confident at the moment! But it’s not going to help you get ready to pass your eit exam.
Make sure that you cover the difficult subjects and don’t ignore your weaknesses. Learn from your mistakes, push yourself and discover what it takes to become a successful engineer.
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