**Passed the FE Civil after 21 years out of school — my experience and what I learned**

I took the FE Civil exam last week and just found out that I passed. I wanted to share my experience because I was in a very different situation from most people taking this exam.

I had been out of school for **21 years**. My degree is in science, not engineering, so I had never taken most of the civil engineering courses. The only subjects I had taken that were somewhat related were advanced mathematics and soil mechanics.

I basically taught myself civil engineering from scratch using free YouTube lectures, Mark YouTube Channel, Direct Hub, and Gine Prep. I studied for about **4 months**.

At the beginning, I had a lot of energy and was studying every day for long hours. But about a month before the exam, I completely lost my motivation and my studying slowed down. I became pretty desperate.

Then, about a week before the exam, I got serious again and started working through **Islam 800 practice problems**. That gave me a lot more confidence going into the exam.

One thing that helped me a lot was that, since I didn't have an engineering background, I was genuinely curious about the concepts. When I watched lectures, I paid very close attention because I needed to actually understand what was being taught.

**My biggest advice: understand the concepts. Don't just memorize equations.**

I estimate there were around **35** \-40 **conceptual questions** on my exam, and I believe I did well on most of them because I understood the underlying concepts rather than just trying to memorize formulas.

I was also really scared after reading many of the posts and comments on Reddit. After the exam, I honestly didn't expect to pass. I felt like I had guessed on so many questions—probably around **40 questions where I essentially had to pick an answer randomly**.

But somehow, I passed!

Another thing I learned from this experience is that **you don't necessarily need to master every knowledge area to pass the FE.**

For me, I knew I was stronger in:

* Geotechnical
* Materials
* Mechanics of Materials
* Construction

I wasn't very strong in Hydrology/Hydraulics, fluid mechanics and transportation and I completely skipped Structural during my preparation because I found it very difficult.

Instead of trying to become an expert in everything, I focused my time on the subjects I was good at and tried to maximize those points. For the areas I wasn't comfortable with, I did what I could, skipped difficult questions when necessary, and guessed when I had to.

I'm not saying this is the best strategy for everyone, but **this is what worked for me**, especially coming from a non-engineering background and being out of school for 21 years.

If you're preparing for the FE and feeling overwhelmed, don't let th comments on Reddit scare you. Understand the concepts, practice as many problems as you can, focus on your strengths, and don't feel like you have to know absolutely everything to pass.

**If I can pass after 21 years out of school with a science degree and essentially teaching myself civil engineering, you can do it too. Good luck!**

Passed FE Civil