As a long time lurker of this subreddit, I wanted to share/document my experience and journey of taking and passing the PE Electrical: Electronics, Controls, and Communications Exam. The number of people who take this specific exam continues to go down every year and the resources for it are limited compared to the PE Power Exam. I apologize for the length of this post in advance.
I originally took the FE when it was only offered twice a year, 3 hours away from my location at the time and it was in a big auditorium with hundreds of others taking it at the same time. I don't know how that exam is structured today, but back then, that exam was very rough in my opinion, as the general engineering (first) section was so broad in terms of topics, but the Electrical side of it seemed like a breeze. I passed on the first try. The only reason I signed up for the FE was because I was jobless at the time, just going into graduate school, and figured it would be good to have just in case.
As I went into the workforce, there was never a complete necessity to get my PE, and I always had concerns (and still do) about the legality/liability side of it, but long term it would be such a benefit if I ever decided to become an independent contractor. Last year, I decided (with my spouse's support) that I would go after getting it.
Looking at the options for the electrical exams, it made the most sense for me to take the Electronics, Controls, and Communications Exam, as it was the material I was most familiar with. The PE Computer Exam was also an option, but I did not have as much confidence with that material. I did not want to touch the Power Exam, I do not work directly with Power and never found the subject particularly engaging (apologize to all my Power colleagues here, it's just not my thing). I just wish they offered the EEC exam more than once a year, but I digress...
I began studying about 7-8 months prior to the exam. I typically studied 2-3 hours every night for 4-5 days a week, and ramped that up to close to 4 hours a day minimum (6-8 hours on weekends) every day of the week for 2 months leading up to the exam.
Before I continue, 7-8 months is a long time and life things can definitely interfere. During this timeframe, I had a loss of a very close family member and I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. If you feel like you are not prepared, just push the exam off. Your life and health comes before anything. I had enough support around me to feel comfortable continuing with this.
Material:
- I started off with going over all the videos on the Electronics PE Preparation YouTube channel:
https://youtube.com/@electronicspepreparation?si=yehlpxUFc0sOkVIA
This YouTube channel is a very good resource to reintroduce you to (almost) all of the subjects you need to know. It's now somewhat out of date (a common theme with material out there now), but just as a refresher to the material, it's really not bad.
- PE Practice Exam: This is the closest thing that will resemble what's going to be on the test. I first got the practice exam when I signed up for the test last year, then they created a "new" version for the 2026 exam, which was only a 15 problem difference between the two (and yes, I was very frustrated that I purchased a second exam for only 15 additional problems). Since my memory of actual problems and not concepts is like a fish, I took this exam 3 times throughout the 7-8 months, and each time, I got progressively better, and spaced enough time in between to completely forget what problems were on the exam.
Luckily, there is a YouTube channel that has videos of the solutions to some of the problems on the practice exam. It's not comprehensive, probably only half are up on there now, but if you have trouble on any of the problems, he solves them in detail and for some of them he solves them differently than the solution the exam gives you.
https://youtube.com/@electronicswithprofmughal?si=7dJnXPUhfMv8busx
PPI Electronics, Controls, and Communications Practice Problems (Camara): Not going to lie, I did not like this book at all. It's very outdated at this point and is overpriced for what it includes. There's literal sections of subjects that will not be covered on the exam now. In addition, from experience, most of the problems you will get on the exam itself are going to have a limit to the number of steps to get the solution (about 3-5), this book has problems with 8+ steps. Those problems aren't bad for practice, but it's not going to be representative of what's on the test. I used this sparingly throughout the entire study process.
My old textbooks: If you still have your old textbooks from university, USE THEM. I can't tell you how many times I looked up problems or referenced equations from those books.
School of PE: A few months into studying, I realized I needed more resources for the exam. There's not really a lot of courses specifically for this exam (with less than 200 taking it every year, it makes sense why there isn't a lot of widely available resources). It really came down to PPI or School of PE, and I went with School of PE mainly because I wasn't a fan of the Camara PPI practice problems book, I had suspected that their other study material may be out of date. I may be wrong with that, I didn't take any PPI course and it may be totally suitable, I just felt more comfortable with School of PE.
I purchased the 4 month access to the pre recorded videos, workshop problems, and practice problems. The live video schedule is very condensed, it's about 3 hours a night 4 days a week a month or so before the exam, and I didn't want to subject myself to that much cramming before the exam. I also didn't need interactivity with the instructors. If I had to rate the pre-recorded videos, I would put them in the "just okay" category. There were stark differences between the two instructors, and both had their pros/cons, the timing of the videos and how they proceed through subjects being the biggest variable. The biggest thing was the instructors going over example problems, I'm a visual learner of concepts, that helped me the most.
The workshop problems and the quiz bank I used A LOT. I continually tested myself with these problems. Some of them resemble what will be on the test, however some may seem too easy, it was a great tool for me to bring my level of knowledge on the concepts up from where it was.
- My spouse: Yes I am putting this as a piece of material, because she was invaluable to me throughout the entire process. Bear in mind she's not an engineer or even knowledgeable to any of the subjects, she literally was right by my side, pushing me to answer problems, making me explain the solutions of problems back to her, helping me with flash cards to memorize a mountain of equations not in the reference handbook that might be on the exam (YES, THIS IS A THING), I literally could not have passed without her. Now I know not everyone has a spouse or someone close that can assist them in this way, I would strongly try to find any sort of study partner if you can. I tried to find other individuals who were taking this exam in my industry or even those I went to school with, but I couldn't find anyone.
Other Tips:
Review the Reference Handbook thoroughly so you know where everything is and what is/isn't in the book.
Flashcards: As you're going through study material/review courses, every time you run into a problem, topic, equation, or anything of substance not in the Reference Handbook, create a flashcard for it. This was immensely helpful for me, especially with equations that I would have never remembered otherwise.
Know your strengths and weaknesses. I always knew what my strengths were (Digital Logic/Devices, Basic Circuitry, Controls) and where my weaknesses lied (Electronic Components such as transistors/diodes, Communications). The last few months I went hard at those weakness subjects, drilling the patterns and concepts into my brain.
Come up with a study plan. Figure out a schedule, break it out following your strengths and weaknesses, and adhere to it.
The Safety and Reliability topics are very much a wildcard. You could be tested on a wide array of things. Statistics/Probability topics are good to review, however its very difficult to predict what type of questions may be on the exam. This comes with general electrical experience in my opinion. The School of PE didn't even cover the potential of what could be covered here.
Pick an acceptable calculator early and make sure you know how to use every function you'll need. I used TI 36X Pro, as I always used TI calculators, didn't have an issue with it.
A week before the exam, I went over the practice exam in depth, analyzing every question and solution. After this, I slowly ramped down my cramming, leveling off to going over minor topics the days leading up to the exam. I wasn't going to learn or understand anything more that I already wasn't aware of. Take time off other duties/jobs if you can, and try to not focus on a lot of subjects the days beforehand.
My advice for the day of the exam: Pack a good lunch full of brain food, bring two calculators, and RELAX. My heart was racing the entire time, nerves can definitely get the best of you. I highly recommend ashwagandha, it definitely helped me calm down, however you should not take this for the first time the day of the exam, I knew how it affected me from prior use. Go through every problem, answer the ones you know you can, and if you can't, flag it and go back. I did this for both sessions, and even for the questions I flagged, after I went back a second time, I would figure out what I needed to do to get the solution. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER PROBLEMS WITH TOPICS YOU WERE NOT EXPECTING. In those cases, just take your best guess and move on.
The week after the exam, my ass was clenched the entire time waiting for the result. It was the biggest relief when I saw the passed symbol. Again, I wished they offered this test more than once a year, as if I didn't pass, I really didn't want to wait another year to take it, but this is up to the NCEES.
I hope this can be a reference to anyone looking to take the exam in the future. Happy to answer any questions or comments from anyone thinking about taking the exam.