Second is passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, which verifies the required engineering education. Four to five years of engineering experience in responsible charge, documented by several professional references, follow. P.E. Fourth is the Professional Engineering Exam. When I took the P.E. Exam, it was not a multiple-choice exam, and it required the use of judgment by the test taker. Whether the examination is multiple choice is not the important issue, however.
Judgment comes from the experience of performing engineering with the proper guidance.
A fresh graduate from a college of engineering is not immediately ready to go out on his or her own and independently perform engineering. He or she should be getting guidance and review from senior engineers who can help develop the ability to make good judgment decisions. Not all the information needed to solve a problem is normally available. When I look for an engineer, I am not looking for someone who can calculate thousands of numbers of questionable value using a canned computer program. An engineer should be able to analyze a problem, make good assumptions based on judgment, develop a methodology for problem solution, and evaluate the results.