FE Exam: Ethics and Professional Practice

Ethics and professional practice sit at the center of engineering licensure in the United States. The FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam tests this area because engineering decisions shape public safety, health, and welfare, often under real constraints like cost, schedule, uncertainty, and incomplete information. The NCEES model for professional practice reflects what state licensing boards expect from engineers in training and, later, Professional Engineers (PEs): sound judgment, honest communication, respect for the law, and a clear understanding of professional responsibility.

This article explains what “ethics and professional practice” means in the FE context, how licensure requirements connect to ethical obligations, and how to reason through common scenarios you may see on the exam and in practice.

Why ethics matters on the FE exam

Engineering is a profession, not just a technical skillset. Society grants engineers authority to design and approve systems that affect people who cannot reasonably verify the technical details themselves. Licensure exists to create accountability and establish minimum standards of competence and conduct.

Ethics on the FE exam is not about memorizing philosophical theories. It is about applying professional expectations to realistic situations: conflicts of interest, truthful documentation, appropriate supervision, protecting the public, and acting within your competence. Most questions come down to recognizing who has responsibility, what action prevents harm, and what behavior maintains integrity.

The ethical foundation: Protecting the public

Across U.S. jurisdictions, a consistent theme is that engineers must hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. On the FE exam, this principle often overrides competing pressures.

Examples of how this plays out:

• If a supervisor asks you to sign off on calculations you did not perform or cannot verify, the ethical duty is to refuse and escalate appropriately.
• If you discover a design defect that could endanger users, you must communicate it through responsible channels even if it creates cost or schedule impacts.
• If a client asks you to hide unfavorable test results, the ethical duty is to report truthfully.

A practical way to interpret “hold paramount” is that public protection is a constraint, not a preference. In a simplified decision framing, if an action increases risk to the public in a nontrivial way, it is not an acceptable trade for convenience.

Professional responsibility and accountability

Ethical engineering requires a clear chain of responsibility. On the FE exam, you are often placed in the role of an engineer in training who works under a PE’s responsible charge. That distinction matters.

Competence and scope of practice

Engineers should perform services only in areas of their competence. On the FE, this can show up as:

• Being asked to design something outside your training or experience.
• Being asked to approve or “stamp” work without appropriate qualifications.

A responsible approach is to disclose limitations, seek supervision, obtain help from qualified professionals, or decline the task. Competence is not just knowledge; it includes relevant experience and the ability to recognize what you do not know.

Responsible charge and supervision

Licensure systems rely on the idea that engineering work affecting the public is performed under responsible supervision. For the FE-level engineer, ethical practice typically involves:

• Working under appropriate oversight for decisions that require professional judgment.
• Keeping a clear record of what you did, what you reviewed, and what was directed by a supervisor.
• Avoiding misrepresentation of your authority. Passing the FE does not grant the right to present yourself as a Professional Engineer.

Honesty and integrity in communication

Ethical practice includes accurate and complete communication in reports, calculations, schedules, and public statements. Common exam themes include:

• Do not falsify data, inspection results, or timesheets.
• Do not omit material facts in a way that misleads.
• Distinguish between verified information and assumptions.

In practice, integrity also means being careful with how uncertainty is presented. If a calculation depends on an assumption, document it and communicate the implications. Good engineering is often about managing uncertainty responsibly, not pretending it does not exist.

Conflicts of interest and professional judgment

A conflict of interest arises when personal, financial, or relational interests could compromise professional judgment, or reasonably appear to do so. On the FE exam, the “right” action usually includes disclosure and avoidance of decision-making roles where impartiality is compromised.

Typical situations include:

• Accepting gifts or incentives from a vendor whose product you are evaluating.
• Recommending a subcontractor owned by a relative without disclosing the relationship.
• Working for two clients whose interests directly conflict on the same project.

Disclosure alone may not be sufficient if the conflict is severe. The goal is to preserve unbiased judgment and protect stakeholders from hidden influence.

Engineering ethics in documentation and intellectual property

Professional practice includes respecting ownership of work and maintaining trustworthy records.

Use of others’ work

Engineers should not take credit for work they did not perform, and should not copy proprietary designs or reports without permission. On exam-style questions, common pitfalls include:

• Reusing a former employer’s design files on a new job.
• Presenting another engineer’s calculations as your own.
• Sharing confidential client information with third parties.

Confidentiality

Engineers often have access to sensitive information: designs, bids, pricing, test results, and operational data. Ethical practice requires protecting confidential information unless disclosure is authorized or necessary to protect the public. If confidentiality conflicts with public safety, the duty to protect the public typically governs, but the proper channel matters. Escalate within the organization and follow applicable reporting requirements.

Licensure requirements and what they imply ethically

The FE exam is one step in the licensure path. While requirements vary by jurisdiction, the general structure is consistent:

1. Education (often an accredited engineering degree or equivalent)
2. Passing the FE exam (fundamentals)
3. Gaining progressive engineering experience under supervision
4. Passing the PE exam (principles and practice)
5. Meeting ongoing requirements set by the licensing board

This framework is not only administrative. It reflects ethical expectations:

• Licensure is meant to ensure minimum competence before offering services to the public.
• Supervised experience exists because judgment develops over time.
• Continuing obligations (such as renewal requirements in many states) signal that competence must be maintained, not assumed permanently.

An important FE-relevant distinction is the use of titles. Passing the FE typically supports designation as an Engineer Intern (EI) or Engineering Intern, depending on the state. Ethically and legally, you should not imply you are a PE until licensed.

How to approach FE ethics questions

FE ethics questions tend to reward straightforward reasoning. A reliable approach:

1) Identify the stakeholder at risk

Is the public at risk? A client? An employer? A coworker? If public safety is implicated, prioritize it.

2) Clarify your role and authority

Are you in responsible charge? Are you supervised? Are you being asked to act beyond your competence or authority?

3) Look for honesty, disclosure, and documentation issues

Misrepresentation, omission, falsification, and vague records often signal the unethical choice.

4) Choose the least escalatory action that still protects the public

Often, the best answer is to communicate concerns to a supervisor, document them, and follow internal procedures. If the immediate supervisor is involved in unethical conduct and the risk is serious, escalation to higher management or appropriate authorities may be necessary.

5) Avoid “convenient” compromises

Options that hide information, delay action without justification, or shift blame tend to be wrong.

Practical scenarios and what ethical practice looks like

Scenario: asked to seal or approve work you did not verify

Ethical action: refuse to sign or approve; explain that you cannot attest to work you did not perform or review; seek proper review by a qualified engineer. This protects the public and preserves accountability.

Scenario: pressured to change test results to satisfy a specification

Ethical action: do not falsify data; report accurately; document what happened; elevate concerns through proper channels. Falsification is a clear breach of integrity and can create safety risks.

Scenario: you discover a potential safety issue late in a project

Ethical action: communicate promptly and clearly; propose mitigation; document the concern; support corrective action. Timing does not remove responsibility.

Professional practice as a career habit

Ethics is not separate from engineering work. It is embedded in how you calculate, document, communicate, and supervise. Engineers build credibility through consistent behavior: staying within competence, disclosing conflicts, telling the truth even when it is uncomfortable, and protecting the public when tradeoffs arise.

Preparing for the FE exam in ethics and professional practice is, in a real sense, preparing for what the profession expects every day. The best exam strategy is to internalize the core professional commitments and practice applying them to realistic situations, because that is exactly what licensed engineering is designed to ensure.