Wow-I guess you guys do not work or live in the West Coast. The 6 figure jobs need PE's. Many people are not smart enough to pass the test. It is very difficult but that is fine since many lower level jobs need to be filled.
It's a difficult test, but to be honest, it's not likely to be all that challenging to someone who did reasonably well academically at a decent engineering school. If you spent 4-years getting drunk and pulling C's at East Central New Jersey State-Hoboken, you probably aren't going to pass. But if you were a decent student, you'll probably do okay.
The PE pass rate is usually a bit north of 60% overall. About the same as for the Series 7 (broker) exam.
But as with the Series 7 (or the EIT/FE), the numbers are a bit misleading.
The number who pass the exam on their first try is actually significantly higher than the overall pass rate. As someone else here pointed out, there are a lot of folks who take these exams, and fail them, multiple times. Those people drag down the overall success percentage.
I can't speak to taking the PE, because I never bothered to take it, but when I took the Series 7, I was told all kinds of horror stories about how tough it was- tales of people who had taken the thing 6, 7, 8 times before finally (barely) passing. I went into the exam thinking it was going to be brutal. In the end, I passed it with flying colors on the first cut.
Which left me wondering why the pass rates are so low. My conclusion is that these sort of exams do what they are supposed to do- weed out the people who aren't qualified- we really don't want a guy with a C average from Upper Southwest Texas State -Waco signing off on a bridge design (nor do you want that guy giving financial advice to people). But if you are a little above average-ish, and have prepared for it, you should be able to pass the exam, and probably on the first cut, so don't be intimidated by the horror stories.
That said, if I took the PE today, despite tons of experience and good academic qualifications, I'm 100% convinced that I'd
FAIL in a big way, because it's been so long since I worked on the sort of problems that would be part of the PE. The stuff that's on the exam just isn't the kind of stuff that engineers typically do on a day to day basis- which is why it's best to take the EIT/FE and PE when you are young, and still remember the academic stuff that will be on the exam.
I should also mention that not every PE has actually passed the exam. Depending on the state, some older folks (like myself) can get a PE under the grandfather clause without taking the exam- you basically just need to pay a fee, have a certain amount of experience and get some current PE's to vouch for your skills as an engineer.
I know, some of you think "oh my GOD, this unqualified old fool might go out and get his PE through the back door putting people in jeopardy!"
Don't worry, it won't happen. Because I'm too cheap to pay the application fee and the yearly license fees for a certification I'd never use.
To say nothing of the bribes I'd have to pay to get my PE friends to vouch for me. :)