You do not necessarily need a degree in order to take the fundamentals of the engineering exam. In some states in the US, it is required that candidates should currently be attending an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accredited engineering program. For a student currently taking an undergraduate engineering degree, the student must be close to the completion of the program most suitably in the final semester as an undergraduate. Others States might allow students from other accredited programs or non-accredited programs to take the exam. These conditions also apply to outside US sites.

Also, a candidate can be permitted to take the fundamentals of engineering exam without a degree if such an individual has four or more years of approved engineering experience. It is a must for these experiences to be accumulated after graduating from an undergraduate degree, whether it is an engineering or non-engineering degree. For an experience to pass as being approved, some conditions must be met. Firstly, the experience should come from a major discipline of engineering in which the candidate declares expertise. This experience must also be gathered under the supervision of one or more qualified engineers. It is required that these qualified engineers must also be licensed professional engineers. However, in industry scenarios where there is no public selling of engineering services, certain governments will accept experience supervised by a competent unlicensed engineer. Third, the experience must be of high quality, requiring the candidate to demonstrate technical skill and initiative in the application of engineering concepts, as well as solid judgment in evaluating other people's applications. The experience must be such that the candidate gains the ability to take on professional engineering responsibilities.

State engineering licensing boards look for evidence of independent decision-making and assumption of personal accountability in design and application when determining whether a candidate is sufficiently competent and responsible to be entrusted with or independently engage in engineering work or supervise engineering work. In other words, while the experience must be earned under the guidance of qualified professionals, it must also be professional in nature.

In addition, the more complicated the technical task is and the more responsibility it implies, the more likely it is to be considered professional experience. It is critical for an engineer-intern to seek out opportunities to do more sophisticated work and take on more responsibility so that, in a few years, the applicant will be fully functional as a professional. Some states in the US will not permit individuals that are yet to graduate to sit for the exam, even though they might have lots of relevant engineering experience.