FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Anyone else on VGS an engineer? Just wanted to share my accomplishment of passing the PE exam. Spoiler 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 11,771 Administrator · Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 I am not, but I know of the struggle. Grats bud! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 Not an engineer but I know your struggle. Congrats! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfreakofkorn | 282 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Worked with engineer(s) and plant manager(s) as a autoCAD operator / draftersman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amermoe | 150 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 I'm a P.Eng. (structural), and believe me I know the pain of the grueling 16 hr. FE and PE exams. I was supposed to take it after graduation, but at the time wasn't worth the effort. I'm thinking of taking the SE in the next year or 2, and from what I hear it makes the PE seem like a cakewalk. It's 2 sessions of 8hr exams, and passing rate I believe is 36%...fun! By the way, what discipline? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpoonMan Abrams X | 697 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Congratulations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 11 hours ago, Amermoe said: I'm a P.Eng. (structural), and believe me I know the pain of the grueling 16 hr. FE and PE exams. I was supposed to take it after graduation, but at the time wasn't worth the effort. I'm thinking of taking the SE in the next year or 2, and from what I hear it makes the PE seem like a cakewalk. It's 2 sessions of 8hr exams, and passing rate I believe is 36%...fun! By the way, what discipline? Civil Transportation but my date job is "Environmental Engineer" for DOT. So I basically studied everything to pass the exam. I can totally see how it would be easier if I actually did transportation work. I've asked some of our bridge engineers about SE and they all thing it does nothing for their career so why bother. They are right, they would only get a pay back when they go to the private sector after retiring. And at that point with so much actual experience I'm not sure if the SE will mean anything. But yeah, I heard the SE is no joke. I think I rather work on get my M.S./M.E. or MBA. The thought of taking another test to get into a school is very off putting but I also hate the idea of letting my left over GI Bill benefits go away. I could pretty much get my Masters for free while going to school and taking 2/3 classes a semester. I think I'd be going for a Data Science or Business graduate degree though. I'm done with engineering degrees. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coops_Collection | 18 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Congrats! I'm a licensed P.E. in NC and remember how amazing it felt to log in and check my results. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,808 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Congrats! I did my undergrad in engineering, and my PhD in physics. I don't know what your exams were like, I think the closest I can relate to was the 6 hour PhD qualifying exam. Then of course there's also an oral exam, a dissertation topic exam, and the thesis exam. Really, they expect you to pass it all, but it was still stressful! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad Racer | 38 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Congrats! ME here, but not a "PE" 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Congrats! AE here, so they don't do PE in my field, but I had plenty of ME and EE friends so I have heard enough about it to know it's a major accomplishment. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 3 hours ago, avatar! said: Congrats! I did my undergrad in engineering, and my PhD in physics. I don't know what your exams were like, I think the closest I can relate to was the 6 hour PhD qualifying exam. Then of course there's also an oral exam, a dissertation topic exam, and the thesis exam. Really, they expect you to pass it all, but it was still stressful! Man, that's a weird path to go, practical applications to theoretical. My significant other got her MS in ME and did the PhD. route but never got to the dissertation, just did all the class work. One day she'll finish it as her career needs it as all of her peers have PhDs pretty much. She just had a very bad advisor and they did not get along with each other. I remember how stressful her masters dissertation went. In hindsight she should of done something easier but she wanted to prove she could do it because she won't stand for being told she can't do something because it's too difficult for her to do. Anyways, that's wild to me that you did your PhD in physics with an undergrad in engineering. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 2 hours ago, Dad Racer said: Congrats! ME here, but not a "PE" 1 hour ago, arch_8ngel said: Congrats! AE here, so they don't do PE in my field, but I had plenty of ME and EE friends so I have heard enough about it to know it's a major accomplishment. ME and AE, arch enemies of CEs I started off as an ME and switch to CE. When things started to move I moved as well. Just remember that without CEs there would be no civilization....it's in our name after all. AE just draw pretty pictures which CEs have to make into reality. All in all I do a job that anyone can do and my engineer education didn't really do jack to prepare me for, environmental regulations and permitting. I just deal with red tape so pretty much every ME and AE is better than me . But no one wants to deal with government red tape so it's great job security. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,808 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 33 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said: Man, that's a weird path to go, practical applications to theoretical. My significant other got her MS in ME and did the PhD. route but never got to the dissertation, just did all the class work. One day she'll finish it as her career needs it as all of her peers have PhDs pretty much. She just had a very bad advisor and they did not get along with each other. I remember how stressful her masters dissertation went. In hindsight she should of done something easier but she wanted to prove she could do it because she won't stand for being told she can't do something because it's too difficult for her to do. Anyways, that's wild to me that you did your PhD in physics with an undergrad in engineering. Admittedly it is unusual. BUT, not the most unusual case I know of. I hope this doesn't sound too obnoxious, but I was fortunate enough to go to one of those "prestigious" (rich) private schools for my graduate work. I was thrilled to get in, and I think private schools often look beyond the traditional "you have to do your undergraduate in x y or z to get accepted to the program" which seems to be more common in public universities. Anyway, I had incredibly smart and talented colleagues, and one of my favorite people actually did his undergraduate degree in... ENGLISH! I'm not kidding. He went from English BA to PhD in Physics. That, is talent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 14 minutes ago, avatar! said: Admittedly it is unusual. BUT, not the most unusual case I know of. I hope this doesn't sound too obnoxious, but I was fortunate enough to go to one of those "prestigious" (rich) private schools for my graduate work. I was thrilled to get in, and I think private schools often look beyond the traditional "you have to do your undergraduate in x y or z to get accepted to the program" which seems to be more common in public universities. Anyway, I had incredibly smart and talented colleagues, and one of my favorite people actually did his undergraduate degree in... ENGLISH! I'm not kidding. He went from English BA to PhD in Physics. That, is talent. Sooooo...are you using quotes for "prestigious" because it's actually not? I mean....they giving out Physics PhDs to English majors, LOL. I'm just joking with you. I'm a typical engineer where English like a second language to me. There is always a need for some damn good writers in the science fields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,808 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 2 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said: Sooooo...are you using quotes for "prestigious" because it's actually not? I mean....they giving out Physics PhDs to English majors, LOL. I'm just joking with you. I'm a typical engineer where English like a second language to me. There is always a need for some damn good writers in the science fields. PhD for everyone It's definitely a lovely and prestigious University. I use quotes to try to minimize the supposed arrogance. Let's face it, there is quite a lot of ego in academia. I do think the best scientists are good communicators, but this guy was the only person I personally know to have done that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 1 hour ago, FireHazard51 said: ME and AE, arch enemies of CEs I started off as an ME and switch to CE. When things started to move I moved as well. Just remember that without CEs there would be no civilization....it's in our name after all. AE just draw pretty pictures which CEs have to make into reality. All in all I do a job that anyone can do and my engineer education didn't really do jack to prepare me for, environmental regulations and permitting. I just deal with red tape so pretty much every ME and AE is better than me . But no one wants to deal with government red tape so it's great job security. Not sure where you ever got that idea, about the part in bold but whatever you feel like you need to tell yourself to cover your end of a perceived rivalry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 1 hour ago, avatar! said: often look beyond the traditional "you have to do your undergraduate in x y or z to get accepted to the program" which seems to be more common in public universities. I know in my graduate program, the limitation was that people without an undergrad in AE would get a generical MS in engineering, rather than the MSAE degree. (i.e. if you stick around for a PhD, pretty sure that was fully in "aerospace" because you've been deep enough in the material - but for a masters, you are still missing a considerable amount of the broader background that makes up the specific field) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 (edited) 11 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said: Not sure where you ever got that idea, about the part in bold but whatever you feel like you need to tell yourself to cover your end of a perceived rivalry 7 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said: I know in my graduate program, the limitation was that people without an undergrad in AE would get a generical MS in engineering, rather than the MSAE degree. (i.e. if you stick around for a PhD, pretty sure that was fully in "aerospace" because you've been deep enough in the material - but for a masters, you are still missing a considerable amount of the broader background that makes up the specific field) I see what the confusion was....AE I took as Architectural Engineer and not Aerospace Engineer. Different fields come across acronyms that mean different things. And Architectural Engineers are just pretty picture drawers Edited December 18, 2020 by FireHazard51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arch_8ngel | 1,597 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 2 minutes ago, FireHazard51 said: I see what the confusion was....AE I took as Architectural Engineer and not Aerospace Engineer. Different fields come across acronyms that mean different things. And Architectural Engineers are just pretty picture drawers Ha! Yeah, I get it now. Nope, AE is aerospace (or sometimes aeronautical, depending on the program) engineer. Honestly didn't realize that "architectural engineering" was a separate degree title, though I never looked into what specific degree name architecture students were pursuing when I was in school. (though that was a fully separate program from the CE department which was under the college of engineering as opposed to the college of architecture) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidjaguar | 258 Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 ME here as well. Love any tips as I'll be taking the PE exam in February likely. Just starting to study and get ready ..... wish it was over already! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireHazard51 | 2,043 Social Team · Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 20 minutes ago, acidjaguar said: ME here as well. Love any tips as I'll be taking the PE exam in February likely. Just starting to study and get ready ..... wish it was over already! Get the reference materials that they list for creating the exam. If you can find a program that will prep you for the exam. These programs help teach you the common questions and will help focus you for what will be on the exam and passing the exam and not just give you a broad base of knowledge. I did School of PE, and they do offer ME, https://www.schoolofpe.com/pe/ They do a very good job with CE/Transportation. Many people in my office use them and passed first time. Personally taking the prep course help me schedule my studying. I tried it on my own the first time and flopped pretty hard. I felt like the test overall is doable so long as you actually put the time in and have the refence materials/manuals. CE is the worst I think with how many books/manuals they use to create the test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amermoe | 150 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 10 hours ago, arch_8ngel said: Honestly didn't realize that "architectural engineering" was a separate degree title, though I never looked into what specific degree name architecture students were pursuing when I was in school. (though that was a fully separate program from the CE department which was under the college of engineering as opposed to the college of architecture) Architectural Engineering is actually a new branch of Engineering (relatively). Architecture is a separate degree entirely. It's sort of a mix between architecture and Civil Engineering, and mostly deals with building science, and building envelope design. The industry I currently work for actually employs a lot of Architectural Engineers. I think of it as sort of another niche specialized field because you can hire civil engineers or architects to do the same work, but they wouldn't be as efficient doing it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amermoe | 150 Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 16 hours ago, FireHazard51 said: I've asked some of our bridge engineers about SE and they all thing it does nothing for their career so why bother. They are right, they would only get a pay back when they go to the private sector after retiring. And at that point with so much actual experience I'm not sure if the SE will mean anything. The SE will allow you to work on hospitals and schools, basically anything that is considered 'Risk Category IV' under ASCE7. In some states, a PE isn't sufficient to be able to stamp structural dwgs. and you need to upgrade to SE. It's weird because, for some reason, the government doesn't put the same restriction on bridges as they do on some other government buildings, and Bridge Design is no small task, particularly when you got to long-span or suspended bridges (not just overpass/underpass). Some states also require you to have a PE in order to even attempt the SE, and other states do not recognize the SE as equivalent to a PE, and force you to do a PE even if you have an SE. It's all a big mess and very weird. Overall though in terms of advantage, it really depends what work you want to get into. By the way congrats! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcgamer | 4,721 Posted December 20, 2020 Share Posted December 20, 2020 Congratulations!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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