bedell99

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May 3, 2000
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I just found out the result of my PE(Professional Engineering exam) and I passed. I took the Mechancial. I can't believe they actually gave me a license. I need a new goal, any suggestions???

Erik
 

WaltCMoto

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Jan 1, 2001
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Congrats, what are your interests, and hobbies besides riding? Maybe a carrer in something that you enjoy instead of just anouther job.
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
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bedell99 said:
I just found out the result of my PE(Professional Engineering exam) and I passed. I took the Mechancial. I can't believe they actually gave me a license. I need a new goal, any suggestions???

Erik

First off Erik ... congratulations on the achievement!

Graduating engineering school is a great achievement, but as those of us that have become registered know, that is but a step on the path. I find no irony in your quest for a new goal, in that you have been focused on registration for a long time, I suspect.

What is your specialty? I can assure you that there is a dearth of good MEP systems engineers in Texas. Want to come here and open a firm? I'm serious! I spend a fair amount of my time cajoling the engineers that work for me into making their systems affordable. Even then, much of what is designed is ignored by the system installers because of redundancy or cost.

If I could offer one bit of advice ... remain humble. There are people in the field putting together our systems that have forgotten more than we currently know. They will gladly share their experience, if only we ask.

As far as goals, how about an immediate one ...
Take yourself out to dinner as thanks for persevering.
Take your wife out to dinner as thanks for standing by you.

Oh ... and another goal ...
Come to DirtWeek, you will not regret it! ;)
 

Rich Rohrich

Moderator / BioHazard
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Jul 27, 1999
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Well done Erik. :cool:
 

CRguyStan

Member
Dec 10, 2001
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Erik,
Great job on the dedication and hard work, I copped out and went into the sales engineering side instead. After graduating I couldn't stand another test right away so opted out of EIT, muchless the PE.
 

bedell99

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May 3, 2000
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I know this sounds crazy, but for the last 11 years since I started mechanical engineering in college, my goal was to become a professional engineer. Thank you Tony for advice. I currently am a design build engineer(HVAC, steam and power systems) for a Mechanical Contractor in Denver. I absolutley love it here. Working for a contractor instead of consulting firm actually gave me aconsideration of cost instead of just going balls out. Plus I love going out in the field.

Well I have been riding since I was young and have nothing left to prove with that. Maybe start playing the guitar again??

Erik
 

Vic

***** freak.
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May 5, 2000
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Very cool. :cool:
 

Broken Spoke

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Mar 1, 2004
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Congrats! I will be taking the PE next November. Any advice? I currently work for the Corps of Engineers and to get the high grade levels in the Corps, you need a PE. I only wish that this was something that I accomplished before a wife and two kids, but at 29 years of age, I guess I got an early start on the family. Again, congratulations.
 

Ryone

Member
Jun 18, 2004
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Congratulations!
It took me 4 attempts just to pass my EIT... now I have about 6 months before I'm elligible for the PE (Civil). Did you take the test at the western stock show right next to the colliseum in Denver?
The first time I took my EIT, there was an arenacross race right next door. Needless to say, I skipped out as early as possible to go watch.

Again, congrats.

Ryan
 

bedell99

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May 3, 2000
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Broken Spoke, the best advice I can give you is study with a partner. I know that is not always feasible but if possible is any one of your co-workers taking it also?? What discipline are you planning to take?? When I was studying for the test I bought a condo, planned a wedding, still rode at least 1 day a week. I used my lunch hour every day except on Fridays and studied. and then before I went to bed I would always do a couple of problems. 1 month before the exam was crunch time, just studied alot.

Erik
 

Woodzi

Member
Sep 22, 2005
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Wow, sounds like you guys have a tough time getting a PE.

I graduated from an accredited university, so all I had to do was meet the experience requirements, provide some references and pass a law and ethics exam.

Congratulations! You will never regret having a meaningful professional designation. I have been licenced since 1991 and it has provided many opportunities over the years.
 

bedell99

~SPONSOR~
May 3, 2000
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Its alot different here in america, basically if you go to this website you can get all the info you will ever need, but the basic are get an engineering degree from an ABET accredited school, pass the fundementals exam, get eith 4-6 years experience depending on state making sure your references are PE's. Then take the you are allowed to take the PE, which has around an overall 50% pass rate.

www.ncees.org

Erik
 

91KDX

Member
Jan 23, 2003
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I dont know if this is off topic or not, but I am going into the marine corps in august. I had three choices for jobs that I wanted/qualified to do, one of my choices was a civil engineer. Can anyone give me a little information about what exactly civil engineers do? My recruiter is pretty typical and only told me what he thought I wanted to hear. I have a general idea of what I think they do, but can anyone give specifics? I am pretty good at math,building,designing things, but I am not sure if that is all its going to take. Thanks in advance.

Benjamin
 

Broken Spoke

Member
Mar 1, 2004
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I will be taking the mechanical test, is there any other discipline. :) As for what a civil engineer does, mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets! Seriously, civil engineers can do a lot of different things. I am in construction, so I am a ME in civil engineer's world. I do mostly heat transfer type work. I would think that a civil engineer in the Marine Corps would mostly work on horizontal construction (build roads).
 

Ryone

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Jun 18, 2004
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Civil engineers are kinda like the Matrix... everything they do is all around you. Civil engineers are involved in almost every aspect of everything you see... and a lot of things you don't see. Ever heard the saying, "Jack of all trades, master of none"? Civil's are Jacks-of-all-trades where as ME's, EE's, etc... are specialists in their specific area. I'm not saying that they aren't knowledgable about the other facets of engineering, I'm saying that they don't HAVE to be. A civil has to know about water pumps (designed by ME's), how much power they need (enter EE's), as well as knowing how to use them in certain applications.

Civil engineers deal with roads, water systems, sewer systems, grading, geological, surveying, airport design, construction, subdivision design, drainage, and many many other areas. Every highway you've been on has been engineered by Civils. Every house you've been in has a foundation designed by a Civil (hopefully). Because of civil engineers, people have running water and sewer systems in their homes.

Ryan
 

SpeedyManiac

Member
Aug 8, 2000
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Congrats on getting your P. Eng. I'm sure it was one hell of a tough time.

Ryone, I'm not going to get in to a debate, but if you do any reading, you'll find Mechanicals are known as the Jack of all Trades. We do a little bit of everything.
 
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MikeT

~SPONSOR~
Jan 17, 2001
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Fantastic! Welcome into the fold. Just remember that it is and always will be a learning process. Don't be too eager to seal things.
 

Ryone

Member
Jun 18, 2004
391
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SpeedyManiac said:
Ryone, I'm not going to get in to a debate, but if you do any reading, you'll find Mechanicals are known as the Jack of all Trades. We do a little bit of everything.
Such as?
 

SpeedyManiac

Member
Aug 8, 2000
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Well, so far I've taken courses in the Mechanical, Civil, Electrical, Chemical and Materials Engineering departments, plus Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics and English. We learn about everything, from process control to strength of materials (statics AND dynamics) and everything in between. Comparing to my friends in Civil, I have taken courses in a lot broader fields.

It seems all engineers take courses in many areas, but I still believe Mechanical is usually considered the Jack of all Engineers.
 

Ryone

Member
Jun 18, 2004
391
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The standard courses that you've mentioned are universal to all engineering degrees, since an area of each of those disciplines is covered in the EIT and PE exams. What I'm referring to are the areas that are encounted after an engineer gets into the workforce.

I know ME's that design parts for dirtbikes (Topar) and have went to school with them. I've always thought that the ME's, EE's, Petrol and Chemical Engineers are SMARTER than the Civils, but that their expertise isn't as broad. I've been working in the Civil field for about 7 years and have regularly dealt with things that other engineers don't deal with as a whole.

Soils
Floodplains
Water (pot and non-pot, purification, etc...)
Wastewater
Electrical (schematics and loads for pumps, 3-phase power)
Mechanical (pump design)
Geologic
Surveying
Subdivision Design
Drainage
Hydrology
Hydraulics
Chemicals (a minimal amount used to treat water)
Economics
Contracting
Architectural
Structural (Concrete, steel, wood, etc...)
CAD

These are things that I literally deal with every week, but know very little about the Electrical, Mechanical and Chemical side.

Another reason I think the other disciplines have "smarter" people than civils is because they make more. ;)

I'm not debating, just stating what I've experienced.

bedell99, what was easier for you... the EIT or PE?

Ryan
 

bedell99

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May 3, 2000
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Ryan in my personal opinion the PE was much harder. I feel the EIT was bascially what I learned in college. I did take it a couple of years out, but I think compared to how much I studied for the PE it was relatively easy to pass, especially if you are from a mechancial backround.

Erik
 
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