Is it worth it to get a PE license? 27

[jadyn137]

Really… how worth is it to get licensed? All it says is you can take a test very, very quickly (at least in California). Is it really the mark of a professional? I do professional level work already, but don't really get any credit for it. I see my bosses just tearing their hair out on a daily basis regarding project troubles. But since they have the stamp, they have responsible charge. I ask myself: "Why should I want a PE if that's what happens? Is the extra pay and 'prestige' worth it?" I have to say an unequivocal no. How does a "P.E." after your name dictate to anyone what level of dedication you have? I have heard the terms such as advanced leadership and management skills, higher dedication, integrity, and creativity connected with getting a license. Personally, I think that is a load because I am more dedicated and infinitely more creative than most so-called professionals in my division. But, since I didn't pass a test that is more a measure of problem solving speed than that of problem solving skill, I am not allowed the label "P.E." You can keep it. You can keep your project problems, I will just estimate your project to within 3% of the lowest bid, write up your special provisions and provide plans that are clear and consistent with all the other documents. Why would any boss want to lose an employee who can do that for the "noble" cause of getting a P.E. license? So I can get a job higher up in the company and get bleeding ulcers and migraine headaches from dealing with the project problems? Or go to another company and get problems there?
For those of you who are doubters, I have taken the CA PE exam four times, but still have not passed the seismic portion because I am just not fast enough. I did practice exams, and finished with an average time of 3 hours with 70 percent correct. You're allowed 2 hours for the exam. Therefore, you see the dilemma. I can do the work, but not quickly. When the test becomes more of a test of skill than of speed, I might try again. But until then, I have given up on it. Besides if I were to take it again and pass, I would do what I could to not let anyone know that I passed it. They might expect more out of me than the 110 percent than I already give in my job.

 

[toothless]

Is it worth it? It depends if it will get you more money, or a desired promotion, or something else desirable. I'm not registered, never tried, probably never will. I don't need it and being registered won't get me anything, so why waste my time. If something happens that changes that fact - that being registered will provide me a benefit, then I may do it.

But the question of "is it worth it?" can only be answered by you for your specific case.

 

[plasgears]

Those in doubt about the value of the PE, read DB Steinman's piece "Bridges Over Broad Waters." This was written in coop. with Watson, publ by Erdmanns, Grand Rapids, MI. I have re-read this several times.

Steinman organized engineering as a profession and helped institute the PE. He battled with architects over the professional status of engineers. If you left it up to architects, engineers would be relegated to the ranks of the trades.

Proud to be a graduate ME and PE.
(I have a signed letter from DB Steinman after receiving a scholarship from the DB Steinman Fund for eng students, since paid back.)

 

[EddyC]

plasgears,

I tried looking on Amazon for the book you mentioned, "Bridges Over Broad Waters". They don't list it. Do you happen to know where I could find a copy? It sounds like an interesting read.

 

[plasgears]

EddyC,
I tried Amazon also, and found it out of print. The last time I read the book it came from the library. Try your local library. They often procure from distant locations for your benefit.

 

[IRstuff]

Are you sure about the title? Addall shows only "Bridges and Their Builders" as a book by Steinman and Watson:

http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/Re...order=TITLE&ordering=ASC&dispCurr=USD&match=Y

There is a "Highways over Broad Waters," but it's a biography of Steinman:

http://used.addall.com/SuperRare/su...rePowells=on&StoreStrandbooks=on&StoreZVAB=on

TTFN

 

[plasgears]

Correction:

Highways Over Broad Waters
by William Ratigan
Erdmanns,Grand Rapids, MI

It's a biography of David Steinman tracing his bridge building experiences and challenges over the years. He organized the engineering curric. at City College of NY after earning his CE at Columbia. He later was instrumental in developing the PE exam in the US.

One of the most interesting sub-stories is the growing animosity between him and Othmar Ammann, a co-worker under the tutelage of Lindenthal, the designer of the Hell Gate Arch bridge in NY.

Steinman's impassioned suggestions about how to stabilize dancing suspension bridges went unheeded. The rest is history. Ammann's Whitestone bridge in NYC was similar to the Tacoma, and it danced in the wind. So did the George Washington bridge and others. This was the era of building bridges without stiffening trusses. Aerodynamic interaction (Karman vortices) with the plate girders caused the instability. Steinman stopped building new bridges until he formulated the mathematical theory of designing bridges to survive wind intereaction. The Whitestone bridge was later reinforced with stays and add-on stiffening trusses.

I recently crossed the Whitestone and was surprised to see no stiffening trusses. They were recently removed and replaced with aerodynamic fairings similar to the European model. The original roadway structure and pavement will be replaced with light weight structure and paving.

Another good read that thoroughly covers the subject is:

Engineers of Dreams
by Henry Petroski, CE, Duke Univ.
Knopf, 1995

Higly recommended for all engineers. You will want to have your own copy; I have re-read it many times.

 

[jadyn137]

I think rather than upset my bosses again, who were very upset with me that I didn't even take the exam(guaranteed failure) this past time. Im just going to study for it, take and pass it, so I can get him and other PE's in the office to be quiet and not belittle or riducule me for not wishing to advance my career further. I would have to hope that there is more to being a PE other than you get to sign off and take credit for the hardwork of subordinates. I found that there is no way to block them from finding out if I passed the exam, so there is no way I can get around that. Oh well.. I guess I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Of course... I could always "forget" to send in my refile application or not include the check....

 

[HgTX]

Oh, ferchrissake. It's not that bad, and you're way too old to sound so sulky. Go back and reread this thread.

Hg

 

[BobPE]

jadyn137:

there is a lot more to the PE, sounds like you may not be surrounded by the brightest candles in the box at your place of employement...

The PE is about you, not about others. If you do not get your PE then the subordinates at work couldn't do anything and would no longer have a job. And you don't take credit for the work, you take responsibility, there is a big difference. If you can't get assistance in understanding the responsibility, it may be a good time to reach for help outside your place of employement to help you understand what your responsibilities will be.

BobPE

 

[jadyn137]

You ever think that maybe I don't think Im ready for that kind of responsibility? Ever think that someone might not even want that kind of responsibility heaped on them, no matter how much of an increase in pay or prestige it is? I'm not really a risk taker, and it seems lately that no matter if I follow the specifications to the letter, its always rejected by the higher ups as wrong, but if the PE does the same exact thing as I do, its somehow fully correct. How would I be able to trust my judgement later as a P.E. when everything I seem to do, no matter what is wrong? Everyone beginning to see why I don't want the P.E. but will most likely take the test and study like hell just to pass it and make the bosses shut the heck up

 

[GregLocock]

Well, that's pretty easy. Take an example of yours that was rejected, and compare it with a similar example by the PE that was accepted. Discuss the differences you find with the PE.

Remember, it is possible to choose the right solution via the wrong reasoning, and you may be (unfairly) required to state assumptions that are taken as read in the case of the PE.

Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[EddyC]

jadyn137,

I think that you should absolutely get your PE if you are able to. There will always be employers & clients who will ask you to use your PE stamp in inappropriate ways. There are also employers & clients who won't. Gravitate your career to the employers that hold to the higher standard. The fact that you give this issue so much thought says that you are ready for the PE. The PE responsibility issue is to be taken quite seriously.

Let me tell you a little story:

I had a job interview some years ago. The interviewee presented & discussed one of his ongoing projects. The project was a rapidly moving structure/machine that stood over 50 people. Failure could kill in this situation. I had never been asked to work on anything that had this level of potential danger and I stated so. I also stated that I didn't think that this would be the right job for me due to the life safety issue. The interviewee talked me into taking the job offer. Several weeks later, he told me that he knew that I was the right candidate for the job because I took the life safety issue very seriously. The other candidates has been ho-hum about this. I think that you are in the same boat.

 

[EddyC]

jadyn137,

Just a correction:

I meant to say "interviewer" rather than "interviewee".

 

[HgTX]

jadyn137--

Where you work, are there checkers on every design or just on the EITs?

Hg

 

[plasgears]

PE helps during quality review:

Many years ago, before QS6000, I had frequent interaction with Cadillac Engineering regarding special vehicles both stretched and armored. During an annual quality review, I presented basic calcs re wt and balance, crash bar suitability, etc. The reviewer, a senior individual with Cadillac, asked whether I had the PE, and I answered "Yes."

He said that as a PE I had the privilege of presenting results without critical review by Cadillac. He liked my wt and balance calcs, similar to airplane methods, and asked for a courtesy copy. I suspect he wanted to incorporate the method in the manual of suggested construction methods for this special line of vehicles.

There may have been changes since then.

 

[Thane]

Getting a PE is like getting an Engineering Degree or any other higher education degree. You have to really want to get it in order for it to be "worth it". It should be something that you do for yourself, not others.

If you do not want to get a PE, then it is not worth the additional effort.

If you do want to become a PE for yourself, then it will be well worth the effort.

 

[APH]

I had to take FE exam to graduate. Never regret it and I'm planning to take PE exam next spring.

 

[HgTX]

May I ask where you went to school?

I think I like the idea, at least for some fields. Civil engineering, for one.

Hg

 

[mshimko]

We often ask hiring candidates if they have or will take te EIT. Not because it matters much to my company/field, but because it tells us something about the candidate.

For those who have not taken it, or havn't taken it yet, I advise them to give it serious consideration, and I explain why: it "MAY" help THEM in the future; it MAY matter to THEM in the future; and last - it's easier to get it "now" than "later".

Good reasons or advice? You judge.

 

[EOIT]

I also took the FE exam just before I graduated but it was not a requirement. The Department strongly recommended it, held a class to prep for it, and met with engs that were doubtful and tried to help them understnad why it was important. I know that the main reason most people took it was because having passed the FE exam doesn't close doors for you and getting your PE doesn't seem like they would close any either. By keeping all possible avenues open in the future you have a back-up plan for future situations.

But definately do it for yourself and your future, not for anyone/thing else