membership istructe 1

[rowingengineer]

I hope a few of the structural men read this forum.

I am an Australian and am chartered under IEAust. I would like to know what people think of becoming an AMIStructE or an MIStructE? or another international association you would recommend for a structural engineer?

I really don't know too much about the institution of structural engineers so would like to know what other think as well.


Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while you realize that them like it

 

[asixth]

I was thinking about doing some CPD reports in the hope of getting CPEng, did you find the process difficult?

 

[rowingengineer]

asixth,
Good to hear you are thinking about your Cpeng, am willing to help you as much as I can, because I didn't get much help and a few guidance words here would have made all the difference. The process is not that difficult just time consuming and a little bit daunting.

I would recommended getting stuck in and go for it ( the longer you leave it the less time you will have); I know you’re a Brisbane man so you will need it to get your RPEQ. In Queensland this is going to become very important soon as the BEPQ has decided that a RPEQ can only supervise 4 people max. So having your RPEQ will help you become a senior down the track and judging from your posts, I think senior design engineer is definitely in your path down the track.

My recommended path would be to sign up with the IEAust grad program (to do this as an individual it will cost you about $125, which your company should cover), I will post the info if you want me too (I didn’t know this existed when I did mine, would have help I believe). Then write your first report not too long and submit it to the Ieaust assessor for review, this will help you with the style required and also what they really want hence save you time.

As for the daunting part, don’t try to think you need to have worked on a big project ect to put it in as a report. Small jobs meet the criteria too, so don’t be scared to write about any job.


Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while you realize that them like it

 

[Ussuri]

I will start by saying I am not a member of the IStructE. I did intend to go for it once so looked into it, but have since changed industries.

Assuming you can demonstrate you have a suitable academic background (you may have to submit a report outlining your qualifications and experience for review) you will be allowed to apply for the Part 3 membership exam.

The exam is a seven hour open book paper and generally includes the following:

Outline design for two distinctly different structural solutions. One in concrete, one in steel is no use. You would need to something like a braced frame and solid core/shear walls etc. The outlines need to present sufficient calculations to show they are feasible.

You then select one of the designs to take forward. You must do the calculations to size all the primary members, foundations, walls, columns, floors, beams etc.

Then there will be a change to your original brief so you must modify your design to suit, with supporting calcs as necessary.

You will then be required to do drawings (to a standard you would issue if at work) showing the main structure and details. I believe rough sketches are frowned upon.

Then there will be something along the lines of specification writing and technical letters to the client to justify the change following the scope change.

It is a lot of work to do in one day and the pass rates are usually pretty low at around 35%. I know a more people who have failed than have passed.

They format of the exam is usually pretty simililar. If I remember correctly there is usually 2 steel questions, 2 concrete questions, 1 bridge question, sometimes a timber question, and then the more specialist questions which occur from time to time. Things like reservoirs, pumping stations, topside offshore, subsea offshore etc.

In my opinion the questions can be hit or miss. If you get a question similar to something you have done in the past then you are OK. If you have no direct experience for any of the questions you might as well give up.

After each set of exams the examiners publish a report where they discusss the questions, the expectations, and then what was actually submitted. It makes interesting reading if you plan to take the exam.

 

[rowingengineer]

Ussuri,
Thank you for the run down, was wondering what the exam would beabout. Sounds hard, but interesting, test of skill if you will. From what i hear a lot of people do a course on how to answer the questions and that lifts there pass rate to about 50%.

As to the reports you mention how do you get hold of them, and can you get hold of them? I would like to read one, even if I don’t take the exam.




Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling with a pig in mud. After a while you realize that them like it

 

[Ussuri]

You used be able to purchase past papers from the IStructE which show you the questions (no answers though) although I am not sure they still do that. I guess you would need to ask.

The examiners reports are published in the 'The Structural Engineer' after each set of exams. This is the institutions magazine and you get it for free whe your are a member. I still hold a graduate membership so receive a copy. Its £25 per copy otherwise.
You can also read it online, but you may need to be a member to access it:

http://www.istructe.org/thestructuralengineer/

 

[FreddyNurk]

To be completely frank about it, unless you're looking at working in a different location, there may not be that much benefit in applying for membership of other associations.

Certainly when I worked in a consultancy that had a strong structural background, the only concerns they had were that the appropriate engineer met the registration requirements revelant to the location, but not whether they had any other associations.

In QLD, this was RPEQ registration, in NT it was CPEng as well as registration with the NT Building Practitioners Board. I'd never heard of anyone in my office chasing IStructE, indeed it was hard enough to get people that met the local requirements for registration in NT.

Having said that, from an electrical point of view I'm also a member of IET and IEEE, as well as IEAust. Whilst neither overseas association gets me any benefit locally in terms of registration, there are a lot of other tangible benefits (journals, different world happenings, news and similar) that make the membership worthwhile. Whether this applies to you or not I cannot say, but it may be worth considering.

 

[HamishMcTavish]

You can view some of the IStructE papers on their website. See the following:

http://www.istructe.org/membership/Pages/pastpapers.aspx

Regards, HM

No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam

 

[apsix]

For personal interest and satisfaction I'm happy to be a member of IStructE. I'm not sure that it helps me professionally at my current job in Aust.

As my employer only pays for the one subscription I'm not a member of IEAust and haven't been for the last 10 years that I've worked over here. It's not affected my ability to find work, or to perform my work.

 

[phuduhudu]

I am a member and there is no particular benefit except that engineers in the British influenced world have a degree of respect for this membership because of the reputation of the exam. As you say it's a good challenge and for an experienced engineer like you I don't think you would have a problem passing having done a bit of preparation. The pass rate is probably quite low because many engineers who are not yet ready for it take the exam. It is just a real life scheme design problem basically.

Here in Botswana I am caught between South African and British influence and so have also had to get membership of the Engineering Council of South Africa as well as our own local institution here. It makes for a lot of membership fees and a lot of CPD returns. The world should really just agree on a single institution - I thought we lived in a global village?