PE Application Work Experience

[swooneyWOODSTRUCT]

Hi all,

I struggle with mental blocks when it comes to writing, especially when writing about myself. Would anyone be willing to share their work experience that they submitted with their PE license application so that I could use it as a template? I just need something I can plug my experience into without having to type out all of the "extra" filler language. My experience is mostly in high seismic, both residential and low-rise commercial buildings.

Thank you in advance!

 

[lexpatrie]

You've pretty much got it there already, describe the work you did and the types of construction and you're there. If you want inspiration, note that New Jersey is about the most particular about these experience statements, so if somewhere in the distant future you might be applying to New Jersey, you could try to check their boxes now. California also has some specifics they more or less demand if you apply for structural engineering licensure, so multi-story and seismic design category are worth noting as well.

The last time I looked at these, there were four? categories, so site visits, design, analysis, etc. If it helps just make a table, wood/steel/masonry/concrete and check boxes off as you write down projects. Then make it "Analysis of 4 story concrete building in SDC D", etc.

 

[ChorasDen]

This is for your Oregon PE application, as you've stated in your other thread, correct? I had my NCEES record up for archiving continuing ed., so I'll grab a snapshot of a couple of the notes I included in my application to Oregon, see image below. These (2) examples are for separate structures. Since these were accepted as part of my application to Oregon without correction, I would expect that you recording the work that you have performed in a similar matter to what is written below would be sufficient for your application.

 

[Eng16080]

I went through that myself and I think I can help. Can you just explain one project that you did so I have a general idea?

 

[ChorasDen]

Include project location and the month/year that you preformed your work on each project to showcase continued growth and professional development of your skillset as you progressed through your EIT development.

 

[swooneyWOODSTRUCT]

ChorasDen,

Thank you, that is very helpful. Yes, I am applying in Oregon. I have heard that the board is not super strict here, but they also give little to no instruction on how to describe our experience.

 

[swooneyWOODSTRUCT]

Eng16080,

For example:
-designing the gravity and lateral force resisting systems for a two-story concrete parking garage.
-designing the gravity and lateral force resisting systems for a two-story steel parking garage.
-designing concrete retaining walls for soil, emergency vehicle surcharge, and seismic loads.
-designing the gravity and lateral force resisting systems for one-story wood/steel/and concrete-framed residential custom homes.
(I know this need more detail and specifics I am just conveying what type of projects I have worked on.)

 

[Eng16080]

Looking back, this was the general format of mine. Basically a brief description is provided of my involvement in the project including basic materials used, design challenges, etc. Some of the information might not be applicable to Oregon, I'm not sure. Some of this stuff seemed silly at the time, but just make yourself jump through the hoops and get it done.

Project: Structural Design of New Residence
Location: City, State
Client: Client name and company
Cost: $20,000
Scope: Structural Design of New 9,000 Square Foot Home
Experience:
Provided roof and floor framing designs based on the architect’s plans. Throughout the design process, extensive coordination with the architect was established. Multiple framing challenges were encountered during the design, including the analysis of a curved floor beam adjacent to a central staircase, the design of several circular roof turrets with cathedral ceilings, and the design of a large girder truss constructed of 21” deep LVL beams which supports a portion of the curved floor beam noted above. Regarding the roof turrets, steel tension rings and curved glulam beams were proposed along the perimeter to restrain the roof from spreading laterally.
Framing materials for the project consisted of conventional lumber, engineered wood floor joists, LVL beams, glulam beams, and structural steel beams and columns.
Foundation designs were provided for the main house and garage and a retaining wall design was provided around an outside pool. Steel base plates were designed where steel columns bear on spread footings.
A structural analysis was also provided for a barn proposed on the same lot as the house. This included roof and floor framing design as well as foundation design.

Project Outcome: Completed
Portion Designed: 80%

 

[swooneyWOODSTRUCT]

Eng16080,

Thank you so much. That is so incredibly helpful. I didn't even think about the project outcome part. I have 2 big projects that I am very proud of that were never actually built do to scope of work cuts for budget. Should I still include those?

 

[Eng16080]

Glad to help. I probably wouldn't include "Project Outcome" if they're not specifically asking for it. In my case, they did require that for some reason.

 

[JStephen]

What I remember from long ago in various places-
One thing they wanted was to show a progression of experience, so hopefully, your more recent items are more involved than your earlier ones.
One thing was to show specific projects and indicate how typical they were. So "On this project, I designed this to this code, designed that to that code, and the other, designed this for hydrostatic forces, wind, et., and this is typical of 40% of my work". And repeat several times to fill the space.

 

[plausibly_civil]

Honestly this type of writing seems to be made for AI. When I was writing my application I also had a problem just getting started, so I prompted ChatGPT a few times with different projects and for different topics. It helped a lot because some of the application questions were pretty silly and irrelevant to practice in my opinion. I remember one in particular asked how I had contributed to some kind of environmental goals that the state had. Sure, everybody is really asking the structural EIT how to effectively reduce the overall carbon footprint of projects.

 

[JLNJ]

Try to emphasize what you DID rather than what you "worked on". Having tangential involvement is a lot different than having responsibility.

 

[swooneyWOODSTRUCT]

ChorasDen,

How many representative projects did you include in your experience section? I was thinking 3 per year (12 total) seems like enough but I am not sure.

 

[ChorasDen]

How many representative projects did you include in your experience section?

Looking back, I had several different roles at several different employers/locations, and each had projects that had different time scales. With that said, appears I submitted a short (1 paragraph) discussion regarding 13 different projects, ranging from: fire remediation, structural software development, adjusting timings on manufacturing equipment, connection and diaphragm detailing, etc. You should be able to put together a list of projects with your involved scope fairly easily, hopefully you have been keeping track or can look back at files to understand your role if you've forgotten some of the details.