Time to order new business cards...

[GTjoy]

... because I passed, woohoo!!

MANY THANKS to all of you that provided advice and encouragement - I feel that I absolutely benefited from it and I truly appreciated it.

Good luck to the rest of you. I'll try to pop in here now and then to help future test-takers.

P.S. I am also ordering new business cards because I recently got a promotion, but I was waiting to hear on the results of the exam so I could get both changes at one time on the cards (like a typical efficiency-obsessed engineer). I know should probably be more excited about the promotion (more money, more responsibilities etc), but I am more excited about passing the PE exam, I guess, because it was more of a personal thing I was proving to myself.

 

[GTjoy]

Nevermind on the biz cards. I had forgotten my company has really strict branding guidelines - they only allow "M.D." or "Ph.D." on business cards.

 

[snickerd3]

bummer

 

[Sam Construction]

bummer

What company is that ?? You need to have a talk with the Legal Department, What is the difference between MD and PE. If I were you , I would be really writing some serious letters to some serious people to get PE on your business card. :Banane35:

Congrats.

 

[IlPadrino]

Nevermind on the biz cards. I had forgotten my company has really strict branding guidelines - they only allow "M.D." or "Ph.D." on business cards.

Odd! But perhaps it's because most of the employees aren't PEs and they don't want to call attention to the fact? Otherwise, it doesn't make much sense.

 

[Dleg]

I would protest that policy - ferchristsakes! You've got your PE! That's something the company should be proud to display.... I would think.

 

[mcap8]

... because I passed, woohoo!!
MANY THANKS to all of you that provided advice and encouragement - I feel that I absolutely benefited from it and I truly appreciated it.

Good luck to the rest of you. I'll try to pop in here now and then to help future test-takers.

P.S. I am also ordering new business cards because I recently got a promotion, but I was waiting to hear on the results of the exam so I could get both changes at one time on the cards (like a typical efficiency-obsessed engineer). I know should probably be more excited about the promotion (more money, more responsibilities etc), but I am more excited about passing the PE exam, I guess, because it was more of a personal thing I was proving to myself.

Congrats! I know its easy to say now, but I knew you would pass!

 

[Mike in Gastonia]

Nevermind on the biz cards. I had forgotten my company has really strict branding guidelines - they only allow "M.D." or "Ph.D." on business cards.

Boooooo!

It's not like PE is a certification. It's a license required by your state just like MD. I would push it, especially if you have a mentor there.

 

[GTjoy]

Thanks for the congrats, guys.

I'll try to address several of y'all's questions... I don't work for an A/E or design firm. My company is more of a management/strategy/technology consulting firm. I actually appreciate that they have very strict branding guidelines, but unfortunately this does inconvenience me a little bit in this case. We can use the P.E. designation (and other certifications or licenses) in resumes, proposals, and the like, and at the end of the day... the people I work with, both clients and colleagues, who want to or need to know, already know... if that makes any sense? So, it's still OK with me - I guess that's all I'm saying.

My team, where it's more relevant to have a P.E., is "proud" to display it of course, and will certainly make note of it on proposals and such. In answer to someone's question, there are only a few of us within my team, and a few others scattered throughout (maybe less than 100 in a company of ~20,000).

And truthfully, an MD is far more immediately recognizable (both nationally and internationally) than a PE.... I had to explain to many colleagues what it was I was studying for, since many of them are not engineers by background or trade. I started telling all the non-engineers that I was studying for what was basically my second round of board exams, rather than tell them I was studying for my PE exam. Heck, I'd say more people know what CPA and JD stand for than PE.

Anyway, it's more of a personal triumph for me, and I don't need a business card to be happy about it.

P.S. I'll you guys know if they ever change the policy!!

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Anyway, it's more of a personal triumph for me, and I don't need a business card to be happy about it.

And that's what counts in the end.

 

[Dleg]

^True. I've already stopped the gratuitous use of "P.E." after my name, now that I have had my fun. I almost prefer now that people not immediately know, and only find out about it if I sign something engineering-related.

Or hand them my card. I still think that's a crappy policy. If they need engineers, they should let you show that you're a qualified professional.

 

[Kephart P.E.]

^True. I've already stopped the gratuitous use of "P.E." after my name, now that I have had my fun. I almost prefer now that people not immediately know, and only find out about it if I sign something engineering-related.
Or hand them my card. I still think that's a crappy policy. If they need engineers, they should let you show that you're a qualified professional.

Yeah, its kind of weird, the first thing my Principle in Charge did was get my business cards changed to add PE.

 

[GTjoy]

^True. I've already stopped the gratuitous use of "P.E." after my name, now that I have had my fun. I almost prefer now that people not immediately know, and only find out about it if I sign something engineering-related.
Or hand them my card. I still think that's a crappy policy. If they need engineers, they should let you show that you're a qualified professional.

Sometimes I don't want people to know immediately either - I don't want to just be boxed in as an enginerd-type who only knows technical stuff.

On the one hand, we don't necessarily *need* professional engineers since we don't stamp any designs. But contracts will sometimes request personnel with a P.E., but not because we have to design anything. So to win some contracts, they need us.