# 100% (or close) valid exams for real life skills



## liveitup3 (May 20, 2012)

I've been thinking about life skills in general and what skills/knowledge that all "common working" people would have in an "ideal" world.  In a well-versed society where there would exist only specialists in niche fields/areas.  

What I came up with so far is this.  In an ideal world everyone would have no problem passing:

1. Bar exam for their state:  Everyone should know the law since it directly affects everyone obviously.

2. CPA exam:  Again, this directly affects everyone as well.  Taxes, enough said.

3. USLME exams:  Your health, your responsibility  

4. FE &amp; PE exams  Know how to build/power anything  ie house, car, computer, helicopter/plane, etc.

A. So I came up with this idea/plan because of a super determined ambitious lady that I was just introduced to by our office head while doing my PCS paperwork for my next duty station.  She is the wife of one of our SEAL officers.  Anyway, this lady is unlike anyone I have ever met in person.  I've read about "geniuses" but I've never actually met someone who has accomplished so much so quickly.  So, this lady is an autodidact. (she taught herself almost everything she knows, i think)  She has already passed the California bar exam, the CPA exam, FE and PE exam, USLME exam, and she has her license to be able fly planes AND helicopters.  She is only 30 years old too btw!  This just blew me away and my initial response was that maybe she's rich and can afford all that OR she just has a lot of connections since a lot of her family are supposedly heavily involved with the SEAL/CIA community.  But her husband is one of the coolest officers that I know. (and he's a SEAL which makes him that much cooler!)  But he was telling me that anyone mimic what his wife has done.  Just need a good teacher and a desire to learn.  

So, that's why I want to do this.  I have revised my bucketlist and am super motivated to do this!  

A1. What do you think about list I made above?  Did I miss anything?  Is it just right?  Or perhaps all or some of these tests are simply random tests that most regular people working in that specific trade would fail if they had to take it randomly. (similar to how useless and random tests like SAT/ACT are)  This is my big question because if these tests are just random tests that don't actually test if you are 100% can do the job that requires the test then I have no need to take the tests despite her success/accomplishments.  But if it really does prove that you can do the job 100% then I will learn it quickly I believe.  Your thoughts about the list?  More importantly though, what are your thoughts specifically relating to "#4. know how to build anything" and the engineering exams?

B. regarding my engineering questions directed at this forum:

B1. I've read through some study material threads such as:

http://engineerboard...showtopic=18408

But I was just wondering are there any books that you feel I absolutely must read and subsequently will pass if I study and understand it like I'm supposed to?  There are a number of different threads that recommend this and/or that but it gets really confusing at times.  The few books that you feel, "if one knows these books, they WILL pass! no questions asked".


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## Road Guy (May 20, 2012)

main problem (IMO) for most people is the time it would take to get an Engineering Degree, Accounting Degree, Law Degree, im not sure what the health exam requires in terms of education)

Im pretty sure to take the CPA exam you need an accounting degree, maybe even masters work, and then work experience..Im not totally sure though..

Bar exam only requires a law degree, but thats a few years of work in itself...

???


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## Dleg (May 20, 2012)

Roadguy is correct - it is not as simple as just deciding to take those exams. You must first be accepted to take the exams, and to do that you must meet the prequalifications - have the degree, the required number years experience, etc.

While it is possible that someone you know may indeed have all those qualifications, it is almost certain that that person did not just teach herself. Rather, she either a.) is pulling your leg, or b.) she spent a very long time in college picking up extra degrees.

I'd go with a.


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## liveitup3 (May 21, 2012)

1. I am sure that the LT's wife is legit. He has no reason to lie, I just found her story very inspirational.

2. The process for taking the tests is important nonetheless and I have looked into this. This is what I've found so far. For the CA bar exam, one just has to work under an attorney or judge for at least four years. For the FE exam, here in CA, you just have to work for at least three years in an engineering-related job. For the USLME, one has to go to medical school and then take the exam. For PE exam in CA, one can take it after passing the FE + 6 years of accumulated engineering work-experience post FE pass date. For the CPA in CA, just get a BA degree in whatever or 2 years experience under a CPA.

So, how would I do this. Let's see. First, I need to pass the FE exam as quickly as possible. Since I'll test in CA, I've been in the military for longer than three years in a job that should satisfy the engineering-related three year job experience requirement. After I hopefully pass on first try, I work on the others until six years passes and I can take the PE exam. For the bar exam, I could get a part-time job working with an attorney until three years have passed after which I can take the bar. For the USLME, I'd just have to go to med school and take the test. This was my regular plan when I finished my stint in the military. Hoping to go to med school in Africa (cheap) and use my post 9/11 GI bill for what I personally find interesting to study. For the CPA, just get my Bachelor's degree in whatever and I can take the exam. OR I could get yet another part-time job working under a CPA for two years. (Thank goodness for California!)

So, I actually can mimic her from what I've searched. Will it take some time? Yes. But I'm in no rush. I just want the real life applicable knowledge that I'll gain from passing these exams. That is, if we all agree that these exams and possibly others I missed do, in fact, translate to real life skills application, of course.

3. But what do you think about the list and the other questions I posed though? That is the meat of what I'd like to get opinions/guidance/etc. about.


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## liveitup3 (May 21, 2012)

I was going to edit this info into my last post to avoid double posting but alas there is no edit button.

Anyway, I wanted to add that while I would also like to mimic her in attaining her HELO &amp; fixed wing pilot's license, I researched the process and the only way I could do that is to use my GI bill to fund it or pay with my own money. (super expensive!) I'm using my GI bill for what I like regardless of job outlook and there's no way I can afford to pay for it with my own money. Therefore, that will have to wait for another lifetime or unless something unexpected happens.


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## Dleg (May 21, 2012)

Well, I guess you understand what you need to do, and I wish you luck. Personally, I think you'll get more out of life by choosing the one thing you think you would enjoy, and then sticking to that. If what you're after is just learning more, or even better - enlightenment - I would think there are better and less frustrating ways to go about doing it. Reading books, for example. Taking the occasional class. I personally don't see why one would go to all of that trouble without the intention to practice in those particular fields. You'll be spending so much time in school and studying for exams that you won't have any time to read and educate yourself on the multitude of other skills and knowledge that makes life more enjoyable and worthwhile, in my opinion. Let alone any time for having a meaningful relationship and children.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (May 21, 2012)

> A. So I came up with this idea/plan because of a super determined ambitious lady that I was just introduced to by our office head while doing my PCS paperwork for my next duty station. She is the wife of one of our SEAL officers. Anyway, this lady is unlike anyone I have ever met in person. I've read about "geniuses" but I've never actually met someone who has accomplished so much so quickly. So, this lady is an autodidact. (she taught herself almost everything she knows, i think) She has already passed the California bar exam, the CPA exam, FE and PE exam, USLME exam, *and she has her license to be able fly planes AND helicopters. *She is only 30 years old too btw! This just blew me away and my initial response was that maybe she's rich and can afford all that OR she just has a lot of connections since a lot of her family are supposedly heavily involved with the SEAL/CIA community. But her husband is one of the coolest officers that I know. (and he's a SEAL which makes him that much cooler!) But he was telling me that anyone mimic what his wife has done. Just need a good teacher and a desire to learn.


Can she fly the plane off a treadmill?


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## frazil (May 21, 2012)

^ don't be ridiculous, that's impossible!


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## The Car (May 21, 2012)

liveitup3 said:


> I've been thinking about life skills in general and what skills/knowledge that all "common working" people would have in an "ideal" world.


Look, kid. Smoke pot, play space invaders, and get each other pregnant. That's the path to success in the modern US of A.

Udden, udden


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## engineergurl (May 21, 2012)

frazil said:


> ^ don't be ridiculous, that's impossible!


Don't be so sure about that....


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## Capt Worley PE (May 21, 2012)

^But can you make phatty money?


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## engineergurl (May 21, 2012)

The Delta Force doesn't exist. :Chris:


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## Capt Worley PE (May 21, 2012)

engineergurl said:


> The Delta Force doesn't exist. :Chris:


Are you implying Chuck Norris does not exist?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090927/

Woe betide you, young lady.


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## Wolverine (May 21, 2012)

And of course the question is: would you want the person installing the heart stint while flying the airplane to also sign off on your drawings? At least you would know they could defend the financials in a court of law.


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## engineergurl (May 21, 2012)

My question is, is it a matter of wanting the knowledge or wanting the "awards", and would any of that be relevant during a zombie apocalypse?


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## pbrme (May 21, 2012)

liveitup3 said:


> I've been thinking about life skills in general and what skills/knowledge that all "common working" people would have in an "ideal" world. ...But what do you think about the list and the other questions I posed though?


Maybe in the Utopian society... but for this one, you forgot nun-chuck skills.


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## Jayman_PE (May 21, 2012)

I agree - the story doesn't add up, unless maybe they started accumulating full-time experience at 15/16?

The awards aren't worth it, in my opinion. You can learn all you need without them and save an incredible amount of time and money in the process. You've got to live some too, know what I mean Vern?


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## liveitup3 (May 21, 2012)

engineergurl said:


> My question is, is it a matter of wanting the knowledge or wanting the "awards", and would any of that be relevant during a zombie apocalypse?





Jayman_10x said:


> The awards aren't worth it, in my opinion. You can learn all you need without them and save an incredible amount of time and money in the process.


It's the knowledge that is always my focus. I most likely will probably try the med school route after my contract is up. But if it doesn't work, then I'm going to go back in as an officer and do 20. Like I said, I'm not concerned about the credentials just the knowledge. There are good points here that others mentioned about just attempting to learn at random. That's an option but no need to reinvent the wheel. If I mimic what others have already done somewhat then I will be much more focused on what is important to know and not just reading random things that aren't "relevant"/have no bearing on anything.

But really, if you don't mind, I really would like to hear your opinions about whether the exams really are 100% (or close) valid for real life skills in their respective areas.

For the FE books, I'll just go with what the poster recommended in the link I posted. He seems pretty confident that anyone can pass the FE/PE exams by following his method. Confidence is key.


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## mudpuppy (May 22, 2012)

How many PE exams do you plan to take? If your goal is knowledge then you don't want to stick with just one discipline. I'd say Electrical, Mechanical and Civil to start. Maybe throw in Chemical, Controls, and Agricultural just to be more well-rounded. After that you can go after the longer Structural and Environmental exams.


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## engineergurl (May 22, 2012)

I still don't know how much of any of this would be relevant during a zombie apocalypse... personally, I would rather teach myself useful survival skills, ie. Man vs. Wild... you can always learn a job skill, but to be able to survive alone through anything, well, that's a different story.

You don't need to have a PE to build a structurally sound hut, or booby traps to protect yourself, you just need to know what you are doing, and what has worked for others in the past. As long as you know how to take care of yourself, give yourself stitches if a cut is too large, know how to treat an infection, and know what remedies work for various aliments, I don't think you need to be able to do brain surgery. A CPA would be useless during a zombie apocalypse, since money is null and void and everyone is trading goods... just think, the richest person is the one with the most guns and ammo!!!

As for the Bar exam, well zombie land is nearly lawless.

All kidding aside, it is good to have goals in your life, but you need to be realistic and flexible. Is passing all those tests possible in ones lifetime? Maybe, but when you get there, what have you got to show for it? A bunch of paper that says you can pass some tests, and probably not very many friends since you just spent all your time focused on the goal, and you probably wouldn't be very well liked by most people anyway because everyone is going to assume that your a cocky sum-b**** since you have accomplished "so much".

In regards to your questions, I also don't think that there is "one book" that if you know you'll pass. You can memorize facts and figures (and that might work for some fields like the CPA and the bar exam..) but I think with engineering and medicine, you really need to have a grasp on the concepts and logic behind WHY things are done the way they are. You need to understand WHY or else, you really aren't an engineer.


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## liveitup3 (May 22, 2012)

Thank you, engineergurl and mudpuppy! I plan to take as many as I can at my leisure. This will take me a while but I'm not rushing. As far as questions that I will have along the way, I'll post them here to get some understanding but I am also using this site:

http://www.khanacademy.org/

That site teaches one math and science from the very beginning. I'm talking arithmetic stuff like 1+1 = 2 and then progresses all the way up to advanced math/physics. This will help me tremendously but an area that site unfortunately doesn't cover is the application of mathematics. I get confused about the applications of all but the most obvious mathematics. I'm sure you all can provide clarification when necessary.


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## pbrme (May 22, 2012)

&lt;insert facepalm here&gt;

You go run off and do all this tiger.


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## aneesu786 (May 22, 2012)

As for the health test, USMLE, you need to have a Medical degree (4 years med school). They are three steps on the USMLE's, Step 1 is after 2 years of med schol, Step 2, and 3 are after 3rd and 4th years.

So virtually impossible to finish all three steps of the USMLE's in less than 4 years minimum, after a bachelor's degree.

And believe me, there is ton's and ton's of material on those exams. USMLE's put the PE exam to shame as to study material and amount of time needed.

Source: My wife who is studying for her Step 1 USMLE, 2nd year med school.

liveitup:

Do you have your EIT or PE yet?? Try getting those first.


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## Dleg (May 22, 2012)

Not to mention how much money this will all cost. Every Doc I know is in debt somewhere in the $200k range, just paying for school. Your GI Bill only covers a 4-year program, at least that's how I understand the benefits. Your plan requires probably 2 bachelor's degrees (which will take you ~6 years to get), 1 3-year JD program, 4(?) years of medical school, and then whatever accounting requires.... You'll be in debt up to your eyeballs, and won't be able to afford a house or a vacation or an iPad.... you get the picture.


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## engineergurl (May 22, 2012)

wow, so you would suck during a zombie attack, you would have no friends and now you can't get an ipad... I say stay in the service at least there, after 20 to 24 years you know you have a check deposited every month for retirement.


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## Road Guy (May 22, 2012)

I don't think there is any degree offered that is worth the same as work experience and contacts / relationships...

But if you want to be an engineer and desire to learn some accounting, legal, business, then after a few years experience get an MBA, you will get enough info about each to be dangerous!

0.02


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## engineergurl (May 22, 2012)

sap- you and I are always on the same page! ZOMBIE!!!!


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## engineergurl (May 23, 2012)

I am so gonna have nightmares about yoda tonight.. .38 is loaded and waiting


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## EM_PS (May 23, 2012)

I'm crushed the FS / PS failed to make your list; private ownership in land is what built (figuratively) this nation - the existence of a legal structure that guarantees the right of clear title in real property seems like important 'real world' skillz to have 

But eating twinkies &amp; killing zombies rocks too


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## liveitup3 (May 23, 2012)

@Fracktastic - Thank you for the addition. I didn't even think about surveying, I thought I had everything covered. I'll look into that, thank you.


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## liveitup3 (May 23, 2012)

Road Guy said:


> But if you want to be an engineer and desire to learn some accounting, legal, business, then after a few years experience get an MBA, you will get enough info about each to be dangerous!


http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/

^ What are your thoughts about that? I'm not sure if this is worth it though, as there is no structure to the listed method. But I wanted to look into your recommendation regardless.


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## EM_PS (May 23, 2012)

liveitup3 said:


> @Fracktastic - Thank you for the addition. I didn't even think about surveying, I thought I had everything covered. I'll look into that, thank you.


That's Mr. Fracktastic, and you're welcome my crazy friend! I'm on fire for your zany quest! You are the Jean Girad to everybody's Ricky Bobby :sucks:


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## engineergurl (May 23, 2012)

EM_PS said:


> liveitup3 said:
> 
> 
> > @Fracktastic - Thank you for the addition. I didn't even think about surveying, I thought I had everything covered. I'll look into that, thank you.
> ...


SHAKE AND BAKE!!! and zombies...


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## goodal (May 27, 2012)

You can't be for real dude. The time, money, effort it would take to do even half of this is mind boggeling. Getting initials after your name is easy enough once you've chosen a field (PE, LEED AP, CEM, AIA, etc) but to go after so many unrelated fields is impossible first and most importantly pointless. Pick something you like and learn everything you can about that. Otherwise, if by some miracle you do achieve all this, your only reward will be those letters behind your name. You won't have much value to any one field because you won't know anything except how to pass a test when your done.


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