# Which civil pe exam to take



## Gg-dc (May 28, 2016)

So i am goint to take the pe, I was going to take it in Civil but I was told it doesnt matter which civil depth I take... does it? Can the exam I take effect my career? 

I believe theres 5,

civil water &amp; environmental

Civil transportation

Civil structural

Civil geotech

Civil construction

Thanks in advance for your responses!


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## DanHalen (Jun 1, 2016)

This largely depends on you, type of work you do, and your interests. Which topic is your favorite?

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## ptatohed (Jun 1, 2016)

Why is this in the Links and Saved Threads????


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## smahurin (Jun 2, 2016)

It shouldn't.  A civil PE is a civil PE.  Some states have roster desiginations where your stamp might reflect "Transportation Engineer" or "Geotechnical Engineer".  But roster desigations are meaningless in effect.  Because a Civil PE is a Civil PE and as far as I know, all of the roster desigination states don't actually treat the individual licenses any differently.  

In fact most states don't recognize the difference between any PE discipline.  IE, a PE having taken the Mechanical exam is not treated or licensed or effectively any different than a PE who took the Civil/Structural PE or anything else.  Obviously there is that whole "ethics" thing where your not supposed to design things outside your area of expertise, in terms of actual licensing many states don't know or care, they just know your a professional and your expected to figure out what your a professional in.

So I would take whatever you think you're best at, whatever you think you'll do in the future.. basically whatever combination of Civil Exams you feel is best suited for you.


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## smahurin (Jun 2, 2016)

"you're" not "your"... I wish I could edit.


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## ptatohed (Jun 2, 2016)

smahurin said:


> It shouldn't.  A civil PE is a civil PE.  Some states have roster desiginations where your stamp might reflect "Transportation Engineer" or "Geotechnical Engineer".  But roster desigations are meaningless in effect.  Because a Civil PE is a Civil PE and as far as I know, all of the roster desigination states don't actually treat the individual licenses any differently.
> 
> In fact most states don't recognize the difference between any PE discipline.  IE, a PE having taken the Mechanical exam is not treated or licensed or effectively any different than a PE who took the Civil/Structural PE or anything else.  Obviously there is that whole "ethics" thing where your not supposed to design things outside your area of expertise, in terms of actual licensing many states don't know or care, they just know your a professional and your expected to figure out what your a professional in.
> 
> So I would take whatever you think you're best at, whatever you think you'll do in the future.. basically whatever combination of Civil Exams you feel is best suited for you.


I have never seen anyone with a stamp reflecting "Transportation Engineer" or "Geotechnical Engineer" simply because they passed the Civil PE exam in the Transpo or Geo depth.  When the title "Traffic Engineer" or "Geotechnical Engineer" are used, it is my understanding that they have passed additional tests.


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## buzzforbraves (Jun 2, 2016)

I'm gonna have to agree with smahurin. It doesn't matter but stick to your strengths. I chose construction because that's the field I work in. I will say this. No matter what you choose, stick too it and study 300 plus hours. I would also recommend EET course. They are the best, by far.

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## DanHalen (Jun 2, 2016)

I'm gonna have to agree with smahurin. It doesn't matter but stick to your strengths. I chose construction because that's the field I work in. I will say this. No matter what you choose, stick too it and study 300 plus hours. I would also recommend EET course. They are the best, by far.

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^This. One thing I looked at was taking the path of least resistance and trying to pick the easiest topic. Don't do that because it's a waste of time. No matter which topic you choose it will be equally difficult as the other topics. I went with Water Resources-Env. That's the bulk of my experience and I learned a lot while studying. Just like college you will get out of it what you put into it. Take a good prep class like the EET, Testmasters, or School of PE (that's what I took).

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## Road Guy (Jun 2, 2016)

Original poster- what do you do? For work...


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## PE Stamps (Jun 2, 2016)

Gg-dc said:


> So i am goint to take the pe, I was going to take it in Civil but I was told it doesnt matter which civil depth I take... does it? Can the exam I take effect my career?
> 
> I believe theres 5,
> 
> ...


We suggest taking whichever depth you are the most comfortable with.  It should have no bearing on your career, nobody will ever know.


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