Applied for Civil/Struct exam, was approved for SE exam???

[88formula]

I recent applied to the Georgia Board of Engineers to take the Civil PE exam with a depth in structural. I was shocked to receive my letter approval letter informing me that I was approved for the Structural exam (16 hour). All of my experience has been in site development - specifically, the design and installation of cell tower facilities. The majority of my designs include site grading, erosion & sediment control, stormwater management, hydrology, access road design, and monolithic slab design. Occasionally I will get into steel framing design for equipment platforms and wind load analysis for rooftop installations, but the bulk of my work is Civil related.

I sent a strong letter to the GA Board of Engineers explaining in detail my experieince and engineering abilities. I also had my immediate supervison, who is the PE that signs my drawings, send a similar letter. They reject my appeal and stated that the Structural board member and the Chairman feel my experience is best suited for Structural.

Has this happened to anyone else? I have ZERO experience designing buildings or bridges and couldn't even fake my way through the SE exam. I don't know what options I have and not obtaining my PE will really hurt my career.

I would appreciate any suggestions.

 

[palvarez83]

I would suggest taking the exam out of state if you can't get them to budge. For example in CA, you have to first become licensed in Civil, before you take structural.... It is usually pretty easy once you are licensed in one state to get licensed in another by comity.

 

[MA_PE]

I have never heard of the board changing the exam from the one on the application. Maybe GA is revising their requirements so that the only "structural" they will recognize must take the structural exam. Have you considered a civil with a different depth?

 

[ptatohed]

This sounds like a nightmare. But something doesn't add up. I guess each state is different but, in CA, there is a separate PE application and a SE application. http://www.pels.ca.gov/applicants/apps.shtml Is that not the case in GA? Did you accidentally fill out the SE app by chance? Also, you say that you applied for the 8-hour Civil PE exam with Structural as your depth module. On the CA PE app, there is no specifying your depth module. You simply apply and if/when you get approved, you select your PM/depth selection on-line via your "MY NCEES" account. Is GA different? Which exam did you select via your "MY NCEES"? Anyway, I'd call your state board and explain your situation. Good luck.

 

[Vinsanity]

this is funny the board obviously wanted your money SE is more expensive exam than the PE Civil and for sure youre gonna fail on SE.

 

[bigdaddy]

Apparently we are in the same boat. I too wanted the 8 hour PE Civil - Structural, but got the 16 hour SE approval. I'm looking into taking the PE Civil Structural in another state. I never saw it advertised on any of the websites that GA doesn't offer the PE Civil Structural exam, did you?

 

[88formula]

I did not see a "SE" application. The GA process might be different that other states but you actually select your depth dicsipline on the application. GA still has the Civil/Structural exam but from what I am hearing they are pushing many of those applicants into the SE program - the SE license is new to GA so I'm sure they are trying to build up their numbers.

I plan to try and schedule an appointment to meet with the Board Chairman and discuss my application. My only other option would be to apply for the Alabama Civil exam. Frustrating!

 

[bigdaddy]

Did you ever get anywhere with the Board? I applied and was approved to take the April exam in Alabama. Just curious as this was quite an inconvenience to switch all the paperwork around from GA to AL and get it there in time to get into the April exam.

 

[hyphenme]

Did you ever get anywhere with the Board? I applied and was approved to take the April exam in Alabama. Just curious as this was quite an inconvenience to switch all the paperwork around from GA to AL and get it there in time to get into the April exam.

I'm considering doing this to avoid having to take the SE exam in Georgia. How difficult is it to get your Georgia PE after passing the AL exam? I'm wondering if it's worth it to just try to pass the SE exam in Georgia since I haven't had any experience in structural design in the last 4 years of my career.

 

[Chosen One]

bho,

Georgia Board is getting the reputation of a pain in the *** to deal with for us structural guys....I don't know of another state that puts so much weight on the SE Exam that doesn't recognize an SE designation. I'm licensed as a PE in 5 states and they won't accept the Civil (structural depth) for comity, you must have 5 years post PE Exam experience or have passed the SE....luckily for me, I should finish up the 2nd part of SE in April so hopefully I won't have to wait the additional 3 years.

If you want to practice structural engineering in GA, don't assume a PE in another state will automatically translate into a GA PE, they are very detailed in what exam(s) you have passed, your experience in specific disciplines, and your experience dates before and after exam(s). Hope this helps.

 

[Deflected]

I was rejected yesterday from obtaining a Georgia PE by committee. I took the Civil test with Structural in the afternoon, and am liscensed in two states.

If you take the test in another state and try to apply, you will probably be rejected.

There reasoning it was:

It had been the Georgia Board’s practice for many years to require that applicants with primarily structural experience take and pass the NCEES 8 hour Structural I exam to obtain a P.E. In the Board’s opinion, and in the opinion of many practicing structural engineers, the 8 hour CIV-STR exam which has only about 4 hours of real structural content, does not establish a sufficient minimum level of competency for the important practice of structural engineering. It is the charge of the Board to safeguard the life, health, and property of the public, and the exams the Board chooses to administer are a key part of that responsibility. This is not a reflection on the requirements of your state of registration because the legal requirements of Georgia may be different. Applicants for comity registration must meet the present Georgia law requirements.

Additionally, please see Board Policy 10-1:

• 1. Beginning with exams administered in April of 2011, the exam prescribed by the Board for applicants whose experience is structural engineering as determined by the Board, shall be the NCEES Structural exam which consists of two 8 - hour components. 2. a. Comity applicants whose experience is structural engineering as determined by the Board and who first became registered as a Professional Engineer or Structural Engineer in another state on or after January 1 of 2011, will be required to have passed the NCEES Structural exam (totaling 16 hours) or another 16 - hour exam as approved by the Board. b. Comity applicants whose experience is structural engineering as determined by the Board, who first became registered as a Professional Engineer in another state before January 1, 2011, and who have not passed at least an 8 – hour structural exam approved by the Board, will be required to have a minimum of 60 months of structural engineering experience acceptable to the Board following the pass date of their examination.
  

In April of 2011, NCEES replaced the Structural I and II exams with the new 16 hour Structural exam (STR-16), which has now become the default exam in Georgia for structural applicants. The CIV-STR exam is typically not offered here.

Note that when you pass the exam, you will receive a P.E., which entitles you to practice in any engineering discipline within your area of competence. It will be your competence and experience that limit your future engineering endeavors, not the exam you take now. Moreover, passing the 16 hour Structural exam will enhance the portability of your Georgia license to states which have structural engineering practice acts. And you will likely see more of those in the future.

At least two study courses for the 16 hour exam are available. One is from ASCE, the other is offered by Kaplan through NCSEA. The courses will prepare you well for the exam and you should be able to easily find them on line.

Please let the Board know if you have additional concerns. And good luck on the exam!

Sincerely,

Georgia Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

 

[MA_PE]

Seems reasonable to me.