CA Spring 2017 PE Applications

[Maji]

I'm wondering if I should be concerned that I have not been approved by the CA board yet.

I am applying as a Civil PE by comity. I have already passed the 8 hour NCEES PE exam and I am currently licenced in another state, and am hoping to be approved to sit for the CA Civil Seismic and Survey exams this April. Below is the progress of my application so far:

9/7/16: Application and NCEES Record were delivered to the CA Board

10/11/16: Received an email from the Board that my application was received

11/7/16: Received an email from the Board that my application has been sent to Engineering Registrar for technical review (I received the postcard mail notice of the same on 11/14/16)

I'm starting to get a little concerned that my application has been in the technical review phase for almost 4 months now without being approved or hearing anything from the Board that there is a deficiency with my application. Is anyone else in this situation? Should I be worried that my application has gotten lost? I have not reached out to the Board yet since they specifically tell you that they cannot provide status updates for individual applications.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can provide some insight.

Please give the Board a call and find out what is going on. CAPLS may be able to assist you here, but you need an official answer from the board.

Good luck.

 

[JJ_structural]

So I called the Board this morning. The person I spoke with indicated that the notice I received when my application was forwarded for technical review doesn't necessarily mean that the technical review started then. That is just when it was first available for the reviewer to look at, but that the actual technical review and approval could be as late as 4 weeks prior to the exam.

They said that as long as the reviewer has not reached out to me with any issues that it is still within the normal time frame for technical review and I should just continue waiting for an approval or rejection notice.

I guess that makes me feel a little better, but 4 weeks before the exam sounds a little extreme to me for approving or rejecting applications, especially when they've already had 4 months to review it. Here's to hoping I don't find out I'm rejected the day I complete my studying! 

 

[CAPLS]

JJ_structural, please email me at [email protected] with your name and contact info so I can check on it.

 

[JJ_structural]

Email sent! Thank you for looking into it @CAPLS, it is greatly appreciated! 

 

[STeng]

I think the deadline to register for Seismic/Survey exam is in the next 5 days, but I haven't heard back from the board yet....... Does anyone have the same issue as me?

 

[AyanHein]

I think the deadline to register for Seismic/Survey exam is in the next 5 days, but I haven't heard back from the board yet....... Does anyone have the same issue as me?

Just got the email from board with my ID number to schedule this morning. You might want to check with it board ASAP because seats are filling up very quick. 

 

[STeng]

Just got the email from board with my ID number to schedule this morning. You might want to check with it board ASAP because seats are filling up very quick. 

I sent them an e-mail, they said my application is still under technical review. My friend called the board, the person who answered the call said, if she doesn't get the answer back by this Friday (tomorrow), then she'll have to wait until next exam cycle to take it. That doesn't sound fair at all...

 

[JJ_structural]

So I have a little update on my situation....

I had emailed my info to CAPLS who looked into it. He let me know on Tuesday that my application was still one of many in technical review and he wasn't sure of the exact status of it. He recommended that I contact the technical reviewer to see if I could get additional information. I sent her an email on Tuesday and did not get a response to that specific email, but....

I received a voicemail and email from the technical reviewer yesterday. As I had mentioned in my previous post, I am a comity applicant and so I submitted my NCEES record along with my application form, fingerprints, take home exam, and check. The reviewer stated that they cannot completed the technical review of my application until I send in (4) references using the CA reference form because "the national council forms are not working for California, they don’t meet the specific requirements for civil engineering licensure at this time". She also indicated in her voicemail that she has "got hundreds of applicants in the same boat".

I tried calling her back to ask some questions but was unable to get through by phone, so I sent her a follow up email. I received a responses yesterday evening (eastern time) stating that if my new reference forms make it to the reviewer by Monday that I should be able to take the exams.

Thankfully, all of the experience I am claiming is with the same company, so I'm running around today to get the forms completed so I can get them in the mail this afternoon. I don't know what people would do if they had claimed experience from multiple companies, I can't imagine they would be able to get hard copies completed and back to them in time to have them to CA in 2 business days. (they are requiring that the applicant collect all of the reference forms in sealed envelopes and mail them in a single larger envelope)

My immediate concern now is getting the additional documentation into the board to see if I can still sit in April. I also understand that this is not the fault of the technical reviewer since it was not her call. But, I can't help but be upset with how this was handled, especially since:

• I never got the indication that the NCEES Record references were not acceptable from reviewing the applicant info on the CA board website (although I could have missed something). It sounds like this has happened to a lot of people, so I doubt they all missed a stated requirement.
  
• My co-worker is also applying to CA this cycle and he had specifically called the board to confirm that the Record was accepted and that he only needed to submit his 3 page application, fingerprints, take home exam, and check.
  
• My application was forwarded for technical review on 11/7/16 (4 months ago) and I'm just now hearing about this 4 weeks before the exam window opens.
  
• My co-worker submitted his application a month and a half after I did, but received the same call and email yesterday, which makes me think that they waited until now to notify everyone that had used an NCEES Record with their application.
  

Sorry for venting, but as you can imagine this is a little frustrating....

 

[STeng]

@JJ_structural My friend and I made couple phone calls to the board. Every time we got different answers from the same question. For example, we were wondering about the same issue with NCEES result taking in other states, the first one said it's okay for the out-of-state NCEES exam, the other one said, the NCEES exam has to be taken in California only... So, we (me and my friend) came to the conclusion that the answer you got from calling the board is somewhat very dependable on the person who answer the phone call, and that's probably not the best source to get information from....

 

[JJ_structural]

Still sitting here waiting to hear from the CA board...

So I got my new reference forms to the board last Monday (3/6) which was the deadline that the technical reviewer stated. I still have not heard back with approval/rejection or exam authorization for the Civil Seismic and Survey Exams.

My new reference forms were delivered to the board the same day as my co-worker's, and he received exam authorization on Friday...

3 weeks until the exam window opens.....

 

[strategist7]

Just heard back! 

" The Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists has technically approved your application. "

Now just need to pass the actual test...

 

[Abhatia117]

I recently received notice that there was insufficient information to determine my engagement as civil engineering experience. I responded with a letter further detailing the projects I originally listed in the application, and followed the mailing instructions to do so. Will I need to submit additional engagement and reference forms? It was a little unclear as to what was required to determine my work as civil engineering. I worked closely with four Professional Civil Engineers, but I have lost contact with two of them (it may be tough to get the references sent to the board in time for the April exams). If my letter is insufficient, and I am required to send additonal references forms, will I need to send four new references? Would one or two reference forms from PEs that I previously used suffice, assuming I am more detailed about my civil engineering work within the form? If I need four, would the two previous PEs verifying 27 months plus an additional two PEs verifying 8 months (at my new position) suffice? Is there a possibility that my letter is sufficient? Sorry for all the questions. I am really hoping to take the exam this April as I have spent an immense amount of my own money on workbooks and review courses, and I have been studying intensively since early January. It is also a little confusing as I had followed the advice from my senior engineers when filling out the form, which worked for two other engineers in my then office.

Thank you all for the help!

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

I recently received notice that there was insufficient information to determine my engagement as civil engineering experience. I responded with a letter further detailing the projects I originally listed in the application, and followed the mailing instructions to do so. Will I need to submit additional engagement and reference forms? It was a little unclear as to what was required to determine my work as civil engineering. I worked closely with four Professional Civil Engineers, but I have lost contact with two of them (it may be tough to get the references sent to the board in time for the April exams). If my letter is insufficient, and I am required to send additonal references forms, will I need to send four new references? Would one or two reference forms from PEs that I previously used suffice, assuming I am more detailed about my civil engineering work within the form? If I need four, would the two previous PEs verifying 27 months plus an additional two PEs verifying 8 months (at my new position) suffice? Is there a possibility that my letter is sufficient? Sorry for all the questions. I am really hoping to take the exam this April as I have spent an immense amount of my own money on workbooks and review courses, and I have been studying intensively since early January. It is also a little confusing as I had followed the advice from my senior engineers when filling out the form, which worked for two other engineers in my then office.

Thank you all for the help!

Have you tried calling the board to get clarification on their letter?  I would think that they should be able to let you know if you need to review your detailed engineering description of if they are having trouble verifying your engineering experience based on the reference forms submitted. When I submitted my application in NJ, there was an issue with the signature on my reference form, and they let me know exactly which one it was so I could get it resubmitted. 

In regards to taking the April Exam, have you already registered with NCEES and PCS and paid PCS for the exam? If not, you would have to wait for the October exam as the cutoff to register and pay for April exam was back in February. 

 

[Abhatia117]

Have you tried calling the board to get clarification on their letter?  I would think that they should be able to let you know if you need to review your detailed engineering description of if they are having trouble verifying your engineering experience based on the reference forms submitted. When I submitted my application in NJ, there was an issue with the signature on my reference form, and they let me know exactly which one it was so I could get it resubmitted. 

In regards to taking the April Exam, have you already registered with NCEES and PCS and paid PCS for the exam? If not, you would have to wait for the October exam as the cutoff to register and pay for April exam was back in February. 

I emailed the board but have not yet received a response. I don't want to bother them too much as I am sure they are fairly annoyed at this point. I will try calling on Friday. It seems that some individuals, who were not immediately approved and were requested to send more information, are still receiving authorization to test in April. Crossing my fingers! Thanks for the help!

 

[athomp]

Does anyone have any pdf notes from a prep course or anything to help prepare for the CA surveying exam? I bought the 120 solved problems book, but was hoping to find some good notes to go through.

 

[athomp]

Does anyone have any pdf notes from a prep course or anything to help prepare for the CA surveying exam? I bought the 120 solved problems book, but was hoping to find some good notes to go through.