Dealing with Office Expectations

[AMiller]

I am a BSME by education but will be taking the Civil/Structural exam to match up with my current industry. I have been studying diligently, but still feel this is a daunting task. I am confident that I CAN pass, but my boss has already assumed that I will and has asked me when I would feel comfortable to start stamping drawings, etc.

How do I let him know of my concern about not passing without sounding like I have a defeatist attitude? Any opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Jacob_PE]

I am a BSME by education but will be taking the Civil/Structural exam to match up with my current industry. I have been studying diligently, but still feel this is a daunting task. I am confident that I CAN pass, but my boss has already assumed that I will and has asked me when I would feel comfortable to start stamping drawings, etc.How do I let him know of my concern about not passing without sounding like I have a defeatist attitude? Any opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated.

My boss has expressed the same confidence in me. But, the fact that there is a chance I won't pass goes without saying. It'll be crappy but it won't be the end of the world if we get to take it again. Reading all the posts from past test takers, it's like a broken record, the morning is relatively easy and in the afternoon there's a bloodbath of questions we've never seen before. But in the end, we'll get enough of them right to get our pass letter. Either that or we change up the study routine and try harder for the next attempt.

 

[Exception Collection]

I am a BSME by education but will be taking the Civil/Structural exam to match up with my current industry. I have been studying diligently, but still feel this is a daunting task. I am confident that I CAN pass, but my boss has already assumed that I will and has asked me when I would feel comfortable to start stamping drawings, etc.How do I let him know of my concern about not passing without sounding like I have a defeatist attitude? Any opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated.

He may be trying to get you confident. I know when I took my exam, my boss took it as assumed I'd passed - same with the other guy taking his exam, and every other person here that's taken one. Every single time, the first words out of his mouth the next week were something along the lines of "OK, honestly, how do you think you did?".

 

[maryannette]

You can reply that you "hope for the best, prepare for the worst". Good luck. Keep focused on studying. Don't worry now about the expectations. You can deal with that later.

 

[AMiller]

You all bring up good points. Thanks for the input.

 

[goodal]

I had the same situation. I had a EE but was testing in HVAC ME. Everyone assumed I would pass and on my first try (I did), but I was not nearly so confident. All you can do is study anything and everything you can get your hands on and let your brain do its thing on test day. Dont freak out, do what you know first and come back to the hard ones. Good luck!!

 

[knight1fox3]

I agree with what others have posted and was also in a similar situation with getting my PE. My boss didn't directly come to me to check on whether or not I passed but he knew I was taking the exam since he was a reference. He also did not have any electrical PEs in his group so there were some expectations and encouragement there for me to get my PE. I didn't pass my first attempt. Believe me, that was a tough email to write but I made it as truthful as I could as to the reasons (not excuses) why I did not pass. I remember saying at the end of the email that I was already studying again and registered to take the next exam. He thanked me for the update and said he appreciated my "get back on the horse" attitude to re-take the exam. Hopefully that doesn't discourage you but I thought I would share my experience. All you can do is study hard and do your best. Worry about the logistics later. It won't be the end of the world if you don't pass. Good luck :thumbs:

 

[Peele1]

I am a BSME by education but will be taking the Civil/Structural exam to match up with my current industry. I have been studying diligently, but still feel this is a daunting task. I am confident that I CAN pass, but my boss has already assumed that I will and has asked me when I would feel comfortable to start stamping drawings, etc.How do I let him know of my concern about not passing without sounding like I have a defeatist attitude? Any opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Maybe they'll let you study on company time? I'm granted some time for professional development, and I used that for studying. If in doubt, study another 100 hours, and that should help.