October 2019 Post Exam Wait Period - Welcome to the Suck

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Is anyone here required to have a license for their job, or did you take the exam just to have a license in your back pocket just in case?

I fall under the latter category since I work in the electric utility industry. I'm interested to know who all needs the license and why.
I don't need a license for my job, but I wanted something to build my resume. I'm a project manager and have found that a lot of companies in my area seem to like having licensed engineers on their project teams.

 
Said the AM Civil was hard. Anyone else feel that way, or did he not study long enough? lol.Ā 
I took the Civil Structural for the second time. First time was in April 2019. I scored a solid 31/40 in the April AM portion, had 30+ minutes left to check my answers, walked out feeling ok about it... probably not going to do as hot this go-round. It was certainly a completely different style of test. Honestly, there were a few I thought were borderline too "difficult" for a general breadth, but my opinion is irrelevant, so I won't complain.

Either way, I'm sure he studied adequately. The Civil AM questions were just tough this exam cycle.

 
Is anyone here required to have a license for their job, or did you take the exam just to have a license in your back pocket just in case?
Most of the civil, structural, and environmental engineers need the license for their job. I suspect the overwhelming majority of test takers ultimately need it for work.Ā 

Those taking it onlyĀ for prestige are far fewer.

Do you want the results?
Nah, they've barely made a dent in the spam thread. You should make em wait at least three months this cycle.

I could only imagine. It would suck knowing your job and/or a promotion were on the line.
Normally it's only the vets groefong the test takers this early in the cycle ;)

 
Is anyone here required to have a license for their job, or did you take the exam just to have a license in your back pocket just in case?

I fall under the latter category since I work in the electric utility industry. I'm interested to know who all needs the license and why.
The mechanical PE license was required for my current job, and I sat for the civil because I can't promote without it. From all indicators, there is no intention to open up a senior-level mechanical position so, civil it is. We license by discipline here in California and the "senior" level positions (at least in my local government hierarchy) require either a Civil PE or an Architect license.

 
People keep saying congratulations and I donā€™t get it. The proctors said congratulations and made us clap. People at work keep saying congratulations and itā€™s unnerving. I havenā€™t done anything yet! I just studied and took an exam because thatā€™s what youā€™re supposed to do.

 
Is anyone here required to have a license for their job, or did you take the exam just to have a license in your back pocket just in case?

I fall under the latter category since I work in the electric utility industry. I'm interested to know who all needs the license and why.
Itā€™s complicated. Itā€™s not required for the job I have now. It is required for the job my boss wants me to have... which is his. He wants to retire and he wants me to take over.Ā 

 
People keep saying congratulations and I donā€™t get it. ... People at work keep saying congratulations and itā€™s unnerving. I havenā€™t done anything yet! I just studied and took an exam because thatā€™s what youā€™re supposed to do.
Only about 20% of people with an engineering degree will ever even sit for the PE exam. So in that regard it is a major career milestone. The real congrats will come in December after you learned you passed.

The proctors said congratulations and made us clap.Ā 
That seems a bit much. I mean, I sorta get congratulating people on physically surviving the test; because lets face it, its a tough marathon to make it the full "eight" hours. Having everyone clap for themselves seems a bit much. Was it the third part proctors that didĀ  that, or someone from the Md board? Roberta?

(is this the anger phase?)
lol no. You're still on the emotional roller coaster. You'll knowĀ anger when it happens, prolly sometime around early December.

 
Yep MD here too...the clapping was obnoxiousā€”I just wanted to cry after that mess!

 
Said the AM Civil was hard. Anyone else feel that way, or did he not study long enough? lol.Ā 
I didn't feel like the AM section was exceptionally difficult. There were definitely a handful of difficult questions, but I feel like most of them could be thought through or found in references eventually.Ā  Granted, I spent quite a bit of time preparing, so it could have actually been harder than I thought it was.

 
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I didn't feel like the AM section was exceptionally difficult. There were definitely a handful of difficult questions, but I feel like most of them could be thought through or found in references eventually.Ā  Granted, I spent quite a bit of time preparing, so it could have actually been harder than I thought it was.
Same. Unless I just made a bunch of math errors and Iā€™m stuck in some sort of ignorant bliss. lolĀ 

 
2nd time taking the Civil (Geotech). AM felt slightly more difficult this time around but overall not too crazy. PM was really heavy on the conceptual, almost masks itself as "easy" but tends to just leave me furiously flipping through my resources. Kind of amazing how you can take 2 completely different exams, prepare differently with better references, and walk out of the room basically feeling the same.

Is it okay to float precariously through Phases 0-5 on a daily basis? lolĀ 

 
Is anyone here required to have a license for their job, or did you take the exam just to have a license in your back pocket just in case?

I fall under the latter category since I work in the electric utility industry. I'm interested to know who all needs the license and why.
I'm in consulting as well. It is not "required" for advancement within most consulting firms, but strongly desired. All of our associate principles and principlesĀ at my firm, except one, have at PE license. So while not required, it is essentially necessary.Ā 

I am looking to move up into a more project management role, so a PE is the first step toward that goal.

 

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