Passed SE, now what?

[KirbyQ]

Hi everyone,

Just learned that I passed the 16-hour SE exams this past October. Now, it seems like all structural engineering licensure exams are come to an end, what other certifications/licensure do you think are useful in career development?

Besides engineering licenses, I am also a licensed architect and LEED AP. Since I am licensed in CA, I took the CA state specific exams for PE and Architect already. I currently work mainly on structural design of new buildings such as offices, hotels, airports, transportation hub, higher education, etc. I work in the engineering department of a decent sized international architecture practice.

Thanks in advance.

 

[E720]

what other certifications/licensure do you think are useful in career development?

I would just have a little fun and do something in your spare time that you enjoy.

 

[Reverse Polish]

Hi everyone,

Just learned that I passed the 16-hour SE exams this past October. Now, it seems like all structural engineering licensure exams are come to an end, what other certifications/licensure do you think are useful in career development?

Besides engineering licenses, I am also a licensed architect and LEED AP. Since I am licensed in CA, I took the CA state specific exams for PE and Architect already. I currently work mainly on structural design of new buildings such as offices, hotels, airports, transportation hub, higher education, etc. I work in the engineering department of a decent sized international architecture practice.

Thanks in advance.

Congratulations on passing the SE!

Now, this is just my perception, but it seems like your focus is more on collecting licenses and certifications, rather than developing in your career. Like I said, that could just be my perception. But it bears asking which one is the horse, and which one is the cart?

You can collect licenses and certifications until they put you in a wooden box, but the important question will always be: Which one of these things are you *good* at?

 

[MambaMentality24]

Hi everyone,

Just learned that I passed the 16-hour SE exams this past October. Now, it seems like all structural engineering licensure exams are come to an end, what other certifications/licensure do you think are useful in career development?

Besides engineering licenses, I am also a licensed architect and LEED AP. Since I am licensed in CA, I took the CA state specific exams for PE and Architect already. I currently work mainly on structural design of new buildings such as offices, hotels, airports, transportation hub, higher education, etc. I work in the engineering department of a decent sized international architecture practice.

Thanks in advance.

Would you consider teaching a review course for those exams that you passed? Teaching/Mentoring is also a form of career development.

 

[KirbyQ]

Congratulations on passing the SE!

Now, this is just my perception, but it seems like your focus is more on collecting licenses and certifications, rather than developing in your career. Like I said, that could just be my perception. But it bears asking which one is the horse, and which one is the cart?

You can collect licenses and certifications until they put you in a wooden box, but the important question will always be: Which one of these things are you *good* at?

Thanks for your reply.

To me, I consider the process of studying and preparing for licensure exams valuable opportunities to improve our technical skills. We are experience and skill based professional after all. These licensure exams help me gain a lot of valuable knowledge that may took ages to obtain if I just working on my daily job. Not mentioning the fact that I will not be able to exposed to certain area of structural design (CMU for example) due to the project limitations. When preparing the Architecture Registration Exams, I was bale to learn firm operation, legal and contract requirements, expected dos and don'ts when interacting with contractors. All these knowledge serves very well during my daily job later on, even when I encountering "non-standard" situations. The license I got at the end of each progress fells like a little reward.

I believe most of us who took PE and SE exams will agree with me that during the process of preparing for them, we became more confident as a Structural Engineers. We are more certain at our designs as we can better interpolate code intent and calculation methods. Granted, these licensure exams are only testing on our "minimum competency" rather than "expertise", but I enjoy the base level "boost" from taking the exam. After having one foot inside the door, I feel it is much easier to navigate around and dive deeper if necessary. I believe a wide spectrum of related knowledge centered on structural engineering is the way to become a good structural engineer.

I guess I should rephrase the question as what related field in structural engineering do you think is good to have knowledge on? Currently, I am thinking about learning some programing languages as more and more design nowadays are parametric based design. I can use visual programing tools such as grasshopper, but knowing how to write codes will give me more freedom. Other suggestions are welcome!

 

[KirbyQ]

Would you consider teaching a review course for those exams that you passed? Teaching/Mentoring is also a form of career development.

Thank you for your suggestion. I cannot teaching currently due to some legal reasons. However, I do volunteer on writing exam questions for certain licensure exams.

 

[Reverse Polish]

Thanks for your reply.

To me, I consider the process of studying and preparing for licensure exams valuable opportunities to improve our technical skills. We are experience and skill based professional after all. These licensure exams help me gain a lot of valuable knowledge that may took ages to obtain if I just working on my daily job. Not mentioning the fact that I will not be able to exposed to certain area of structural design (CMU for example) due to the project limitations. When preparing the Architecture Registration Exams, I was bale to learn firm operation, legal and contract requirements, expected dos and don'ts when interacting with contractors. All these knowledge serves very well during my daily job later on, even when I encountering "non-standard" situations. The license I got at the end of each progress fells like a little reward.

I believe most of us who took PE and SE exams will agree with me that during the process of preparing for them, we became more confident as a Structural Engineers. We are more certain at our designs as we can better interpolate code intent and calculation methods. Granted, these licensure exams are only testing on our "minimum competency" rather than "expertise", but I enjoy the base level "boost" from taking the exam. After having one foot inside the door, I feel it is much easier to navigate around and dive deeper if necessary. I believe a wide spectrum of related knowledge centered on structural engineering is the way to become a good structural engineer.

I guess I should rephrase the question as what related field in structural engineering do you think is good to have knowledge on? Currently, I am thinking about learning some programing languages as more and more design nowadays are parametric based design. I can use visual programing tools such as grasshopper, but knowing how to write codes will give me more freedom. Other suggestions are welcome!

I'm never going to fault anyone for furthering their education on their own time. But from the words used in your original post, it's not clear whether you're interested in developing skills, or collecting certifications. There is a huge difference. One is person-oriented, and the other is something you put on a resume. There are PhDs who, while exceptionally bright and learned, cannot design their way out of a paper bag.

I'd suggest asking your supervisor where he/she sees opportunities for you to develop, which may or may not involve blind pursuit of additional certificates.

 

[E720]

RP - it sounds like you are just jealous of his/her architect licensure.

OP - https://www.udemy.com/course/trout-fishing-a-simple-method-for-catching-more-trout

That's the certification that I would go for, but it requires some field practice.

Do you know how to weld? That is fun and yet relevant to structural engineering. A welding class at a community college around me is about $250, or you can just buy your own Hobart welder (pretty good welders) for more or less than that depending on which one you get.

 

[andyliu]

Hi everyone,

Just learned that I passed the 16-hour SE exams this past October. Now, it seems like all structural engineering licensure exams are come to an end, what other certifications/licensure do you think are useful in career development?

Besides engineering licenses, I am also a licensed architect and LEED AP. Since I am licensed in CA, I took the CA state specific exams for PE and Architect already. I currently work mainly on structural design of new buildings such as offices, hotels, airports, transportation hub, higher education, etc. I work in the engineering department of a decent sized international architecture practice.

Thanks in advance.

Good progress. Good luck. Check your personal mail on the site.