SE Exam Oct 2019 Result

[Sheik]

Last year the scoring session was a week after Thanksgiving 11/29-12/1. Assuming it's the same this year then the grading will be 12/5-12/7. Results are typically released 7-10 days after the grading session so my money is on mid-December around 12/16.

I was thinking that they should release the result before the registration for April begins. 

 

[ChaosMuppetPE]

Well, I at least feel like the last exam was more representative of the types of projects I generally work on. I was happy with that. 

@Titleistguy, you are absolutely right about the elitist mentality of those passing the exam but the exam wasn’t needed to begin with for most of the country. I could make an argument for a few situations, but for the most part, boards accepting this exam as the ONLY means of licensure are either ignorant, ********, or both. 

If I manage to get an appointment, I’m going to push HARD for rejecting new harder exams without first passing it themselves. Basically, removing grandfathering. If the industry needs an exam change due to safety or changing technology, then everyone should have to pass the ******. More than my two cents, that’s worth 20 bucks there.

 

[BuzzKillington]

Basically, removing grandfathering. If the industry needs an exam change due to safety or changing technology, then everyone should have to pass the ******.

This!! 100% behind this idea of removing grandfathering. First step would be to recognize the damn thing. My state (Georgia) requires all structural candidates to take the 16-hr exam, while they don't even recognize them with the SE title. The current system is annoyingly stupid.

 

[tj_PE]

i think if they organized it like they would a project:

like materials together in the morning especially

information presented in one place like normal people 

then it wouldn't be as much as a crunch for time shitshow and would solve 98% of the issues i have with this exam. 

 

[tj_PE]

it's ******* ridiculous that they INTENTIONALLY force you to be disorganized in your approach to things. like make me spend time organizing the questions but still ending up having to switch back to references/binders. jerks.

 

[David Connor SE]

i think if they organized it like they would a project:

like materials together in the morning especially

information presented in one place like normal people 

then it wouldn't be as much as a crunch for time shitshow and would solve 98% of the issues i have with this exam. 

I agree with this for the morning. The time it takes just to physically move from 1 code to the next would probably add up to someone having enough time to work an extra question or 2.  Shouldn't have to be that way. 

As far as making the exam "easier", I'm not sure that's the best approach, speaking as someone who has already passed it.  But make the exam more about engineering as opposed to a race against the clock should be there focus.  Maybe when they make the switch to a computer based exam this will be the case. 

I'm hopeful that the pass rates this time around will be better.  Comments I have seen so far seem to show that the exam wasn't so far "out there" this time around. 

I'm going to recuse myself from being the ASSFACE spokesperson though. 

 

[mikesltj23]

Did you pass Vertical? If so, you still have a good year and a half left to try assuming you didn't nail it this time!

I passed Vertical in Oct 2014 and failed lateral at the same time.  Of course I walked out of there thinking, I really hope I passed both or failed both so I never have to take it again.  Took Lateral again Oct 2015 with twin 10 month olds at home, so that was a disaster.  3 years later, decided I'd kick myself if I didn't give it one final try lol.  So this was literally the last try I have before it expires!  (And I emailed NCEES to confirm that it's the exam date that matters, so passing Oct 2014 means that Oct 2019 is the last try for the lateral...I'm sure not many people are in my situation with that).

 

[Stewie]

I passed Vertical in Oct 2014 and failed lateral at the same time.  Of course I walked out of there thinking, I really hope I passed both or failed both so I never have to take it again.  Took Lateral again Oct 2015 with twin 10 month olds at home, so that was a disaster.  3 years later, decided I'd kick myself if I didn't give it one final try lol.  So this was literally the last try I have before it expires!  (And I emailed NCEES to confirm that it's the exam date that matters, so passing Oct 2014 means that Oct 2019 is the last try for the lateral...I'm sure not many people are in my situation with that).

Good luck, Mike! You shall pass~

 

[Titleistguy]

I passed Vertical in Oct 2014 and failed lateral at the same time.  Of course I walked out of there thinking, I really hope I passed both or failed both so I never have to take it again.  Took Lateral again Oct 2015 with twin 10 month olds at home, so that was a disaster.  3 years later, decided I'd kick myself if I didn't give it one final try lol.  So this was literally the last try I have before it expires!  (And I emailed NCEES to confirm that it's the exam date that matters, so passing Oct 2014 means that Oct 2019 is the last try for the lateral...I'm sure not many people are in my situation with that).

Likewise I hope you passed ! 

 

[mikesltj23]

Thanks, guys!!  Luckily, I work mostly in NJ and NY, so not a huge loss for me if I don't.  Not talking specifics, but other than falling short on time and having to write down what I would do instead of doing it on one question, I feel good about it.  It's that last Unacceptable / Improvement Required that has me nervous!

 

[Titleistguy]

Thanks, guys!!  Luckily, I work mostly in NJ and NY, so not a huge loss for me if I don't.  Not talking specifics, but other than falling short on time and having to write down what I would do instead of doing it on one question, I feel good about it.  It's that last Unacceptable / Improvement Required that has me nervous!

That's where I'm at too man.  Feel like on both PM portions 3/4 I'll get high needs or acceptable.  But for 1/4 on each I'm worried about a dreaded unnaccptable.  #fingercrossed

 

[mikesltj23]

That's where I'm at too man.  Feel like on both PM portions 3/4 I'll get high needs or acceptable.  But for 1/4 on each I'm worried about a dreaded unnaccptable.  #fingercrossed

Best of luck, Titleistguy!

 

[Stardust]

Thanks, guys!!  Luckily, I work mostly in NJ and NY, so not a huge loss for me if I don't.  Not talking specifics, but other than falling short on time and having to write down what I would do instead of doing it on one question, I feel good about it.  It's that last Unacceptable / Improvement Required that has me nervous!

I think you are in a good position. Either way it turns out you are at peace to move on 

I'm rooting for you of course!

 

[leggo PE]

I hope you all become SE's this round! Or pass whichever of the two tests you took. It will give me hope for when I take it in 1-1.5 years.

 

[leggo PE]

Just confirmed, 1.5 years. The darned (presumed) filing date is approximately 3 weeks before I will gather three years of work as a licensed P.E. next year. Spring 2021, that'll be my time.

Anyway, that's a personal problem, haha.

 

[Titleistguy]

Leggo you may be in the last round of paper exams .... Maybe at that point consider just waiting for the transition to computer.

 

[ChaosMuppetPE]

This!! 100% behind this idea of removing grandfathering. First step would be to recognize the damn thing. My state (Georgia) requires all structural candidates to take the 16-hr exam, while they don't even recognize them with the SE title. The current system is annoyingly stupid.

Right there with you in GA. I will be seeking an appointment to the GA board upon passing the SE lateral. As I said, I will push hard to remove grandfathering of previous exams and to recognize the SE as well as the Civil/Structural PE with standard restrictions. I agree that it doesn't make sense to only accept the 16 hour SE without recognizing it separately.  I think I have a small chance at attaining the appointment with a few big names providing references for me. The intent to remove grandfathering isn't to punish already licensed engineers, but it is to keep the field from artificially determining who is capable of being licensed. I'm tired of previous generations screwing the following ones. First, it was retirement pensions. Then, it was lower pay to pay for those pensions and they ruined social security. I'll be damned if I'm going to just let this happen to engineering licensure. (I am convinced Georgia did this to limit competition as no current member has passed this exam and I don't know of any major engineering failure within my lifetime.)

If I achieve my goal, you will never see random test acceptance to remove competition again. I will put all of the practicing engineers and young examinees on a equal playing field. By doing this, if there is a legitimate reason for a new exam such as a change in technology or an issue with public safety, everyone will be required to prove their competency and not just punish new entrants.

 

[tj_PE]

all this talk of not grandfathering - are you saying you want this to not be the last exam you have to take? just logically speaking what are the goals with that? Sorry, I may still be in a brain fog and not following. 

 

[Nathan55]

Right there with you in GA. I will be seeking an appointment to the GA board upon passing the SE lateral. As I said, I will push hard to remove grandfathering of previous exams and to recognize the SE as well as the Civil/Structural PE with standard restrictions. I agree that it doesn't make sense to only accept the 16 hour SE without recognizing it separately.  I think I have a small chance at attaining the appointment with a few big names providing references for me. The intent to remove grandfathering isn't to punish already licensed engineers, but it is to keep the field from artificially determining who is capable of being licensed. I'm tired of previous generations screwing the following ones. First, it was retirement pensions. Then, it was lower pay to pay for those pensions and they ruined social security. I'll be damned if I'm going to just let this happen to engineering licensure. (I am convinced Georgia did this to limit competition as no current member has passed this exam and I don't know of any major engineering failure within my lifetime.)

If I achieve my goal, you will never see random test acceptance to remove competition again. I will put all of the practicing engineers and young examinees on a equal playing field. By doing this, if there is a legitimate reason for a new exam such as a change in technology or an issue with public safety, everyone will be required to prove their competency and not just punish new entrants.

I thoroughly agree that an SE should be able to pass each administration of the test. As in....they pay licensed SEs to take the test in the time provided, and that is how the passing score is set. It's interesting that the exam is graded, not by other SEs necessarily, but by subject matter experts in that field. So you need to perform at subject matter expert level in each afternoon problem in order to get an acceptable. 

 

[Nathan55]

As far as making the exam "easier", I'm not sure that's the best approach, speaking as someone who has already passed it.  But make the exam more about engineering as opposed to a race against the clock should be there focus.  Maybe when they make the switch to a computer based exam this will be the case.

Wow David. That hurt my soul more than the last time I saw "did not demonstrate the knowledge required to achieve minimum competency".

Actually, I'm ok with the exam being hard. Maybe even harder. What is intriguing is how opaque the afternoon grading process is. Not only does NCESS not reveal what your grade is in any meaningful way, they don't allow you to see how the test is graded. That, in my mind, is the secret to the exam. It's why NCEES so closely guards that process and the passing score. You could assume that 70% for the morning is good enough, but for the afternoon, NCEES is terrified of test takers knowing anything helpful.