Seismic Exam is Pointless for Non-Structural Engineers

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BananaMan11

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I just need to vent about the frustration of having to learn all the seismic material for the exam. Unless you're a structural engineer, you’ll likely never need to know anything about seismic design, so it feels completely pointless that the board continues to make this a licensure requirement in California. It makes no sense for non-structural engineers to have to learn this, especially when most general civil engineers aren’t designing structures in their day-to-day work. I honestly don’t understand what benefit the board sees in keeping this requirement—it just seems unnecessary. Naturally, structural engineers have a strong foundation in this area, so it’s much easier for them to pass the exam compared to non-structural engineers. I can’t be the only one who feels this way… or maybe I am.
 
I just need to vent about the frustration of having to learn all the seismic material for the exam. Unless you're a structural engineer, you’ll likely never need to know anything about seismic design, so it feels completely pointless that the board continues to make this a licensure requirement in California. It makes no sense for non-structural engineers to have to learn this, especially when most general civil engineers aren’t designing structures in their day-to-day work. I honestly don’t understand what benefit the board sees in keeping this requirement—it just seems unnecessary. Naturally, structural engineers have a strong foundation in this area, so it’s much easier for them to pass the exam compared to non-structural engineers. I can’t be the only one who feels this way… or maybe I am.
I’m with you on this! Third times the charm for me and this seismic exam :(
 
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