TX PE Civil 4th Attempt

[TXEIT-Transpo]

I am trying to see if anyone has taken the exam a 4th time in Texas consecutively and been successful. If anyone has any insight, tips, or words of encouragement. 

 My first attempt was in October 2017, then April 2018, then October 2018. In Texas you are allowed to take the exam three (3) times in a four (4) year window. 

According to TBPE site: 

"I took the PE exam and did not pass. What do I do now?

Once you are approved to take the PE exam, you have three (3) chances to sit for the exam in a four year period. If you have taken the exam and did not pass, you may simply register for the next exam available. You do not need to re-apply. If you did not pass the PE exam within the three allotted opportunities, you will need to re-apply to take the exams. You must gain at least one year of additional engineering experience from the time you are notified of failure to pass the third exam, or complete six credit hours of college engineering course before you can re-apply. (Board Rule §133.87(c))"

I am pretty certain that I will not be eligible to take the exam until October 2019, does that seem correct? Could I take the exam in another state or should I take a break and re-take in October? Should I contact my state board with this inquiry? 

 

[Stardust]

I've heard people having to wait a year for the 4th attempt in Texas, I don't have any direct experience with this though.

I'd suggest weighting the pros and cons between Texas and a nearest (most convenient state) for a re-take.

Best of luck, you'll get it !

 

[Rebeccah623]

You might be able to petition the board to waive this requirement. I think they usually require you to take some additional engineering courses or something like that, but it definitely can't hurt to ask! You are definitely not the first person in this position.

 

[PowerStroke79_PE]

I am trying to see if anyone has taken the exam a 4th time in Texas consecutively and been successful. If anyone has any insight, tips, or words of encouragement. 

 My first attempt was in October 2017, then April 2018, then October 2018. In Texas you are allowed to take the exam three (3) times in a four (4) year window. 

According to TBPE site: 

"I took the PE exam and did not pass. What do I do now?

Once you are approved to take the PE exam, you have three (3) chances to sit for the exam in a four year period. If you have taken the exam and did not pass, you may simply register for the next exam available. You do not need to re-apply. If you did not pass the PE exam within the three allotted opportunities, you will need to re-apply to take the exams. You must gain at least one year of additional engineering experience from the time you are notified of failure to pass the third exam, or complete six credit hours of college engineering course before you can re-apply. (Board Rule §133.87(c))"

I am pretty certain that I will not be eligible to take the exam until October 2019, does that seem correct? Could I take the exam in another state or should I take a break and re-take in October? Should I contact my state board with this inquiry? 

My recommendation is do what clears your mind more. I got to the point where I just didn't want to study anymore. Obviously I was missing something, but I couldn't hit the nail in the head. Still haven't done so. But I also haven't taken it again. Will do in April hopefully. However, I actually took courses in local university, but I didn't attend to the exam last time. I am switching disciplines to clear my mind a bit. Hopefully that helps, but many say it won't. However, TX is pretty strict about the 1 year experience. The timer ends after the exam is administered, as I understand, and so if you can't register in time after the exam is given then you are stuck waiting till next cycle. Make sure your SER is ready and detailed. It doesn't matter that you have 4 years under your belt or more, they will want all the new stuff. You can select for them to readmit your existing SER from your file. Also, make sure to call them or email for confirmation of my comments. Things change often and you can't go wrong about contacting them, they are very good at explaining what's needed. 

Personally, I will say this experience helped me find value to many other things in my work and found new possibilities I had not considered before. Simply because I was so set on getting the PE. Its very important, don't get me wrong, but I think sometimes we have to do things for the right reasons as well.  Good luck to you!