Various test taker %

[nateluke]

These questions may be impossible to answer, but even if you don't know the exact answer take a guess. I'm curious to see what other people think about this.

1) What % of people who are taking the 16hour structural test already have a PE (ie PE Civil/Structural/etc.) ?

2) What % of people take the Building vs Bridge tests?

3) What are the pass rates Building vs Bridge?

4) Does anyone else have to pay for all of the Codes, Study books, and Exams out of pocket (ie your company does not help you out at all) ?

My guesses:

1) 50% - on test day it seemed that probably 1/2 of the people taking the exam were 30+ years old...maybe I am making an incorrect assumption based on age.

2) 80% Building vs 20% Bridge - of the people I talked to on all 4 days I took this exam ( I'v failed both sections twice now) only one person besides myself took the bridge test and probably 12-15 people were taking the building test. I didn't talk to everyone so I'm assuming there were more bridge takers, but maybe not?

3) Much lower for Bridge than building - A lot of people complain on this message board about the high amount of bridge questions, but in practice I basically use 1 code; AASHTO. So while there may be a number of bridge specific questions on the morning section of the exam there are A LOT more building specific questions...for instance questions on the other 9 codes this test covers that aren't AASHTO. It is not my intent to sound whiny about how hard the bridge test is. Both of the tests are very hard and clearly I didn't pass because I didn't take this test seriously enough and I didn't study enough. Everyone taking this exam has to study something that is outside their comfort zone / field of expertise. I am really just curious to get some other peoples perspectives.

4) Yes, I can't be the only one. - this is just me being whiny and giving others a place to vent their frustrations.

 

[dakota_79]

Can't answer the first 3, since I'll be taking it the first time this spring. But for #4: me too. Company only pays for "2nd" license costs (i.e.: comity in multiple states, SE when already possessing a PE, etc.). Could theoretically use codes/standards from our company library, but we have several guys taking the exam and usually only 1 or 2 copies of respective codes/standards...so only fair thing is for everyone to purchase their own.

 

[dakota_79]

Adding: I think your "complaint" about too many building ?'s on the bridge test is equally valid as the reverse. I think it's the same argument: if you're taking an exam separately designated as A instead of B, why are there still so many ?'s from B?

 

[Amry69]

Purchasing all the required codes is going to be well over $1,000. Plus your going to want texts and solution manuals with you. I buy my books and my company buys the codes. For those of you in offices with libraries keep in mind three ring binders are perfectly legal in the exam room. Make copies of relevant chapters.

 

[Amry69]

by the way, for your survey I am a Civil/Geotech PE aspiring to pass the 16 hr building SE. I would gladly sign a affidavit promising to never look at a bridge in a professional capacity if that meant avoiding the AASHTO am questions.

 

[ipswitch]

1) I have a PE in NY

2) I'll be taking the Bridge exam

3) Not sure what the pass rates are, I imagine it's 50/50 in building vs bridge exam.

4) Everything comes out of my pocket. I imagine it'll cost me around 5K (including review class).

 

[Bombo_Buster]

1) With the exception of IL that has two separate streams for PE's and SE's, the rest of the jurisdictions require you to be a PE before you take the SE exam.

4) Exam fees, books, transportation (I live in CA but I am taking my SE exam in WA as I do not have four / three CA SE references) comes out of my pocket. I decided not to tell my employer about the exam and not to ask for reimbursement since there will be an expectation to pass the exam and avoid embarassment if I fail.So far I took the exam twice and I passed only the vertical portion last October.

 

[nateluke]

1) With the exception of IL that has two separate streams for PE's and SE's, the rest of the jurisdictions require you to be a PE before you take the SE exam.

4) Exam fees, books, transportation (I live in CA but I am taking my SE exam in WA as I do not have four / three CA SE references) comes out of my pocket. I decided not to tell my employer about the exam and not to ask for reimbursement since there will be an expectation to pass the exam and avoid embarassment if I fail.So far I took the exam twice and I passed only the vertical portion last October.

I'm in MA and I will be taking the SE exam for the 3rd time here. I do not have a PE yet.

Is this a mistake? should I have gotten a Civil PE prior to taking this exam? I was under the impression that I was killing 2 birds with 1 stone...

 

[ipswitch]

1) With the exception of IL that has two separate streams for PE's and SE's, the rest of the jurisdictions require you to be a PE before you take the SE exam.

4) Exam fees, books, transportation (I live in CA but I am taking my SE exam in WA as I do not have four / three CA SE references) comes out of my pocket. I decided not to tell my employer about the exam and not to ask for reimbursement since there will be an expectation to pass the exam and avoid embarassment if I fail.So far I took the exam twice and I passed only the vertical portion last October.

I'm in MA and I will be taking the SE exam for the 3rd time here. I do not have a PE yet.

Is this a mistake? should I have gotten a Civil PE prior to taking this exam? I was under the impression that I was killing 2 birds with 1 stone...

There's only a handful of states that require the 16 hour SE. I'm a PE in NY and taking it to widen my options. I used to live in California and I want the SE under my belt if I decide to take up an apprenticeship (hopefully a short one) in California.

 

[zeek]

I took 16 hours last October, on day one we were mixed in with the rest of the takers, so I don't know how many of us there were. On day two, they put us in a corner by our selves and there were 7 SE testers total, all about my age (27) so no one who would have had a PE foe very long.

I am very lucky to be supported by my company. all testing books and study is covered, as well as all my expenses while I am taking the test. preparing for April, attempt number two.

I graduated as and Ag Engineer, with a Mechanical background, and work in the metal building industry. Not to be whiny, but I wouldn't mind if we got rid of the bridge questions on the buildings test, as well as the masonry, concrete, foundation design, and wood. My prep for the test in October, was my first time for most of those topics. So if anyone has any good tips or resources for self education I would appreciate it, if not, wish me luck.

 

[McEngr]

These questions may be impossible to answer, but even if you don't know the exact answer take a guess. I'm curious to see what other people think about this.

1) What % of people who are taking the 16hour structural test already have a PE (ie PE Civil/Structural/etc.) ?

2) What % of people take the Building vs Bridge tests?

3) What are the pass rates Building vs Bridge?

4) Does anyone else have to pay for all of the Codes, Study books, and Exams out of pocket (ie your company does not help you out at all) ?

1) I already have a PE - civil/structural

2) I plan to take the buildings portion - never took a bridge class in college

3) I have no idea - probably a little higher for building engineers since the morning session favors the building engineer.

4) I am fortunate to have an employer who paid for my Kaplan Vertical and Lateral review through grant money that would've gone to waste if not used for continuing education. I also was fortunate to have my employer pay for my exam. That $1020 is a kick in the head!

So far, I have studied for probably 120 hours. I will probably study about 150 more hours before April 12th.

 

[ibbo]

1. I had a PE when I took the SE. PE in Oct 2010, SE in Apr 2011.

2. I took the building portion. The 80/20% guess seems about right.

3. No idea.

4. Paid for most of my books. Borrowed a Kaplan review book. Company did offer to pay for a review course up to 1k; I did not take them up on that.

These questions may be impossible to answer, but even if you don't know the exact answer take a guess. I'm curious to see what other people think about this.

1) What % of people who are taking the 16hour structural test already have a PE (ie PE Civil/Structural/etc.) ?

2) What % of people take the Building vs Bridge tests?

3) What are the pass rates Building vs Bridge?

4) Does anyone else have to pay for all of the Codes, Study books, and Exams out of pocket (ie your company does not help you out at all) ?

My guesses:

1) 50% - on test day it seemed that probably 1/2 of the people taking the exam were 30+ years old...maybe I am making an incorrect assumption based on age.

2) 80% Building vs 20% Bridge - of the people I talked to on all 4 days I took this exam ( I'v failed both sections twice now) only one person besides myself took the bridge test and probably 12-15 people were taking the building test. I didn't talk to everyone so I'm assuming there were more bridge takers, but maybe not?

3) Much lower for Bridge than building - A lot of people complain on this message board about the high amount of bridge questions, but in practice I basically use 1 code; AASHTO. So while there may be a number of bridge specific questions on the morning section of the exam there are A LOT more building specific questions...for instance questions on the other 9 codes this test covers that aren't AASHTO. It is not my intent to sound whiny about how hard the bridge test is. Both of the tests are very hard and clearly I didn't pass because I didn't take this test seriously enough and I didn't study enough. Everyone taking this exam has to study something that is outside their comfort zone / field of expertise. I am really just curious to get some other peoples perspectives.

4) Yes, I can't be the only one. - this is just me being whiny and giving others a place to vent their frustrations.