First and foremost, thank you to all who take the time to respond to my questions here. Before I pose the questions, a little background on my history is in order.
I studied mechanical engineering in college and passed the FE exam in my final semester. Directly out of college I obtained a job as an Energy Enginner working primarily in the HVAC sector. A majority of my work was modeling full building simulations and running multiple iterations of the M.E.P. systems and envelope characteristics. Roughly 1.5 years into that I transitioned to more of a design role, designing and laying out mechanical systems. That lasted another 1.5 years. So 3 years total.
I took a little sabbatical for about 2 years pursing some other business avenues, before getting back into the engineering world. I have currently been working in water resources for the last 2.5 years, primarily in irrigation distribution systems. This work has been on large irrigation system delivering anywhere from 150 cfs to an excess of 1,000 cfs. My primary role has been modeling these systems as a fully piped, closed system. I utilize my model to design pipe for the entirety of the system, lay out pressure reducing stations where necessary and layout preliminary hydropower documentation in locations where we need to dissipate energy. Granted now this is a very high level overview of the work I am doing, I just wanted to lay it out briefly.
My questions now are as follows:
Hopefully I was able to portray my predicament well enough. Once again, thank you for your responses.
Dan
I studied mechanical engineering in college and passed the FE exam in my final semester. Directly out of college I obtained a job as an Energy Enginner working primarily in the HVAC sector. A majority of my work was modeling full building simulations and running multiple iterations of the M.E.P. systems and envelope characteristics. Roughly 1.5 years into that I transitioned to more of a design role, designing and laying out mechanical systems. That lasted another 1.5 years. So 3 years total.
I took a little sabbatical for about 2 years pursing some other business avenues, before getting back into the engineering world. I have currently been working in water resources for the last 2.5 years, primarily in irrigation distribution systems. This work has been on large irrigation system delivering anywhere from 150 cfs to an excess of 1,000 cfs. My primary role has been modeling these systems as a fully piped, closed system. I utilize my model to design pipe for the entirety of the system, lay out pressure reducing stations where necessary and layout preliminary hydropower documentation in locations where we need to dissipate energy. Granted now this is a very high level overview of the work I am doing, I just wanted to lay it out briefly.
My questions now are as follows:
- There is quite a bit of ambiguity with which test I should take based on my work history. Which exam would you recommend me taking? I am leaning towards Mechanical - Thermal and Fluids Systems.
- Alternatively, I was contemplating Civil - Water Resources and Environmental as this is the line of work I see myself in for the foreseeable future. Would I be allowed to even take the Civil PE while having my EIT based in Mechanical? If the answer is no, would I have to take the Civil FE exam and then wait 4 years to take the PE?
- If I take the Mechanical - Thermal and Fluids System exam, will I even qualify to obtain my liscensure (granted I pass) with the diverse work history that I have.
- If I am designing/signing off out fully piped system with my PE in Mechanical - Thermal and Fluid Systems am I legally approved to sign of on those documents?
Hopefully I was able to portray my predicament well enough. Once again, thank you for your responses.
Dan
