I've done lots of trips to Rue for coffee and studying.
Well, I've put in my application to LAPELS to take the P.E. Exam in October. I'm still awaiting word that the application is 100% complete. They go through the forms with a fine-tooth comb. They give you an extra month after the initial due date to make sure the application is complete.
Next, I'll have to register with NCEES. That's the national board that proctors the actual exam. They have a $150 fee. One thing I just realized is there has been a rule change. Now, when you register in July, you have to pick which subset for the afternoon you want to do on the exam in October. Sort of nuts, if you ask me. It used to be that you could mix and match problems based off what you felt confident or at least you could flip through the books and see what the problems looked like first. Not anymore.
As a MechE, I have 3 choices for the afternoon section:
HVAC
Machine Design
Thermofluids
Machine Design is probably the "easiest", but as I've worked problems, I've found it's entirely too easy to make mistakes on those types of problems. The P.E. Exam is now 100% multiple choice with no credit for just missing a sign or something like that.
HVAC is surprisingly quick. I like that I can get an answer (right or wrong) in a reasonable amount of time for just about any question.
Thermofluids is the closest to what I do at work. It's probably what I'm going to take on the exam, primarily because of my familiarity with it. The disadvantage is that there can be some extremely complicated 15-state thermodynamics problems and even the easiest heat transfer problems take forever to do.
I have to pick what I do in October in July.
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More P.E. news:
Professional engineers provide the needed link between industry and public welfare
NCEES response to the Deepwater Horizon incident. Note that Mark Hafle, BP's engineer that designed the well, is not a P.E.
Hate to say it but when you take the PE, the objective is to pass. Don't be too swayed by doing problems in your chosen field of work.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is a damn good structural engineer who mentored me years ago when I doing highway and bridge design. First time he took the exam he jumped on a problem involving the design of prestressed concrete beams. He used to design these things all day long at work, so surely he could do it on the exam. But not really. At work we have computer programs and other design aids. When you sit for the exam it's just you, a calculator and the formula book. He spent two hours on that one problem before he realized he made a mistake in picking that one to solve. He did not pass, as you may have guessed, but he did it in a walk the second time around. The lesson he learned sounds like just what you are talking about: go for the problems with the highest probability of success, problems that you can quickly check and know if you're right or wrong. But as I've said before, you're obviously preparing yourself well, so I've got money on you passing on your first go.
Peace,
Tim