How to pass FE an PE exam in Civil Engineering?

How to pass FE and PE exam in Civil Engineering(Getting ready)

There are probably nearly as many strategies to passing the FE as there are people that have passed it. But here are some tips to help you along the way.

Way before you take the test

1) Pay attention in class
Most of the problems on the exam are similar to what you saw in your classes. The only difference is that they are broken down to only one segment of a larger problem. For example, instead of being asked to calculate all of the forces in a truss, you will be given some information and asked to calculate the force in only one member.
2) Get a copy of the NCEES FE Exam formula book.
You can get a copy of the formula book straight from the NCEES website. Click on Study Materials and find the FE Supplied-Reference Handbook. It has virtually every formula that you will need as a CE student. Get used to how it’s laid out so that when you get to the FE Exam you don’t have to search for the formulas that you need. It makes a great reference while doing home work. I also found that many professors will let you use it in place of formula sheets for tests and quizzes. Plus, I still use mine even after I graduated.
3) Actually read some of your text books
Some of the questions on the FE Exam check whether or not you understand a concept not if you can calculate a formula. So make sure you understand the science and reasoning behind the concepts and formulas that you learn in class.
4) Get a calculator that you can use on the test
NCEES has a very specific list of calculators that you can use on the test. Get one and learn how to use it. Sometimes knowing the special functions can save you valuable time when you’re in the exam.

The semester before

1) Pick up some study guides.
There are a lot of good study guides out there. One that I used and found helpful was the FE Review Manual written by Michael Lindeburg. You can buy it directly from PPI at the website ppi2pass.com. You can also get it from a lot of other book stores. They put out other books including subject specific books and sample exams.
2) Take a review course
I didn’t take a review course, but several of my friends did. They can be helpful because they review the material and give you a lot of practice questions.
3) Make sure you have the latest copy of the FE Supplied-Reference Handbook
They update it from time to time. Make sure you are studying from the one you will be using on the actual exam.
4) Do practice problems.
Do lots and lots of practice problems. Then do some more. This is the best possible way to get ready for the exam. I used eitexam.com. They are inexpensive and have a ton of practice problems. What I found most helpful were their ten minute quizzes. I never felt like I had the time to sit down and study a lot for the exam, but I did have time to do a ten minute quiz a few times a day. Plus the site will show you how to work each problem and tell you why the right answer is right and the other answers are wrong. You can also get FE Exam question books. Make sure they are up to date, though.
5) Make sure you register on time
I know several people that didn’t take the exam when they wanted to because they didn’t register on time. They waited until the last minute and then found out the last minute was really the day before. So register early when you know you are going to take it.

The days before

1) Do more practice problems
Continue to do more practice problems. Again, they are the best way to prepare. They help you review the material, and get your mind thinking the way the exam works.
2) Get your stuff ready
Get your calculator and other things ready to take to the exam. They will give you a list of what you can and can’t bring. Put together all of your stuff. Make sure you aren’t going to be scrambling for anything that morning.
3) Get a good night’s sleep
Just relax the day before. If you do study stop early and give your brain a chance to rest. Then get a full night’s sleep so that you are well rested and ready in the morning.

Those are just some quick tips on preparing for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam. I’m sure a lot of people have other tips. Feel free to share them or ask any questions that you might have. I’ll talk more about test day strategies in a later post.

How to choose Master’s Degrees – MBA vs MSCE?

Master’s Degrees – MBA vs MSCE

This is a debate that has been going on for a long time. And you will find people that defend each side very well. This is also an important question that we, as young engineers, face. This decision will most likely influence our careers in the future.

Matt Barcus wrote a great article called MSCE vs. MBA – Lets Get Ready to Rumbllllle on this question for Civil Engineering Central. More than a dozen people shared their insights. The article covers many of the pros and cons to each degree program. The conclusion that he draws in the end is that even though both are great and can help your career “one should pursue their MSCE first, and then only consider pursuing an MBA after spending a decent amount of time in the trenches.” The basic reasoning behind that seems to come from two main ideas. First, most consulting firms were started and are run by PEs and the MSCE is what your employers will be looking for. Second, no matter what master’s degree you have, you will be expected to spend several years learning design before you are introduced to project management.

I agree with the conclusion and the reasoning when it comes to private consulting firms. Especially when considering small and medium sized firms. However, there a few other important points that I think should be considered when making a decision. I’ve talked with PEs and other engineers working in many types of environments including military, civil service, municipalities, engineering consulting firms, and private firms that employ CEs. I’ve come up with some other things that should be considered.

1) What type of career path do you want to follow?

There are three basic types of career paths that CEs can follow: become a technical expert, project management, and corporate leadership.

Obviously the technical expert will gain the most from the MSCE. Since they are hired to lead teams to solve difficult problems in their field, the more education they have the better.

Project managers have to have more general knowledge. They will oversee projects that cover several engineering disciplines. They will also have to plan, schedule, budget, etc… An MSCE will certainly help them understand the engineering better as well as help them teach and lead their teams better. Because of the management aspects of the job, a good understanding of basic management would greatly help them streamline their projects. An executive MBA or a few carefully chosen classes could help them round out their knowledge.

Corporate leadership is more of a business job than an engineering job, but in the engineering world even the corporate leaders need to understand the engineering side. This type of job works a lot with marketing, public relations, accounting and other business functions. An MBA would be very helpful, but an MSCE would not help as much.

2) Where do you want to work? What kind of engineering do you want to do? How do you want to get there?

When I graduated from college I joined a design firm to do design work, one classmate of mine went to work doing project management on the civilian side of the Air Force, another joined the Navy and another is managing at a quarry.

We all have very different career paths ahead of us. Our employers have different expectations and requirements. It doesn’t matter that we all have the same degree from the same school. Nor that we all consider ourselves civil engineers. So we are all leaning in different directions to meet our employers’ needs and to get us where we want to be.

Because of the employers needs, some employers will pay for one degree or the other. Most consulting firms will pay for an MSCE possibly not an MBA. Many other organizations only see the value of the MBA and will only pay for that.

3) Changes in the rules.

One other important thing to consider is that recently The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) changed its model laws to require 30 hours of engineering classes be taken after getting the BS to take the PE Exam. The goal is for that to take effect on January 1, 2015. The model laws are only guidelines for the states to follow. The state licensing board has the final say in what the requirements are. Currently no state that I know of has made that one of their requirements. But I am sure it is coming. If you are planning to take the PE exam make sure you check your state’s rules when you get close to your time.

It looks to me that the most important thing is to look at your career path, where you want to go and how you want to get there. Then make a decision about a master’s program. What do you think? Anything else that should be considered?

Internships to value yourself

Internships to value yourself

With the new semester starting up soon it’s time to get into learning mode.  Most people remember to sign up for the right classes to get there degree, but a lot of people don’t know about, or don’t go after one of the most important learning tools you can get as a student; an internship.  Over the coming days I’m going to post some articles on how to find internships, how to prepare your resume, what to expect at an interview, first day on the job, and other things along those lines.  But today I’m going to talk about why an internship is important.  Here’s a list of why every civil engineering student should get an internship.  In no particular order.
You get paid
Most internships pay.  Civil engineering interns get paid pretty well compared to most jobs you can get while in college.
Learn how it works in the real world
You learn a lot of great theory and background in school.  But frequently you never really see how that works out in the real world.  In an internship you get to see first hand how the process works in your field.
You get to work on real projects
This is perhaps the best part.  You get to actually use what you’ve been learning and learn new stuff that can help you in school.  Sometimes the projects that you work on in your internship can go more in depth in a week than you will get in a semester in one of your classes.  Plus they are all things you can put on your resume for when you graduate.
Your bosses understand
If you have a civil engineering internship chances are you’ll be working for someone with a civil engineering degree.  They’ve been where you are.  They know what it takes to get and engineering degree.  They are willing to help out.
Credit at school
Many schools will give you credit for internships.  The school I went to would let you get up to three credits and could count it as one of your electives.  Get with your adviser before the semester starts to find out what your school can do.
You get paid more after you graduate
People with experience get paid more than people without experience.  Having an internship on your resume shows that you know what you are getting into and that you know how to do things.  That will make you instantly more marketable than people with no experience.  That could mean not only more money in a job offer, but also more job offers.
Easier to get a job after you graduate
An internship does two main things to help you get a job after you graduate.  It gets your foot in the door for any companies that you work for.  It also gives you specific experience and accomplishments that you can put on your resume.
Find out what you like and what you don’t
I had a friend in college that every summer he worked for a different firm that did a different kind of engineering.  He definitely had the chance to try it all out and find what he liked.
An internship is worth more than a 4.00
While I was in school, and since then, I’ve talked to a lot of engineers that hire for their companies.  It’s been pretty consistent.  They say they’d rather see an internship on a resume than a 4.00 GPA.
A side note on this.  If you look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics data for civil engineers http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm you’ll see that starting salaries for a bachelors degree is higher than a masters degree.  From what I’ve see, that’s pretty consistent for several different places that collect that data.  Based on the people I knew in college I think it’s because most of the people that have a bachelors degree also had an internship.  Most of the people that I know that went straight for their masters after getting a bachelors degree, did not get an internship.  Internships and the experience you get is very valuable.  I’m not telling you not to go after a masters degree, just make sure that you get some real world experience also.
Those are some of the main reasons that I came up with to get an internship.  What are some of your reasons?  What have you gained from your internship?  Any reasons why you think someone shouldn’t get an internship?

10 Steps to avoid Engineering Scholarship Scams

10 Steps to avoid Engineering Scholarship Scams

Student or parents needs to be able to recognize the scholarship fraud profile. Following are top 10 Scholarship Scams.

1. The free seminar scam. Overwhelmed by all the information out there? Want to make the best financial aid decisions for you or your child? Often a free financial aid seminar is no more than a “come-on” for insurance sales pitches, matching services or investment products.

Signs that should make the warning bells go off: Are they using the hard sell? Sign-up today or the price shoots up tomorrow? Can only answer certain questions after you pay their fee? Wants your credit card information to “hold” a scholarship for you? Your ears should be ringing by now.

Remember, if you receive help from a consultant, he or she must sign the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If the seminar sales rep refuses to do so, it is another alarm bell. And never let a company consultant suggest that you adjust your income on the FAFSA in order to receive more aid. It’s unethical (a crime even). And it can backfire, big time.

2. Scholarships for profit. Scholarships are designed for many purposes—recruit talented athletes, assist low income applicants, encourage study in an academic discipline, promote campus diversity, attract the best students—but profit should never be one of them. Scammers that award modest scholarships of $1,000 (or no scholarship at all) can collect many times over that amount in fees by attracting thousands of applicants. You may only be out the 15 bucks or so, but multiple that by 1,000 scholarship hopefuls just like you and you just made for a nice payday for the scholarship scam artist. Being denied such a scholarship does not make you undeserving—but just one more scammed applicant.

3. The advance-fee loan. A low-interest loan with an upfront fee? Don’t think so, and neither should you. Legitimate lenders deduct fees from at the time disbursement checks are issue; they do not charge fees before paying out the loan to a borrower. Be wary of any lender that asks for money upfront—that is a loan that will likely never materialize.

4. Your Financial Aid Office. Huh? Your college Financial Aid Office is a credible and free resource for education funding. But beware; the Education Department recently banned the practice of lenders offering financial incentives to universities that recommend their service as a preferred lender (the university often receiving a “cut” for the loan). The move was prompted by investigations showing that some university officials accepted gifts, payments or stock on favorable terms in exchange for such practices. In other instances, marketing representatives for lenders staffed phones at student aid offices. In an $85 billion student loan industry, you have to ask yourself if your university steered you to the lender with the best rate available, or simply the one lining their pockets. Ouch.

5. The guaranteed matching service. If Match.com can’t guarantee you Prince Charming and firmer abs, scholarship matching services cannot guarantee you money in the bank. Matching services that promise guaranteed matching sources for a processing fee of $49.95 (and much higher) will at best provide you with information available for free on the web. Take note that these services often inflate their database when an individual sponsor offers hundreds of scholarships.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports that many of the sources provided by scholarship matching services are inaccurate and “few, if any at all, receive the actual funds”. The BBB adds that information provided is often out of date, providing sources for deadlines that have long passed. And never mind that money-back guarantee—it comes with more hoops to jump through than any dog-and-pony show you could ever imagine.

6. Linked products. Don’t let any sales person ever convince you that a financial product, such as student life insurance, or an annuity, must be purchased to qualify for federal student financial aid. It just isn’t so. And it is a sure fire scam.

7. The telemarketer. Telemarketing was once the biggest bugaboos of scholarship fraud when the FTC first addressed scholarship scams in the 90s. Attention more recently has shifted to bogus financial aid and scholarship seminars, and deceptive practices among consultants. That does not mean that telemarketing scams still do not surface. The U.S. Department of Education warned consumers recently about telemarketing scammers posing as U.S. Department of Education (ED) officers offering grants to students for a $249 processing fee (by requesting a bank or credit card number). Contact the DOE’s Office of Inspector General at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or oig.hotline@ed.gov to learn more.

8. Guaranteed financial aid consultants. What can you expect for your fee from a financial aid consultant? Help completing the FAFSA, estimating your expected family contribution (EFC), and advising you or child on types of aid. Information and assistance that is readily available and free from a financial aid office at any university, your local library, on the web, or from a high school guidance counselor. So what is free, free, free information worth to you? Plenty, if you pay fees to a financial aid consultant to get it.

Some may want the handholding of a consultant regardless. Then be aware of deceptive claims that should send you looking for help from other sources. A financial aid consultant may guarantee a minimum $2,500 in aid or promise to refund your money. That’s nice, but misleading. Yes, you will no doubt receive that $2,500 student loan, but then so will every applicant who completes the FAFSA (free and on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov). A federal entitlement available simply by completing the FAFSA should not be misrepresented or misconstrued as aid a consulting company can uniquely guarantee you as an enticement.

Likewise, if a consulting service guarantees you will receive every last penny to ship your child off to school (or your money back), you should not be fooled. You guessed it, another federal entitlement that is a byproduct of completing the FAFSA. That and a decent credit rating will earn you a PLUS loan for 100 percent of the total cost of attendance for you or your child. It is just good sense to steer clear of any company that entices clientele with benefits that are freely available to all students completing the FAFSA (whether they pay pricey consulting fees or not) as a federal entitlement.

Remember, if a consulting agency is completing a FAFSA (or any other form) on your behalf, review, sign it, and mail it yourself. You should maintain copies of the completed FAFSA and expect a refund if it is incorrect. And always agree to a flat fee for financial aid consulting services, never a percentage of aid received. Qualifications to consider when screening potential financial aid consultants include whether the consultant has experience at a financial aid office and is a Certified Public Accountant. Never be hesitant to ask for references.

9. The sweepstakes scholarship. Lucky you! You have just been selected as a finalist to win a scholarship in a sweepstakes that you never entered. (And you thought you never won anything.) The only obstacle standing between you and collecting your winnings is paying the redemption fee. Be wary of contests, websites and scholarships that collect personal data, payout a single dollar-amount (play the lottery today?) and repay the kindness with a barrage of advertisements. Which brings us to our next popular scam tactic.

10. The redemption fee. Common catchphrases by the scammer are disbursement fee, redemption fee, or processing fee. Notice the common denominator here? Legitimate scholarships do not ask a student to pay for an award. Be wary of any money awarded to you out of the blue that comes with strings, especially those with strings attached to your pocketbook.