Celebrating Engineers Week
Take Three: Q&A with Nathan Anderson, PE
1. You are the youngest PE we have on staff. Congratulations! This means you’ve achieved PE status early in your career. What was your strategy for balancing the required experience hours with the intense study needed for the exam? I believe industry experience is critical, especially when taking the P.E. exam in your chosen discipline. I attended the University of Louisville, where three semesters of internships are required to complete degree credits. Two of my rotations were with a civil design firm, and one was with Building & Earth. That exposure helped me decide to pursue the geotechnical path, as I realized traditional civil design wasn’t where I wanted to focus my career.
Finding a career path that aligns with your discipline is extremely helpful when preparing for the conceptual nature of the P.E. exam. Real-world experience makes those problems much more intuitive. Beyond that, it ultimately comes down to hard work and dedication.
2. What are your thoughts about mentorship for those trying to obtain a PE? Use your Sr. engineers, coworkers, and industry partners to bolster your technical capabilities and confidence. Many of them have taken the exam and can offer advice or guidance.
Also, don’t procrastinate. Schedule the exam as early as possible and get exposure to the testing process and style of questioning. Even if you fall short on the first attempt, you’ll be far more prepared the next time. Many states allow EITs to sit for the PE exam prior to meeting the experience requirement for licensure. Take advantage of that opportunity. Give yourself enough time to pass so that once your experience requirement is met, you’re ready to move forward without delay.
3. Advice for EITs: What did you do that best prepared you for the rigor of the PE exam? Everyone knows the basics – practice exams, School of P.E., study sessions, etc. Those tools are helpful, but they can sometimes oversaturate you with too many topics at once. I recommend using them in conjunction with the following:
- Gain as much exposure as possible to geotechnical engineering and materials testing work.
- Lean on senior engineers for technical insight, conceptual understanding, and high-level problem solving – that’s what the P.E. exam tests at its core.
- Talk to peers and coworkers who have taken the exam. Learn from their mistakes and advice, and apply those lessons to your own study approach.
And again, don’t procrastinate. Don’t let fear of failure prevent career advancement. Strong communication skills, technical discipline, and practical industry common sense will take you a long way.