Job interviews are stressful. The interviewer and interviewee alike often play an unconscious game of chicken, each trying to second guess what the other really wants to hear. Engineering graduates and early career professionals often share their goal of attaining P.E. or S.E. licensure. Yet this is often just a rote answer because it sounds like what an employer wants to hear. Clearly, an engineering license is a critical step in a career; it leads to promotion, status, and increased responsibility. Yet, many new graduates and engineers-in-training (EITs) do not fully grasp what it will take or what it means. This is not surprising considering most firms eagerly await the chance to announce the new P.E. or S.E. within their ranks and often push passage before preparation. In lieu of pushing staff to pass an exam, the profession of structural engineering will be better served when firm leaders and mentors prepare staff members for success.

As a new engineer, I was at a site one afternoon struggling over a portion of a project not installed per plan. The contractors’ position was that the plan asked for something that was not done. The design team’s point was that they should have qualified their bid if the contractor knew this was not possible. My role was to defend specifying that the elevator guide rails for a 2-story wood framed building with less than 10-foot story heights needed to span floor-to-floor (i.e., a guide rail support tube would not be provided). While the details were eventually worked out, the outcome of this experience is the more important story.