Civil Engineering grad refuses to take Fundementals of Engineering (FE) exam

[Anonymous]

So my son is going into his senior year as a civil engineering major. He got an offer of full employment as a project manager after completing his internship at a big GC. He says he doesn’t need to take the FE exam for his job. I want him to take it as well as the PE exam just to have it as a safeguard and to have flexibility for other jobs. Are there any civil engineers out there who can comment?

[Anonymous]

He doesn’t need it to work for a general contractor. If his interest was in design, then yea, he should do it and pursue his PE. Sounds like that’s not the path he’s interested in though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He doesn’t need it to work for a general contractor. If his interest was in design, then yea, he should do it and pursue his PE. Sounds like that’s not the path he’s interested in though.

I'll double down on that. If he's truly interested in the construction/contracting side of things, a PE can actually be a liability. If something goes wrong (and it invariably does), if you're a builder/PE, you're expected to "know" better even though a different PE signed the construction docs.

That said, if you want maximum flexibility and opportunity, really push him to attempt the FE. It shouldn't be that hard, esp right out of school. Your DS can decide later if he (or his employer) wants the PE.

[Anonymous]

Commercial construction can be a great career. It’s very different than being a design civil engineer. I’d leave him be, this is his decision.