I took the PE exam in October and I am so glad that I passed it! Now I just need to fill out the paperwork and since I have a masters I only need 3 years of experience to get the license. I should meet that requirement in a few months. I took the structural PM and it was super tough. Since I do retaining walls and civil structures, I don't use many of the building codes often, and you definitely need to be familiar with them for the exam. Studying was very time consuming, and the actual exam experience was very stressful as well, so it is very relieving to have that out of the way! I learned a lot while studying though, and I still reference some of my notes at work sometimes.
I do wish I would have kept better track of what projects I worked on and what specifically I designed/analyzed for each; that makes the SER paperwork so much easier. When writing each "engagement" for the SER you have to specifically say "I designed/analyzed ..." so it is definitely useful to have an organized record of all that. I kept track of the projects and dates, but didn't realize I should have been keeping track of the design tasks as well.
Other than that, at my job I have started mentoring the two interns in our group and it is really rewarding to be able to teach others what I have learned. That is my favorite part of my job at the moment. Also I am getting to the point where several of the projects that I worked on when I started are finally getting built. It's really awesome to see things you helped design get built, but the construction phase of projects can also be a little stressful! It definitely helps you learn a lot.
