Those of us who actually took the PE exam are fully aware of what a crock you are presenting here.?ÿ The only problem I solved that was easy was one from the Civil Engineering category that involved determining the lifespan of a certain landfill based on certain provided information.?ÿ Every other potential problem to solve in any category from Chemical to Nuclear required certain assumptions to be made beyond the provided data.?ÿ Solving a statically indeterminate loading circumstance is not a freshman or sophomore level test problem.?ÿ The chemical engineering problem I solved was thanks to the graduate course I took in Heat Transfer not merely the introduction to the concept in the sophomore Engineering Physics courses.?ÿ The mechanical engineering problem involving vibration theory and acoustic calculations was extremely challenging and definitely not a beginner level task.
Don't know the last time you sat for a LS exam, but sometimes there's a lot of stupid quirky historical questions that don't really have anything to do with actual surveying.
The problem with that is the prime mover in Missouri licensure, Dr. Richard Elgin, spent his time in Southeast Asia flying choppers.?ÿ Thus, he is well schooled in the "Charlie out" practice.?ÿ Odds are better the correct answer is not C.
Dick Elgin was my first 'real' instructor in boundary law. We caught up at the 2020 Idaho conference. It was great to finally tell him the impact he made on my career..
I recently passed the CFedS program and looking into western states licensure and curious about the Idaho-Montana reciprocity thats been mentioned before. Do those 2 states have universal licensure between them now or is it just because they border each other that people get one then go for the other? The brief research I've done online so far says more states are considering moving to universal but don't recall seeing Idaho and Montana specifically.
I have succeeded on the first try for all of my professional licenses.?ÿ But, no one is going to confuse me with Einstein or Sheldon Cooper.?ÿ Preparation tops perspiration every time.
AMEN !
I too, passed on the first round for all my exams and studying made the difference.
@gary_g I don't think you passed your spelling exam the first time? 😊
I've always said "If you have to study for it, you shouldn't be taking it."
A favorite quote from my faculty advisor in college:
“Few fallacies are more dangerous or easier to fall into than that by which, having read a given book, we assume that we will continue to know its contents permanently, or having mastered a discipline in the past, we assume that we control it in the present. Philosophically speaking, "to learn" is a verb without a legitimate tense.”
- Robert Grudin, Time and the Art of Living
I recently passed the CFedS program and looking into western states licensure and curious about the Idaho-Montana reciprocity thats been mentioned before. Do those 2 states have universal licensure between them now or is it just because they border each other that people get one then go for the other? The brief research I've done online so far says more states are considering moving to universal but don't recall seeing Idaho and Montana specifically.
Not that I know of, but Montana is on my list of states to get.
Idaho is not a compact state for surveyors or engineers. We do offer comity licensure after eight years of licensed practice in another jurisdiction. The Board will want to see work samples and can reject applicants with discipline records.
Message me if you want to talk directly. I no longer work for the Board but stay in the loop on policy.
I've always said "If you have to study for it, you shouldn't be taking it."
I've passed 3 state exams on the first try and have been licensed for 27 years. I think that I know the material. But if I was called on to write my home state's test today, unprepared, I doubt that I would pass.
My advise is to always overprepare. The tests ask few questions about everyday issues. They sample your knowledge of oddball situations.
@gary_g I did not pass my LS exam on the first attempt and rescheduled for 6 months later. I started hitting the books again and taking practice exams until I was sitting in my recliner after a month of renewed studying when it suddenly came to me why I didn't pass.
I had several questions on the exam that involved case law and I answered them by applying case law in my answers. The correct answer for all of those questions was to advise the client to speak with an attorney.
@chris-bouffard The law portion in MD was the most difficult for me too. I passed but took the entire time alotted, which if i remember was 2 hours. They had 5 choices for every question and they were all close. The PA and VA tests were law, drainage, and road design, all in a 2 hour test.
@chris-bouffard If a Surveyor cannot properly apply case law to thier decisions it's a problem. Most of my work involves recognizing fact patterns and presenting them FOR attorneys.