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issues affecting the structuralengineering profession

PROFESSIONALSSUES

Tomas A. Grogan, Jr., P.E., S.E.(Tomas.Grogan@haskell.com),is the Director of Quality andChief Civil/Structural Engineer atHaskell Architects and Engineersin Jacksonville, Florida.

By Tomas A. Grogan, Jr., P.E., S.E.

You Too Can Do It after

Turning 40

Passing the New StructuralExam

As more states move toward separatelicensure for structural engineers,proving your competency meanstaking the new NCEES Structural

exam. For those of us who are later in our careers,the requirement to pass such a test can bringextreme anxiety and prompt comments such as:Ive been doing this all my career, I dont needanother exam to prove my competency; I spend

most of my time managing my office and staff,Im not sure my experience is current enough topass the SE exam; and, I just dont have thetime to study for the SE exam.Tis article is intended to take the fear out of

the new SE exam, which can be passed no matterhow old you are or how long it has been since youpassed your original PE exam. I am proof that it canbe done. Although I live in Florida, I do a signifi-cant amount of work in the western United States,especially California, and I realized that obtainingSE registration there would be very helpful in secur-

ing future projects. In April

2009, I made the decisionto take both the NCEESStructural II and CaliforniaStructural III exams.Almost immediately, I

felt a knot begin to form in pit of my stom-ach. What if I did not pass either exam? Howembarrassing would that be? More importantly,

what would my colleagues think of my structuralengineering capability? I had taken the StructuralII exam in 2005 and did not pass it then; whatmade me think that I could pass it now?As I look back, there are three components that

I believe are critical to passing the exam. Tefirst is commitment. Once you have made thedecision to take the exam, you need to be allin and devote yourself 100% for a minimum oftwo months leading up to the test date. Tinkabout it you have been designing buildings orbridges for many years now, so you clearly havethe expertise; you just need to convince yourselfthat you can and willpass the exam. You use thecodes on a regular basis, and you know how todesign with steel, concrete, masonry and wood

well, maybe not all of them, but hopefully at leasttwo of them. In my case, I believed that my steel

and concrete experience was adequate, but I hadlimited masonry and almost no wood experience.Even so, the general concepts are similar and, withadequate preparation, you can fill in the gaps.In fact, preparation is the next step to passing

the exam. When I reflected upon why I did notpass the Structural II exam in 2005, I realized thatmy preparation was inadequate. I spent too muchof my time lightly reviewing the subject matterand not enough time working detailed problems.How you prepare for the exam is critical to yoursuccess. I suggest the following:

1) Go to the NCEES website and lookup all available information on theStructural exam. Tere you will findspecific information on each sectionincluding content, design standards,study materials, exam day policies andscoring information.

2) Obtain copies of all applicable codesand standards to which the exam will

be written.3) Obtain several good reference books tostudy, and verify that they are writtento the version of the codes being tested.Studying ASCE 7-02 will be of littlevalue if the test is written around ASCE7-05. Tere are numerous materials outthere, some of which are very good. Itis up to each examinee to determine

which ones work best for him or her.Each fall, the Structural Engineers

Association of Illinois conducts a six-month seminar series which covers all

topics included in the Structural exam.Tis series is currently being upgradedto include the new high seismiccomponent. NCSEA has recentlypartnered with Kaplan AEC Educationto produce a similar seminar series.

4) Find a location away from your regularworkstation where you can lay out thesematerials for a long period of time.Make this your Study Area. Set a rulefor yourself that when you are in theStudy Area, you cannot be interruptedfor any reason. You will need to get used

to being in this environment for fourhours at a time to mimic the length ofthe exam segments.

5) Prepare a work plan and stick to it.When I first began studying, I createda rough schedule of which subjects I

would study and when. After a weekor so, I found that I needed to stick tothat plan if I was going to be adequatelyprepared. It was not long before I foundmyself following it religiously. I suggestsomething along these lines:a. General structural analysis: Re-learn

how to do calculations by hand thatyou typically rely on the computer toperform, such as the portal methodfor frames. Know how to quicklydetermine the shears and momentsin beams and columns due to gravityloads; how to distribute lateral loadsvia diaphragms to resisting elements(element rigidity for rigid diaphragmsvs. tributary area for flexiblediaphragms); and how to determine the

worst-case load combinations.

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b. Wind loads: Be prepared to answerquestions for hurricane-proneregions and areas requiring designfor windborne debris. Know howto quickly determine the windpressures on enclosed, partiallyenclosed and open structures andparapets at various heights usingproper values for Kh, Kz,and GCpi.

Understand the differences betweenmain wind force resisting systemsand components and cladding, andinclude the importance factor basedon occupancy type.

c. Earthquake loads: Know howto calculate seismic forces andunderstand the design spectralcurves. Understand the implicationsof the various Site Classes andSeismic Design Categories. Knowthe difference between buildingsand non-building structures.

Remember the importance factorand the event for which youare designing: MCE or DesignEarthquake. Develop a basicunderstanding of how to deal withnon-structural components. Befamiliar with high seismic designrequirements for all four buildingmaterials as defined in AISC 341,

ACI 318 Chapter 21, ACI 530Chapter 3, and AF&PA SpecialDesign Provisions for Wind andSeismic. Devote at least 30% of all

your study time to this area, and beready to answer questions regardingSeismic Design Category D, E or F.

d. Wood: Understand the generalcontent of the NDS. Workproblems to become familiar withall Load Adjustment Factors (Cx)and how to quickly eliminate those

whose value is unity. Understandshear and diaphragm capacitiesfor various decking types andnailing patterns. Understand theprovisions of Chapter 23 of IBCand the relevant sections of ASCE7, especially those addressingseismic considerations.

e. Masonry: Understand how tocalculate capacities using ACI 530.Learn shear wall design methodsand the special seismic provisions.Understand the provisions ofChapter 21 of IBC and the relevantsections of ASCE 7, especially thoseaddressing seismic considerations.

f. Concrete: Familiarize yourselfwith ACI 318. Know how to

quickly calculate the flexural andshear reinforcing in beams and

walls, including retaining walls.Understand axial and biaxialcolumn bending and reinforcingrequirements, and be able to checkfor minimum and maximumreinforcing limits. Understandthe provisions of Chapter 19 of

IBC and the relevant sections ofASCE 7, especially those addressingseismic considerations. Spendsignificant time understanding theseismic provisions of Chapter 21in ACI 318. Understand how todesign and detail both shear wallsand moment frames in high seismiczones; you may be asked to sketch adetail as part of your solution.

g. Steel: Familiarize yourself with bothAISC 360 (steel manual) and AISC341 (seismic manual). Be able to

size beams and columns for a varietyof loading conditions. Know all thesteel seismic lateral force resistingsystems and how to design each ofthe elements using AISC provisions.Understand the provisions ofChapter 22 of IBC and the relevantsections of ASCE 7, especially thoseaddressing seismic considerations.It is very likely that you will berequired to design or evaluate a highseismic joint detail.

Review these subjects in order of familiarity,

with the most familiar element coming first.I focused on doing the seismic componentslast so it would be freshest in my mind duringthe exam. Exam preparation is daunting, butdone systematically and with diligence it willbe the largest contributing factor for success.

6) Ask for help, especially in areas whereyour experience is lacking. Otherstructural engineers will gladly shareshortcuts and other tips and tricks

with you that are not provided inexam preparation materials.

7) If you get stuck on a subject or donot understand a concept, go to adifferent subject and come back toit later. If necessary, get up and walkaway from your Study Area; you

will be amazed at how taking a breakwill relax you and help you refocuson a difficult topic.

8) As the week of the exam approaches,take some practice exams under testconditions. Use four-hour blocks oftime and try to answer questions as ifthe exam was really taking place.

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With commitment and preparation behindyou, and exam day around the corner, whatcan you expect? Te most important thingthe examinee must realize is that the examis very long, and while you are taking it you

will feel like you are racing against the clock.Remember, because of your preparation, youhave sharpened you expertise and can solve

almost all of the questions; you just needto focus, put on your game face, and workquickly. Here are some tips:

1) If possible, visit the exam site the daybefore. Know where to park and howto get to the room where the exam

will be held.2) On exam day, arrive early; give

yourself plenty of time to set up forthe exam. Organize your referencematerials for quick accessibility. Ihave seen examinees bring in plasticmilk crates filled with books that they

set up library-style, which struck meas very efficient.3) Te exam materials will require you

to fill out some information priorto starting the exam; this will notcount against your testing time. Forthe essay questions you will have to

place your answers in the solutionpamphlet. Tere is a separate solutionpamphlet for each essay question.

4) If you get stuck, skip the questionand come back to it later. For theessay questions, if you get stuck onone part, simply state an assumptionfor that portion and continue

accordingly. If you make a mistakein an early portion of a problem andsolve the rest of it correctly, you mayonly lose points for that part and stillearn full credit for the later portion.

5) Do not over-think the problem. Teexam committee is testing if youunderstand the fundamentals, so donot make the problems harder thanthey really are. I found myself doingthis repeatedly when I took the exam,and lost precious time as a result.

6) On the multiple-choice section,

remember to guess if you do notknow the answer, especially if youcan eliminate an option or two. It isimportant to recognize that the exam

writers likely established the incorrectchoices based on typical mistakesthat an examinee might make. Make

a note of the problems you guessedat in case there is time to come backlater. Pace yourself; if there are 40questions in 4 hours, that gives you6 minutes to answer each problem,so make sure you are near problems10, 20, 30 and 40 at the end of eachhour. If you get behind in the first

hour, you have three more hours topick up the pace; just make sure thatyou stay on track.

7) At the end of each exam session, youwill be given 15, 5 and 1 minutewarnings. When time is called,you must put your pencil downimmediately, so use the warning timeeffectively. At the 15-minute warningof the essay questions, I had to decide

whether to finish the problem onwhich I was working, or go back andreview my work on problems where I

was not sure of the answer.

Once the exam is over, what happens next?1) ry to put the test out of your mind.

You will constantly think of mistakesthat you made during the exam, but

just let it go. Tis is much more easilysaid than done!

2) It takes several months to gradethe exam and provide results to theexaminee. April results typically comeout in July and October results in

January. Although it takes a while,

when you finally are notified that youpassed, you will realize that the timeinvestment was well worth it.

3) I have had the opportunity to bean exam grader, and the one thingI learned is that this group willdo everything they can to give theexaminee the benefit of the doubt.Te main goal of the gradingprocess is to ensure that those whodemonstrate an adequate level ofknowledge are given a passing grade.

You can pass the new Structural examno matter how long it has been since youpassed the PE exam. It requires seriouscommitment, preparation and effectiveuse of exam time. I wish each of you whoattempt the new Structural exam thevery best. Demonstrating your capabili-ties to your peers and the public throughthis examination serves to strengthenour profession.

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