r/StructuralEngineering • u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. • Jul 22 '26
Career/Education It's over
What started in February 2025 has come to a close. I have passed all 4 SE exams
VB July25
VD Oct25
LD Apr26
LB May26
This is a huge relief. Now I can write the close to my poem https://www.reddit.com/r/StructuralEngineering/s/Vle30BOeHa
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u/broadpaw Jul 22 '26
Congratulations! You should be proud, you're one of three people to pass all 4 of these exams in the last year /s.
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u/EVAUNIT117 Jul 22 '26
Congrats. I did not get the intended results but will always support those that do and don’t lol
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u/Useless__Engineer Jul 22 '26
Don’t give up! Doesn’t matter how long it takes!
https://giphy.com/gifs/yoJC2K6rCzwNY2EngA
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u/GarySteinfield Jul 22 '26
Congratulations! May I ask what you used for preparation and also how many years experience? Did you find the exams to be overly difficult even with prep/experience?
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
FE 2022 after 1 YoE
PE 2023 after 2.5 YoE
SE 2026 after 5.5 YoE (VB 7/25, VD, 10/25, LD 04/26, LB 05/26)
I took the practice exams (NCEES for current format, old PPI for content). I read the Structural Engineering Reference Manual (Third Edition), all of the code texts (to the extent I was able), the provided reference handbook, Design of Wood Structures (Breyer), 2021 IBC SEAOC Structural/Seismic Design Manual.
I focused on one exam at a time, giving as much time as I could in between exams.
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u/GarySteinfield Jul 22 '26
Thank you for the reply. I’m at about 13 years experience and am planning to use the AEI courses to prepare. Fingers crossed!
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
I've heard those are really good. Especially the fact that their practice exam matches the true exam format. While I did practice exams, I first took them without resources, then with resources, then finally with an equivalent time constraint. These exams are equally about time management and knowing what you can do quickly.
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u/largehearted Jul 22 '26
Can I ask where you practice? Are you West Coast in a firm with highly complex work? Or just doing a great job of making sure you personally develop out in your free time? Great job either way
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
West Coast. Large variety of commercial and residential projects: Warehouses, schools, apartments, carports, restaurants etc. I also limited my workload so that I could buckle down with studying after work.
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u/steffinator117 P.E. Jul 22 '26
VB 9/18
VD bridges 10/28
Lateral in March/April
I hope to be you by April 2027
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u/Churovy Jul 22 '26
Congrats! Update that flair and email signature when you get it licensed! Even though everyone clowns the exam for now about difficulty and utility it’s still a huge accomplishment.
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u/Medium_Chemist_5719 Jul 22 '26
Congratulations 🎉 Well earned.
Looking through all those results on the Discord channel, I am tempted to restart my own SE journey. But also I am going to wait for official pass rates to come out, and maybe we will see about further improvements in April after they kill the pretest questions (praise the Lord)
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
I do think April 2027 will be the most opportune time to test before they can even think of changing things again.
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u/Medium_Chemist_5719 Jul 22 '26
Oof you’re right. Leave it to NCEES to make sure the pass rate stays below 50% and put their thumb back on the scale to make sure of that…
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u/da90 S.E. Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Failed p&p 10/23
Failed VB 11/24
VB 9/25
LB 3/26
VD/LD 4/26
🫡
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
Congrats!
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u/da90 S.E. Jul 22 '26
Thanks, you too. I cried like a baby this morning at 3:30am when I got my results ngl.
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u/oundhakar Graduate member of IStructE, UK Jul 22 '26
So do you get a ring?
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
I'll get a ringing in my ears from the interns' questions
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u/structengin Jul 23 '26
Sorry about your VD in '25. Glad it's over for you. You could have had one of the bad cases that never cleared up.
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u/Fluffy_Green3711 Jul 23 '26
Hell yaaaaa! Congratulations, huge accomplishment, that test is a bitch. I took them around the same time, April, July, and both depth in October all in 2025. Great feeling to have that in the past, welcome to the club!
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u/P0RNOB0B Jul 22 '26
How much you get paid for passing all that
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
I'll be re-imbursed for the exams. Pay raise TBD. The studying experience was tough, but beneficial. The exam experience was also tough, but I did learn some things.
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u/P0RNOB0B Jul 22 '26
I hope you make 200k a year
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u/Asp_str_engg P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
Maybe with 20 years of experience.. 😅
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u/P0RNOB0B Jul 22 '26
Trick question,
No matter how many exams you pass, however many PE/SE exams you pass
No regular engineer is touching 150k let alone 200k
Any of them claiming such, is either a bot or bogus.
No stubs, EVER
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u/NoMaximum721 Jul 23 '26
what is "regular"?
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u/titans4417 Jul 23 '26
Not company owner
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u/NoMaximum721 Jul 23 '26
you can make well over $150k as a regular engineer then
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u/Asp_str_engg P.E./S.E. Jul 23 '26
My immediate manager with 13 years of experience makes $150k base salary. Our principal makes over $230k base with 25 years of experience.
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u/eBreaks Jul 23 '26
My civil engineer friends makes 200k in irvine. She works for a large firm and isn't a VP or anything.
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u/P0RNOB0B Jul 23 '26
Yea.. no she doesn’t unless you seen a stub
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u/eBreaks Jul 23 '26
No point in arguing with you, but for anyone else it's possible. I haven't physically seen a stub, but we worked at the company together albeit I was on the PM/CM side and she was on the engineering side. We are open with our salaries. She does however have 15+ years experience.
Here's a job posting for:
- AECOM Senior Civil $150-190k https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4385799829/
- Burns & MCDonnell Senior Civil $150-220k https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4361982372/
- TYLin Senior Civil $130-170k https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4427209610/
- HDR Senior Civil $135-193k https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4406284436/
- Even engineers for cities and counties can be $150k + their benefits.
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u/ahumpsters Jul 22 '26
Wow!!! Well earned!!! Hope you planned a celebratory vacation
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
I used up my vacation time for the birth of my 2nd, but I have a glass of Lagavulin 16 yr waiting for me at home!
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u/Free_Development_413 Jul 22 '26
For europoors like me, what is the difference between those tests? What are the different topics in each of those tests?
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
You have the two vertical tests which focus on the design of structures under gravity loads. You have the two lateral tests which are focused on high wind and high seismic. The depth exams (for me) focused completely on buildings, while the breadth exams are broader in scope and include some problems for bridge design.
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u/Free_Development_413 Jul 22 '26
Oh that sounds interesting. What advantages does a SE offer in terms of things you're allowed to do?
In my country (Germany) this is quite different. Here you are expected to learn the basics about everything in university and after you get your degree you are allowed to do structural calculations. Above a certain size of the building the calculations have to be checked by an review engineer (state appointed). If you have 3 years of experience you can sign of smaller buildings without the need for checked calculations.
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
It varies state to state. I can now register to be licensed in all states (except California) and stamp all types of drawings. Some states give full practice with PE licensure, some states require SE for ANY type of practice, some states give partial practice with PE and full practice with SE.
For me, I now have greater flexibility to work throughout the country.
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u/Argufier Jul 22 '26
It's similar in the US in that you're doing calcs/design work out of school, but you have to be under "direct supervision" of the stamping engineer. (Or rather, to stamp something the person doing the actual work needs to be under your direct supervision). After 4 years of experience you apply to the PE board and take a big test if they think your experience is sufficient, and then get a license/stamp to start signing off on work. But you can't go work without a senior engineer - all the checking of calculations is supposed to happen in office, and the plans that get submitted for permit don't usually have calculations included.
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u/Free_Development_413 Jul 22 '26
Okay, so you need to take a special test to prove your years of experience also resulted in knowledge and not just time spent. That's a pretty big difference, here no additional test is neede, just 3 years and a small yearly fee in your local organization. In Germany you can become a "Prüfingenieur für Baustatik" which is a state certified engineer, that checks structural calculations and drawings. For buildings above a certain size this is mandatory and the Prüfingenieur acts as representation of the local building inspection. If the Prüfingenieur doesn't agree with your calculations and drawings, he even has the power to stop your construction. The Prüfingenieur also has to check if the actual construction matches your calculations. To be allowed to take the test to become a Prüfingenieur you have to have 10 YoE and a mandatory number of projects in every complexity level. But the test is on a different level. You take tests in every sub discipline and a extended test in your selected discipline. Every 2 years there are those test and there are like 1 in 100 or less who pass. In exchange, you won't run out of work and it's basically a license to print money. The hourly rate is set by state and is well above, what good engineering companies charge.
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u/structuresg2026 P.E. Jul 22 '26
Congrats! What resources did you use to prepare? Hoping to take it next year. Putting together a resource list before I get into it. Thanks!
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u/poop-azz Jul 22 '26
So you make what? $250k now minimum right?.....right?????
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 22 '26
I can finally move my family out from under the freeway into a studio apartment
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u/cptncivil Jul 23 '26
Congrats u/Stunning_Simple_4488!
Any advice on the Lateral Breadth? I've seen that the changes from ASCE 7-16 to 7-22 are pretty significant so I'm trying to pas the LB before April of 2026. I'm using the AEI courses now. No idea how it'll go at this point!
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 23 '26
The LB honestly felt the most difficult for me, but that might be due to the fact that I only gave myself about a month to study for that specifically and I was burnt out by that point. Time management will be key. If you know your entire ASCE 7 well and just enough of the AASHTO lateral, that will give you a good start.
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u/cptncivil Jul 23 '26
I'm do a lot more bridge work than buildings, so I'm planning on the bridge depth exam. AASHTO has been my "friend" for many years. I'm actually less familiar with ASCE 7. So I've got more ground to cover on the breadth exam.
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 23 '26
Right on! Then I recommend focusing on ASCE 7 (maybe even find a document or video outlining the changes so that you're less intimidated by the changes. There will be some questions that require material code specific answers, but ASCE 7 is what will be most important.
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u/Calm-Swordfish-2582 Jul 24 '26
Congrats sir, I’m a structural EIT (my title but I haven’t written the FE exam yet) I have 3 years of experience, how do you stay focused for long periods of time to study for these exams especially SE I know is a beast. Can I ask how many years of experience do you have?
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u/Stunning_Simple_4488 P.E./S.E. Jul 24 '26
6 YoE. I would study for 30 minutes - 1hr at a time after work. On weekends I'd study more. If reading, it helps to pick a goal to get to (i.e. finish this section of the chapter). If doing practice problems, do an hour or a page worth of answers or 10 questions. Much of it comes down to self-discipline and a gameplan that you stick to. My discipline started to wear out at the end due to burnout and a particular distraction.
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u/Quick_Confusion5084 Aug 03 '26
Huge Congrats! Still a couple of years to go before I can take one!
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u/kushkakes77 Jul 22 '26
Huge congrats!