It's Official!

I passed the FE!!! On the afternoon 22nd I got an email that said that I could log on to the NCEES site and check my results.  So I tried but their site wasn't working. Probably because everyone was getting on to see if they passed.  So I ended up finally getting on around 10pm that night and found out that I passed and that was one of the best Christmas presents that I received this year.  It feels so great to know that I don't have to take that test again.

The FE Exam

The Fundamentals of Engineering Exam was this last weekend and I had lots of support for which I am grateful for.  I decided I would let everyone know how the test went.

So Saturday morning I got up at 6:00am and got ready for the day and then left my hotel around 6:40am and walked the few blocks to the Salt Palace where the test was held.  When I got there the test was held in the Grand Ballroom so it was easy to find, last time i took the test it was hidden away in a back corner.  So check in started at 7:15am and this is were the really fun begins.  You are not allowed to have your cell phone, writing tools, or anything that is not in a clear container.  So around 7:45am the instructions are started and at 8:00am the test begins.  Once the test is started you have 120 questions to answer in 4 hours.  The subjects covered range between Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, Statics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Electronics, Material Science, Chemistry, Engineering Economics, and Engineering Ethics.  I finished this part of the test about 15 minutes before it ended.  I felt like the test was way easier than it was last time I took it and that I didn't guess on nearly as many as I had before.  I hope that this was because I had done so much studying.

I then had an hour break and had to be back at 1:00pm for check-in for the second half of the test.  Instructions started at 1:15pm and the test started at 1:30pm.  This part of the test was 60 questions in 4 hours.  This part of the test actually has a few different tests that you can choose from.  You can choose between, Civil based, Electrical based, Mechanical based, Chemistry based, Environmental based, Industrial based, or the general test.  With the degree that I am getting from SUU I took the general test.  This test covers basically the same areas that the first part does but it is more advanced subjects.  So it covers Mathematics, Probability and Statistics, Statics, Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Electronics, Material Science, Biology.  I felt really good about this part of the test just like in the first part.  I did struggle with some of the partial integrations and derivatives, and didn't really have a clue on the biology questions.  Yet I still felt like I guessed on only a small amount of the questions.  I did finish this section about an hour early which was around 4:40pm but I don't think that I rushed at all.

So you can see that I had a long Saturday.  I did get a few surprises after the test which were nice.  My parents got me a new book. They got me R. A. Salvatore's new book Gauntlgrym and Karen got me the movie "How To Train Your Dragon."  So that was my test day!

Thinking of Greatness

I often wonder about some of the great structures of the past and how they were built.  I wonder about stone castles, the Great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and many other wondrous structures.  Some of these structures would be a great undertaking in our day and age so how great was it to those builders who didn't have the capabilities that we have.  I sometimes think that with our modern abilities of mass production and the uniform ease that concrete, along with other things, has provided us we have forgotten some of the basics of creating structures that was used on some of these wonders of the world.

Now I don't think that we will ever get back to creating structures that way because it would be to slow, cost way too much money, and we create much stronger and safer structures now.  I just think that we do not create buildings like the Colosseum any more.  Now we do create amazing structures like the Millau Bridge in France which almost seems to be flying. 

As I am getting close to graduating I have been thinking about what I am going to do with my life and where I want to work and what I would like to do.  I have always grown up thinking that I would just work for Interstate Rock designing roads, but lately I have come to realize that I want to do something great. Now some may say that I am being prideful in a way to want to design/build something wondrous but I don't think that I am because I don't want to do it so that I can say look what I did.  I want to do it because I have read a lot of books that have inspired my mind and have caused me to wonder if I could do something great and I believe that I could and would like to try.

I have decided that I want to go to grad school and have picked 4 schools to apply to and I am thinking of going to structural engineering.  The schools that I have picked are: Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, Utah State University, and University of Washington.  My top choice is Mines and the UW with CSU followed by USU.  Right now I am trying to finish all of my applications and get my letters of recommendation. I also am studying for the FE exam that I have to take on Saturday. I am really nervous for this test because I have to pass to graduate.  I also will be taking the GRE next month which will cause some stress as well.

Maybe someday I will design something great like: