u/Icy-Opportunity837

Civil Engineer in South Carolina, I'm currently a Project manager and looking to advance my career in my agency. I have been looking at getting a masters in public Administration. I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest program, i'm also looking for a decent online program structured towards working professionals. my agency does not have a tuition reimbursement program. looking for suggestions, to advance with a masters in public administration.

I’m about 2/3 of the way through the Project Sitework section of EET WRE, and I’m starting to get a little nervous about my pace.

It’s taken me almost two weeks to get through this section. Project Management wasn’t nearly as bad. The material itself isn’t overly complicated, but Sitework is very broad, and there seems to be a lot you just need to know that isn’t necessarily spelled out in the PE Handbook.

I’m almost to Binder B now, and my biggest concern is how much of this I’m going to forget over the next few weeks as I keep moving through the course. I know I can’t remember everything, but spending two weeks on one section has me wondering if I’m moving too slowly.

For anyone who has gone through EET WRE, did you feel the same way with Sitework? Any suggestions for balancing moving forward with reviewing older material?

I’ve also been screenshotting the practice exams/quizzes and putting them into PDFs so I can print them and work through them again later, especially if my EET subscription runs out before I’m completely done reviewing.

Any tips or reassurance from people who have been through it would be appreciated.

I have been a sofi member for about 9 years now, started with 98,000 now Im down to 61,500 I have a 5.625 interest rate. I would like to refinance and pay my loans off faster but, with a lower interest rate. I filled out an application with sofi to refinance and my numbers came back 5.5% interest rate... I do not know why I have NEVER Been late with a payment and my credit score is 830. My wife also has decent credit scores but, no loans in her name. I applied to Earnest and got a quote for 7 years at 4.75% which would be great! but, I'm wondering if I add my wife as a cosigner would it bring the rate down further and if I bring this back to sofi would they futher lower their rates since I've been a loyal customer with investments and private loans (small but paid off).

Not sure if I’m looking for advice or just venting a little.

I’m a civil engineer and was recently accepted into my organization’s Leadership Academy. We have more than 2,500 employees, and only 10 people were selected, so it’s a pretty big opportunity for me.

I’m currently a senior project manager with no direct reports, but I’m part of my department’s leadership and make decisions that can affect a department of about 80 people.

As part of the program, I had to meet with my division director—basically my boss’s boss’s boss—to go over my leadership development plan. He’s very soft-spoken, thoughtful, and critical in how he communicates. Before the meeting, my boss told me, “Let him talk and keep your responses to one sentence.”

I tried.

About 10 minutes in, my director stopped and said, “Okay, let’s talk. You’re holding back.”

So I opened up... and then I couldn’t stop.

A 30-minute meeting turned into an hour.

One of the areas I already know I need to work on is communication. I can be very direct and sometimes come across as blunt without meaning to. My intention isn’t to be a jerk—I’m just very task- and results-oriented. I don’t naturally sugarcoat things when I feel like they can be said directly.

Now I’m second-guessing the meeting and wondering if I hurt his perception of me as a potential leader.

One thing he did say is that my technical knowledge and drive to get things done are unlike almost anything he’s seen. But he also made it clear that what he’s looking for is a people leader, not just someone who gets results.

For anyone with ADHD who has moved into leadership: how did you learn to slow down, communicate more effectively, and balance being direct with being a good people leader?

Some days I feel like I’m making a lot of progress. Other days I feel like I’m fighting against my own communication style.

Anyone else been in a similar position? What helped you?

As title states, We live in the grand strand so we have done everything within 45 mins of myrtle beach and are members at BrookGreen looking for our last hurrah before school starts August 19th of some weekend day trips to do with the kids, we were planning on doing Riverbanks next week. We did North carolina in april.....Farthest we want to travel is 140 miles, so columbia is good Charleston is good. Thanks!

Hello everyone,

yes, i did use AI for spelling and grammar but, the thoughts are my original ideas. I'm considered an emerging leader within my organization. I work in the public sector as an engineer and was recently accepted into my organization's leadership academy.

After I was accepted, my boss's supervisor (one level above my director) took the time to congratulate me and share some advice. He mentioned that one area where participants in the leadership academy often struggle is emotional intelligence. He also noted that my path to becoming an engineer wasn't traditional and commented that, in his experience, many engineers are technically excellent but don't always develop strong leadership skills.

His advice was to intentionally build my emotional intelligence, and after reflecting on it, I think he's right. This is an area where I have room to grow.

I supervise employees, and one challenge I sometimes face is responding appropriately when personal issues affect their work. My instinct is often to focus on solving the work problem, but I realize that effective leadership also requires empathy, active listening, and understanding what people are going through.

I genuinely want to become the best leader I can be, and I'd like to be intentional about improving this skill rather than assuming it will come naturally over time.

For those of you who have worked on developing emotional intelligence as a leader, what made the biggest difference for you? Were there any books, courses, habits, coaching experiences, or mindset shifts that had a lasting impact?

One request: please don't respond with "leaders are born, not made." I believe there's plenty of research showing that leadership skills—including emotional intelligence—can be learned and strengthened through deliberate practice, and I'm looking for practical advice from people who've done exactly that.

Ive taken the NCESS practice exam scored 65 Islam practice exam 1 scored 69 Islam practice exam 2 score 71. I have failed the exam 4 times previously I have been going through I have taken the last 6 months to study every night for 2 hours and weekends 4 hours each day. I guess its the engineering thing to over complicate it.... The first 2 times I was really close but, last two i was farther and farther behind and felt like the exam was different. Any advise is greatly appreciated!

I’m just under 40 years old and have worked in the public sector for about 12 years. I currently serve as a capital project manager, and I have two bachelor’s degrees: one in environmental science and one in civil engineering. I’m also working toward becoming a licensed Professional Engineer.

Recently, I was nominated for my organization’s leadership academy but was not selected by upper leadership. I’ll be honest, it was discouraging. I’ve been trying to focus on long-term growth and the best way to continue developing professionally.

I’m now considering going back to school for a Master of Public Administration. For those who have taken a similar path, do you feel the MPA was worth it? How has it benefited your career, your leadership ability, or your organization?

I’d also be interested to hear whether there are scholarships, grants, employer reimbursement programs, or other funding options that helped make the degree more affordable.

Thank you in advance for any advice or perspective.

First off, I’ll admit that I deal with pretty bad test anxiety, so I’m trying to be as prepared as possible going into this next attempt.

I have taken the FE Civil exam four times so far. I know this may sound odd, but the first two attempts felt very different from the last two. On my first attempt, I felt like I was probably only a few questions away. My second attempt felt very close as well. Attempts three and four felt noticeably harder to me.

I’m currently scheduled to take the exam on June 2. Since January, I’ve been studying with PrepFE for about 2 hours each night during the week, usually completing around 25–50 questions per session. I also took the NCEES practice exam and scored a 73. So far, I’ve completed one of Islam’s practice exams, and I plan to take the second one this weekend.

For those who have passed, is there anything else you would recommend focusing on during the final two weeks? I’m mainly looking for high-impact review strategies, test-day advice, or anything that helped you manage anxiety during the exam.

Thank you in advance.

I dont know if its just me, or how my brain is wired, I feel like i'm fairly good at the hard sections, transportation, structural, geotech, Fluids, hydraulics. But, when it comes to the easy sections, like Economics No matter how many times I practice, I forget what i'm looking for A/P P/A gradient worth ETC. even with math I've always been fairly good except for laplace transforms Thankfully those are not on the Fe exam but, I feel like I really struggle with Economics.........