I had to lol at the waiting 3 months for results. I remember walking up to the mailbox each day waiting to see if the letter came and tears would be rolling down my face at the thought of failing and having to try to study again. My eldest was a very wild baby who never napped. He was trotting down the hall using 1 hand for support at 6.5 months and flat out running by 10. He was exhausting.
And the exam was my first night away from him, and I was still pumping. I thought I could pump at the facility during lunch. Nope. They locked us out. I frantically had to find a spot in downtown Richmond with no phone/gps. Wound up in the bathroom of a very very seedy motel - the whole room doors and all were done in magnenta flowered wallpaper. I was crying then too. Horrible!!!
Honestly, if you discount my childhood before middle school, my college years were the easiest and where I had the most “me time” until my last kid left for college.
Oh, my, I have pumping stories, too! Pumping in the bathroom at the precast concrete plant I worked in. Hitch: The blueprint machine was in the bathroom! There were occasional interruptions.
I found out I passed the PE exam one Monday. That Friday, DH and I were laid off from our company the same day!
My daughter took hers after 3 years of working (she’s civil) and she took it in Vegas as they allowed her to sit for it after the 3 years whereas Colorado doesn’t allow it until just before the 4th anniversary. So she took it and waited. She didn’t find it to be an easy test and had quite a study schedule for herself all spring, bought all kinds of reviews and study guides, lugged them all to Vegas in a suitcase for the final few days of studying, and then lugged them all back to have in case someone else needed them.
My BIL has been a PE (also civil) for many years. It did come in handy when my brother was putting in a pre-fab house (onto a foundation that brother put in) and they needed the plans stamped by a PE. BIL did it and the price was right (free). The building department was a little confused because they’d never seen BIL’s stamp on plans before (small county).
Oh gosh! Ha! No I didn’t have that; though I too had to pump in the public bathroom with an extension cord to the toilet. And no Flex Time, no work from home, nada. I would have considered a 3rd kid if I had some paid maternity leave and some Flex Time. I was just so freaking tired every single day for years.
And I would have been a basket case if we had no jobs! But at least you had your PE and a ABET accredited degree! (trying to bring it back around to topic!)
My husband used his stamp when we got a notice we were going to have to buy flood insurance. They said our lot was in a flood zone. DH looked at the maps and discovered part of our street was in a flood zone, but our lot wasn’t. He wrote a stamped letter explaining this, and it was accepted.