The Civil Engineering Academy Podcast

We said it before — prepping for the PE usually takes 3-6 months. But today’s guest? He missed that memo and managed to pass this thing with less than 2 months of studying! 🤯 Kenneth (Kenny) Winston is a drainage engineer at Consor Engineers who joined us to share his unbelievable 1.5-month journey to pass the Civil PE Water Resources Exam. (Yes, you read that right!) How, you ask? 🤔 Here’s the...

No matter how hard you study, on exam day, nerves kick in, you worry about time, and one tough question can throw you off. But what if you had a test-taking plan to avoid all of that? 🤔 In this episode, I break down our CEA Test Strategy™, a 3-phase test-taking hack that allows you to do what really matters to pass your FE, PE, or CFM® exam — get as many questions right as possible. ✅ How? By ta...

🚨 Here’s by far the most asked question inside our FE and PE courses: “Should I use the Ultimate or Net Bearing Capacity to find the Allowable Bearing Capacity?” 🤔 That question comes up in our student-only community every single year, multiple times, and rightfully so. Reference manuals tell you to find the Net value and then use it to find the Allowable Bearing Capacity. But then, in the solut...

"The CSI of Civil Engineering." That’s the best way to describe the little-known career path of Forensic Engineering for civil engineers — and in this episode, we’re diving headfirst into it. 🕵️‍♂️💥 Our guest for this one is Peter Marxhausen, a civil engineer with over 25 years of experience and 10,000+ building investigations under his belt. Peter has now seen it all — cracks, collapse...

Every one of us is  guilty of procrastinating on our exam prep. Whether it’s just “a little bit” or “a lot” is not the problem — the cost of it to our career is. But the good news? It’s beatable! 💪 👇 In this episode, Mark Oakeson jumps back on the show to help us unpack the real reasons we drag our feet when it comes to studying for our exam. We’re not here to beat you up about it – we’ve been t...

Three years and six attempts. That’s how long it took Raymond Muñoz-Tabares to pass the Civil FE — but he did it! ✅ If you’ve ever felt like giving up after a few failures, this is the pep talk you need. 👇 Raymond is a civil engineer in Rhode Island who came to the US at the age of 10. He took (and failed) the Civil FE while still in school, and that’s when his 3-year, 6-attempt struggle began....

🚨 Attention! 🚨 The NCEES dropped their latest annual reports earlier this year — and these ones reveal some trends for both the profession and the licensure exam world we’re in. 📈 👇 In this episode, we walk you through their annual report on all the things they did in the past year for the profession. This one comes with awesome news for both US and international engineers wanting to work abro...

Pulling your hair deciding between the Water Resources or Transportation PE exam? 😵‍💫 This week, we sit down with Josiah Ferguson, a civil engineer who was in the same boat…and made a call that worked really well. 😄 Josiah works for the City of Shakopee on both water resources and transportation projects. But when it came time to take the Civil PE Exam, he had to pick one. The question is…which...

Passing the PE Exam is one thing, but doing it as an immigrant, with language barriers, and after hitting a wall multiple times before already?! That’s a whole nother story — and it’s real! 😲 In this episode, Hadi Al Azzawi jumps on the show to share his journey climbing a crazy steep hill to pass the Civil PE Water Resources Exam as an immigrant civil engineer in the US. From understanding the E...

Prepping for your exam isn’t a walk in the park. It’s hard. It  takes discipline. And you’ll want to quit more than once. (Been there. 😞) So, how can those who pass possibly keep going?! 😟 It’s not a fancy study schedule, more study material, or some natural-born talent you weren’t blessed with. The real secret? 🤔 Your “Why!” In this episode, I talk about why passing isn't just about studyi...

From frustrated PE examinee after 4 failed tries to…wait for it…future firm owner?! 😲 That’s exactly what you read! Our guest today is Colin Tinsley, who took the Construction PE exam not once, not twice...but five times before finally seeing the big, green “PASS” on the screen. 😅  Two paper-based attempts. Two more tries after the switch to CBT. Then, finally, with the help of our Ultimate Civi...

The concept of “Smart Cities” is here! 🚨 Immersive digital twins to replicate and augment reality with real-time data is not the future — it's happening right now at the Port of Corpus Christi! 😱 In this episode, I’m joined by Darrell Keach, Business Systems Manager for the Port of Corpus Christi, and Rex Hansen, Principal Project Manager at Esri, to show a live demo of their cutting-edge di...

🚨 Attention! 🚨 The ASCE just dropped their latest Infrastructure Report Card…and in this episode, we break it down for you so you know where the work (and money!) is headed! 😉 The ASCE Infrastructure Report Card is an in-depth analysis of the conditions of 18 major infrastructure categories across the US. The current overall grade? 🤔 A solid C — which, believe it or not, is actually a step in...

What’s it like to crush the Civil FE Exam on the first try, with less than two months of exam prep…all while still juggling a full course load in grad school?! 😮 Just ask Aggie Li. 👇 Aggie is a civil engineering master’s student at UMass Amherst who became an EIT using The Ultimate Civil FE Review Course, and is now headed for an internship position at Burns & McDonnell. In this episode, Agg...

Here’s a career path that doesn’t even come to mind when you hear “Structural Engineering,” but uses the same basic knowledge and it’s just as lucrative — Telecommunications. 📡 👇 This week, we sit down with Sudarshan Kasera, P.E., PMP, a Structural Engineer by education who now applies all that knowledge of the design of buildings and bridges to designing communication towers across the US at Cr...

If you’re the entrepreneurial type of civil engineer with (big) plans to open your own “shop” some day and scale it, this episode pulls the curtain on everything you need to know for that journey. For this one, we sit down with Kevin Franson, one of the owners and the General Manager at Franson Civil Engineers — a water resources engineering firm based in Utah. Kevin gets into the real stuff that...

How’s the AEC industry currently doing with lots of Government funding…but high interest rates, inflation, and (even worse) tariffs? 🤔 That’s exactly what we cover in this episode! For this one, we sat down with Mark Oakeson to unpack the key insights from the annual Utah Business’s AEC roundtable he’s part of — where AEC leaders came together to discuss the biggest challenges, trends, and opport...

Running an engineering firm is already hard enough. Why make it worse by using static spreadsheets, many disconnected apps, or (even worse) century-old methods your grandpa used to run his shop? 🤔 That’s why we sat down with Robert Yuen, the CEO and co-founder of Monograph — a business management software designed specifically to help architects and engineers run their firms smoothly and profitab...

Tired of juggling multiple tools to track deadlines, assign tasks to team members, store documents…and everything else that comes with managing your projects? 🤔 Then this is for you! 👇 This week, we chat with Adam Loewentheil, who’s the founder of Aldoa — an all-in-on project management software specifically created for small- to mid-sized engineering firms, as well as engineers running their ow...

Imagine this: you earn an ABET-accredited degree, pass the FE, and work in engineering for 15 years…only to be told you can’t take the PE Exam because there are no PEs to sign off on your experience?! 😨 That’s exactly what an engineer shared with us on LinkedIn, and that’s the same problem many engineers face in industries where the PE isn’t as common as civil engineering. 😱 So, in this episode,...

Do you think those who pass their exam are simply smarter than everyone else (including you)? And if you’ve already failed one of these before, do you think you’re simply not “smart enough?” 🤔 Well, think again! There’s another variable that affects your exam results much more than “how smart” you are ever will — and it’s backed by a study that lasted 13 years! 😲 Now, want to know the most shock...

Did you know that only 16.7% of women with an engineering degree actually work in engineering?! 😨 That’s a reality Hannah Dunham faced firsthand — and she’s on a mission to change it. Hannah is a Chemical Engineer who started her career at a paper mill, where she wasn’t just the only woman in the room...but often the only woman in the entire factory. 😮 Navigating a male-dominated industry was no...

As civil engineers, we’re used to solving big, complex problems no one can solve…until we run into a simple life debate we can’t figure out. 👇 “Am I saving enough money…or way more than I need?” 🤔 That’s where Andy Cole, PE, comes in. 👇 Andy is a civil engineer turned financial advisor who helps engineers take control of their money — not with one-size-fits-all guidelines, but with strategies t...

Imagine failing the PE so many times that you decide your next attempt would be your last — pass or walk away. 😨 That was Yameli Herschelman’s reality…until one thing changed for her last try. Originally from Venezuela, she came to the US for her Master’s degree in Transportation and dreamed of becoming a PE. After struggling with other review courses for her first five attempts, she turned to Ci...

🚨 The Civil Engineering industry is facing a HUGE problem! ⚠️ Experienced engineers are retiring, there are not enough young engineers ready to step into leadership roles, and companies are struggling to fill in the gaps. 😨 Yep, it’s kinda bad (that’s the bad news), but there’s a simple fix to it (that’s the good news). In this episode, Mark jumps back on to talk about this problem based on his...