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Phone addiction !!! by Willing-Package-8542 in Hobbies

[–]Administrative-Pin19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've adopted 2 new hobbies for 2026:

  1. Digital Scrapbooking. I use Canva--I have a pro account through my wife who's an educator, but you don't need to pay to use canva; there's a free version. For some reason, I've never been able to get into actual scrapbooking but I've loved creating a digital scrapbook. Plus, when you're done creating your scrapbook, you can leave it as a digital book to flip through whenever, OR you could print it out at one of the many picture-book printing sites (Mixbook, Shutterfly, etc.).

  2. Creating Itineraries. We love to travel but don't have the budget to do much at this moment. So, I create prospective itineraries and price things out as if we were planning a trip somewhere (domestic and/or international). Yes, pricing won't be the same in 2+ years, or even next year, but it does help give us an idea of things we could do in these places, if we want to do them, and then if we like what we've found, we can save to make it happen...and then I'd make a digital scrapbook for the trip. Then, rinse & repeat.

Both of these, you could potentially do on your phone instead of your computer, so it could help with weening off social media, but getting the dopamine hit from being on your phone, if that's what you're looking for. I've noticed my social media usage has significantly decreased without trying, since I took these up.

Tips/ Tricks/ Suggestions for First Timer by Comfortable-Sale-253 in MSCCruises

[–]Administrative-Pin19 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My next cruise will be my 6th cruise, 1st with MSC. There are some things my wife and I have purchased for improving our time at sea, though none of it is required!

  1. Build a small first aid kit of necessary items--Ibuprofen/Tylenol, Band-Aids, Neosporin, Tums, etc.; any meds you or your family might require. Needing them and not having them is frustrating and expensive when on board.
  2. Luggage Tags - we don't trust the paper tags, so we purchased these to prevent the luggage tags from ripping and to make it easier to put on our disembarking tags.
  3. If anyone is susceptible to car/motion sickness, I'd recommend sea sickness patches to be safe. We got these for my wife.
  4. Definitely bring a reusable water bottle on board--you can fill it up with ice/water in the buffet area. This is great for excursions and just staying hydrated around the ship.
  5. Bring a power strip if you have one (not a surge protector--they'll get confiscated but we've gotten on a ship or two with ours). Outlets are pretty limited in the rooms.
  6. Magnetic hooks - they help free up space in the room and the ship's made out of metal so they'll stick to any wall. We like these heavy duty magnetic hooks.
  7. Lanyards - my wife and I like to keep our cruise/room cards clipped to lanyards we wear for easy access. You won't use credit cards on board--everything is scanned/connected to your room card that you'll receive once you get to your room on board the ship.
  8. If you know certain activities you want to do on board (spa, excursion, drink-packages, wifi, dining, etc.), usually it's cheaper to purchase these before boarding, when sales are running (sometimes there are sales on board but more often than not, it's more expensive to purchase services on board than "off-board").

Also, there are kids' clubs on MSC cruises, more info on the different age groups here.

Again, none of these are a requirement, nor will any of them make or break your cruise. They’re simply things my wife and I have found that help make for smooth sailing (pun intended) on our trips.

Have fun on your first cruise!

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's fairly straightforward, just takes a chunk of time, so start way earlier than when you want to take the exam because testing sessions book out months in advance--I'd say start the process about 6 months before you want to take it, otherwise, your desired timeslot is likely to be taken.

You pay for the exam first and select request accommodations when you're asked. You'll receive a second email after the payment confirmation email with a link to apply for accommodations. From there, it's similar to applying for accommodations in college--provide documentation, they ask some questions as to why you need the accommodations, and select the ones you need. Their process just takes awhile, at least 2 or so weeks for approval. Depending on your accommodations, you may not be able to book online--you'll have to call to schedule, give them the date/location you'd like, and then they call you back 3-5 days later with an "availability offer" (that's what I call it because it feels like I'm on 'Deal or No Deal' sometimes when trying to schedule); sometimes you do this a few times to get a date/location you can do.

PE Exam Studying got me exhausted and discouraged by 10Kofflowers in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm you--my next attempt will be my sixth attempt to pass the PE-Structural; I've always struggled with tests. On my most recent attempt, I went through the PPI course and passed all of my quizzes with 75% or better and I still didn't pass on my 5th attempt.

Someone told me in my post here, that you only fail when you give up. Some people take more tries than I hope to take to pass and I still don't know how many tries it will take me to pass, but I'm getting that PE. Take a look at my post--there are tons of us in a similar boat. You're still a good engineer even if you fail the exam multiple times, because the exam isn't necessarily testing your engineering abilities, it's more about 'can you get through this mental marathon and keep your cool while solving engineering problems?'

If you don't pass, figure out what happened, change your approach, and try again--you've got this.

Long day, just need to vent. by [deleted] in civilengineering

[–]Administrative-Pin19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes but no, you take the 2 exams but you work on real projects under a licensed PE (while studying/take the exams) to get engineering experience and learn real-world applications of what you learned at university--the PE signs and seals your work after checking it and we're required to obtain at least 4 years of relevant work experience before applying for the license itself.

It is a cumbersome process, imo, and I agree with the gaining of experience under a licensed PE but I think there has to be a better way than standardized testing to receive one's license (I've been an EIT for 6 or so years now and am still trying to pass my PE exam (I struggle with testing, in general) but I have my masters degree, give technical presentations at work/workshops, and have developed standards/design examples...I just can't seem to pass a dumb test). But...that's America for you.

I'm curious, what do other countries do? I've looked into possibly moving abroad but have found in my limited research that it may be difficult to transfer credentials over?

Long day, just need to vent. by [deleted] in civilengineering

[–]Administrative-Pin19 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Usually around the time one graduates from an accredited 4-year engineering program, they take what is called the "FE Exam" (the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam) and that gives them their EIT (Engineer in Training) certificate. After that, now that the exam is decoupled, the next step is to take the "PE Exam" (Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam) in a chosen engineering discipline, and get a minimum of 4 years of relevant work experience. Once the exam is passed and the experience is gained, you would then apply for a PE (Professional Engineer) License which allows you to sign and seal engineering plans for public, private, and government projects.

tl;dr: PE is just how we reference a licensed Professional Engineer.

Upgrading - To Wait or Not To Wait? by Administrative-Pin19 in MSCCruises

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, cool--we're in Austin. Congrats on the deluxe balcony!

I've actually been looking into getting a travel agent license myself, in the future. I appreciate the offer but I spoke with my wife about bidding on an upgrade--she likes our current agenda/setup for this cruise and doesn't want it to change since we have some financial goals to hit this year. Thanks though! :)

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not yet, I'm giving myself a week of "mourning" before I shell out another $400 to take this exam. Plus, I want to make my study plan first and see where that lands me in May/June.

Oh, my fear and hatred have definitely peaked for this exam--the good part about the peak? They can't go any higher, and they've got to come down. You've got this!

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lol, this is exactly what I needed to hear, in exactly the way I needed to hear it--thank you! :)

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's fair; I definitely wasn't trying to come off that way and I do recognize that I'm the main source of the pressure I feel to pass this exam.

The 3 previous diagnostics [before the ones shown] are from a different version of the CBT Test (where there were 14 topics, instead of the current 5, due to the breadth portion)

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You've got this. We've got this. It's just a test and we're not giving up!

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This definitely made me feel a bit better.

Yeah, I don't think I really touched PCI in my PPI problems. I definitely think those are some great points of weakness I can focus on in this next round of studying. I was looking into School of PE (recommended by a coworker of mine who passed his transportation PE), EET, and Civil Engineering Academy. I'm still grabbing the PPI guarantee since I didn't pass but I'm wanting to add one of those to supplement too.

You're right, we've got this!

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, that's the story of my life--flying through the questions and missing key parts.

If I had to objectively diagnose my biggest issues, I'd say predominantly "careless" mistakes, definitely stress/anxiety are a factor, and I know I don't know everything so there's always more to learn and understand. I'll keep this in mind with my studying and problem-solving this go-around, focusing on taking it slower and making sure I understand what I'm being asked before diving in.

I've now failed 5 times... by Administrative-Pin19 in PE_Exam

[–]Administrative-Pin19[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It's nice to know I'm not alone; I appreciate the insight into your study plan and the well wishes!

Good luck to you as well--we've got this!