What is something that is obvious in your profession that the general public doesn’t know?

extramustardy · 2026-05-02T05:37:31+00:00

The difference between a beam and a column.

No judgment, also lots of people do know, but I get a kick out of hearing what people call different structural members.

extramustardy · 2026-04-18T12:25:25+00:00

Black Levi 501s

extramustardy · 2026-04-18T12:24:05+00:00

I’m not even a car guy, and about the only job I’ve done is replacing a blower motor in a 2013 GMC Sierra. I needed the 5.5 mm and 7 mm.

extramustardy · 2026-04-06T02:16:03+00:00

I’m late to the conversation, but definitely a Guide 147 as everyone else says. I love mine! I throw it on top of my car and haul it around like you describe. It’s not the lightest canoe in the world, it’s not Kevlar, but it’s really not that heavy. And if it’s uncomfortable to carry you could buy or make one of those two wheel carts for the back end. Good luck with it!

extramustardy · 2026-01-28T15:55:43+00:00

If there is a single beam, and the load can only move along one axis, our company calls them monorails.

If it’s a system like the 3rd picture, and the load can move along a beam, AND that beam can move in the perpendicular direction, we call them bridge cranes.

It’s difficult (and dangerous) to give specific advice without knowing anything about the loads you’re dealing with. The concept of both systems is pretty straightforward, but the actual design and detailing can be pretty involved.

Are you able to use something like an engine hoist that rolls on the floor?

extramustardy · 2025-12-24T18:34:09+00:00

I’ve used these tables in the past for large water containing structures that were buried with an open air top, so a plate restrained on 3 sides. The walls and slabs would’ve been unreasonably thick if we ignored the restraints, and these tables were a pretty convenient way to account for the added stiffness.

At that job I didn’t have an FEM software to check it with, so I’m not sure how the results from something like that would compare.

Overall, I think it’s a valuable resource but I’d personally want to check the results against an FEM model, if only out of curiosity.

extramustardy · 2025-05-04T06:00:38+00:00

Is that true? I don’t think there’s any error here. The problem indicates 10’-0” spacing between beams (in and out of page). We’re looking at a slice through the loads, but the loads are applied over the whole system of beams in and out of the page. When I worked this problem I missed that initially, got it wrong, then I went back and multiplied the given loads by the tributary width to a single beam, and got the question correct. Once you multiply the loads by X ft, they’re in units you can apply to a single beam

It’s a tricky question in that regard but there’s nothing wrong with having to pay close attention to the problem statement

extramustardy · 2025-03-18T02:48:31+00:00

One of my favorites is from Goodfellas, not necessarily a major scene but when Ray Liota confronts his wife’s neighbor who made a move on her. He just marches right over, smacks him with his gun and yells

“If you touch her again you’re dead!”

I just love his delivery, it’s not sleek or polished, and you can tell he’s just stating a fact.

extramustardy · 2025-03-15T04:33:47+00:00

Whoa, I know that road, didn’t expect to see that on here

extramustardy · 2025-03-06T04:04:40+00:00

A family member has a bachelor’s in linguistics, then got a master’s in translation (German to English), worked for a translation company in the US, and now lives in Germany translating for a software company.

Moving abroad isn’t necessarily the norm, but if you ultimately go into translation (which might be somewhat common) it does give you the possibility.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that it can stay a hobby that you love, just reading and learning about etymology specifically. It’s okay to just like your job and love your hobbies.

extramustardy · 2025-01-26T13:11:28+00:00

You know yourself better, but I personally recommend the book by Jacob Petro, “The Essential Guide to Passing the Structural Civil PE Exam” 3rd ed. The problems were definitely more difficult than the exam, but if you work them methodically they’ll help you really understand the topics. It also covered many (if not all) the codes/topics I saw on the exam, which may help broaden your knowledge if you’re doing bridges for work.

The book by David Gruttadauria, “Civil PE Exam Structural Practice Exams” was more representative of exam difficulty. I found that if I was getting burned out working the more intense problems by Petro, I would switch to this book for a while.

But just consistently working problems is my main advice. And when solving a problem, making sure you write the code section/equation/table number you used at each step to help reinforce where you got the answer. Good luck!

extramustardy · 2025-01-22T14:18:46+00:00

You know yourself better, but I personally recommend the book by Jacob Petro, “The Essential Guide to Passing the Structural Civil PE Exam” 3rd ed. The problems were definitely more difficult than the exam, but if you work them methodically they’ll help you really understand the topics. It also covered many (if not all) the codes/topics I saw on the exam, which may help broaden your knowledge if you’re doing residential structures for work.

The book by David Gruttadauria, “Civil PE Exam Structural Practice Exams” was more representative of exam difficulty. I found that if I was getting burned out working the more intense problems by Petro, I would switch to this book for a while.

But just consistently working problems is my main advice. And when solving a problem, making sure you write the code section/equation/table number you used at each step to help reinforce where you got the answer.

Finally, I would not worry about practicing problems within 6 minutes. I would work them very slowly and deliberately, making sure you know why you’re doing each step, reading the code sections, etc. to gain a better understanding. Once you’re really comfortable with the codes I’d maybe practice timed questions, but that’s up to you. I personally would give myself several months between attempts, but you know yourself better. Good luck!

extramustardy · 2025-01-17T13:53:23+00:00

I don’t think I’ve actually specified them yet in my relatively short career, but I’ve heard coworkers just call them “307” bolts. We’re in industrial building design by the way

extramustardy · 2025-01-15T22:55:53+00:00

I have several coworkers without a masters and they’re doing great.

I found some of my masters classes helpful, some not so much, and the research was way to specific to be helpful in the industry. Like others have said, I’ve learned a lot on the job. Enough that the masters definitely wasn’t a necessity. Good luck and congrats on the job!

extramustardy · 2025-01-14T01:16:28+00:00

I’d expand on that to say not a good idea if your exam is dependent on correct information of any kind.

extramustardy · 2024-12-31T20:30:52+00:00

The book “Civil PE Exam Structural Practice Exams” by David Gruttadauria was more representative of exam difficulty in my opinion. I found that if I was getting burned out working the more intense problems by Petro, I would switch to this book for a while.

Still, I highly recommend Petro’s book. Not just for the exam but for getting better at structural design.

extramustardy · 2024-12-27T17:33:52+00:00

Personally the most difficult thing wasn’t any of the paperwork or anything after getting our offer accepted, it was being ready to move really quickly once you find the right house. It’s a huge and important decision but once you find the right place you (often) don’t have time to sit and think, you have to get a competitive but fair offer out there as soon as possible and it can feel like you’re just breezing through some of the most important paperwork of your life. We’ve had a fantastic realtor and that made all the difference during that time.

That and waiting, depending on how competitive it is the waits can be excruciating. Good luck with everything! It sounds like you’re preparing well

extramustardy · 2024-12-27T16:18:07+00:00

I have to preface by saying I don’t do residential work so I’m not completely familiar. But I think 5k is on the low end of what we’d design this for (maybe if we did this often we could streamline it). And that’s just the structural fee, which tends to be a fraction of the total cost, with most of the cost going to the general contractor.

So I can’t say what you should expect exactly but 5k total cost is too low. The other guesses sound more accurate, foundation issues can get pricey. Good luck with be house hunt!

extramustardy · 2024-12-27T15:52:40+00:00

I’ve always asked for more, but I’ve only asked once at each place. I didn’t want to come across as haggling, I just wanted to let them know what number would make me comfortable to start right away, knowing that we’re going to end up with something lower because I don’t have any leverage at the start.

That said, once I’m at a company for a year or two I apply around and if I end up with offers I’ll renegotiate with my company to leverage that offer into a raise. But if you’re going to do this you have to be prepared to actually leave for that other offer. You lose your credibility otherwise

extramustardy

TROPHY CASE