Derek Pham, PE, SE, Author at The Structural Guy

ADU Laws in California: What You Need to Know

To help solve its housing crisis, California has recently made changes to its state laws to make it easier and cheaper to build ADUs. The new laws are numerous and confusing, so in this post I will summarize them in a chronological fashion so you can see all the important changes in one post. For each new law I will provide you with the official law link and a brief summary of what the important changes are. I will also have some commentaries (in italic) regarding the laws that were effective in 2017 and how they helped me build my ADU. Keep in mind that recent laws have made it even easier and cheaper now to build an ADU then when I built mine!

Should You Take the SE Vertical or SE Lateral Exam First?

So you are thinking about taking the SE exam in two separate sittings, but you are not sure which exam to take first: Lateral or Vertical. I think the answer to your dilemma is that you take the exam that you have a better shot at passing first because you want to build momentum and confidence before taking the more difficult exam for you. So how do you know which of the two exams you have a better shot at passing if you never took the test before? This post will explain how you can assess your chances of passing and pick the right exam for you to take first.

The Best Reference to Learn/Review Wood Design for PE or SE Exam (Only 48 Pages Long!)

Wood is one of 4 main structural materials that you are required to know for the SE exam or the structural depth portion of the PE exam. However, I was surprised to learn recently that some of my co-workers never even took a wood design class in college. For me, I did take a wood design class in college and studied the textbook Design of Wood Structures by Donald Breyer. It was an excellent and comprehensive textbook that pretty much can teach you everything you need to to know about wood design, but it was also over 800 pages long! If you are instead looking for a fast way to learn wood design or just simply refresh your memory of wood design for PE/SE exam, I have a perfect reference for you. It is only 48 pages long but it includes all of the equations, adjustment factors, and design examples that you need to know for the PE/SE exam. Bring this reference to the PE/SE exam and you will be golden for wood design!

3 Useful Test Taking Strategies for the PE and SE Exams

There are many general test taking strategies out there that you probably already know. For this post I want to focus on 3 test taking strategies that specifically apply to the PE and SE exams. Putting these 3 strategies on the actual exam can greatly increase your chance of passing!

Permitting for the ADU: Painful but Necessary

Believe it or not, the most time consuming part of this whole ADU journey was not the construction, but rather getting through the permitting process with the county (I live in an unincorporated area so I had to deal with a county instead of a city). Even though the whole permitting process was not particularly pleasant, I’m glad I went through it and will go over the reasons why later in this post. To be fair, the whole permitting process was painful and confusing for me mainly because I wasn’t familiar with the whole process and didn’t know what to expect. Hopefully this post will help you navigate the ADU permitting process a little bit better than I did.

I’m Building an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in My Backyard!

Do you want to put your engineering skill sets to work outside of your regular 8 to 5 engineering job? No, I’m not talking about getting another job, but rather using your engineering know how to do some construction on your property to increase your property values and cash flow. I’m currently building an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU or commonly known as in-law unit) in my backyard and I will be documenting my journey on this blog from permitting all the way to end of construction so you can learn from my experience and apply it to your current or future property.

Civil PE Exam Review Course for October Exam

I will be teaching the review classes for the structural portion of the Civil PE exam in October for PPI! Classes for the entire course start on July 28th so if you are interested, click here to sign up for the class.

Even if you are not taking this particular review class, I highly suggest you look into taking a review class because it’s a great way to reinforce what you already know and a short cut for you to learn about materials that could be on the exam.

4 Necessary Components of a Study Plan for FE/EIT, PE, and SE exam

Studying means something different to everyone. The amount of studying you need to do depends on your level of knowledge of the subject and how much information you can retain each time you study. In this post I will provide 4 minimum studying activities you need to do for an engineering licensing exam (whether it’s FE, PE, SE, or another exam) to give you a good shot at passing. It’s up to you to calibrate this guideline to your specific needs and level of knowledge.

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When Should You Take the FE/EIT, PE, SE Exam and When Should You Start Studying?

So you decided to take the plunge and get on a path to get your professional engineering license, but you are not sure when you should take the engineering exam or when to seriously start studying for it. In this post I will give you some guidance regarding these two dilemmas so you can make sure that you are on the right track.

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Why YOU Need an Engineering License and How to Get the Process Rolling

If you are thinking about getting a PE (professional engineering) license, then you are reading the right article! I’m going to tell you 3 good reasons why you should get your professional engineering license and 5 easy steps to get the process started.

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