ASCE Metropolitan Section

Younger Members Help Paint Murals at Brooklyn High School

On Saturday, October 13th, a group of eleven younger members from the ASCE Met Section helped out at New York Cares Fall Day. The event was organized by New York Cares, a volunteer organization. It is one of their largest annual events to help revitalize public schools in New York City. Thousands of volunteers help out each year at schools throughout the city. The YMF group helped paint three murals at the Brooklyn International High School. It was great to be involved with such a huge effort across the city.

Building off of the success of the Civil Professional Engineering (PE) Exam information session held during the Spring of 2012, the Met Section Younger Member Forum (YMF) hosted its second information session for engineers who are registered for or plan on taking the PE Exam in the near future. The YMF assembled a panel of engineers who recently passed the Civil PE Exam to share their personal experiences and participate in an interactive Question and Answer session with prospective exam takers.

The information session took place at Parsons Brinckerhoff's New York office on Wednesday August 1, 2012. The panel was made up of five licensed Professional Engineers from various engineering firms in New York Metropolitan Area. Each panelist specialized in one of the five afternoon disciplines (geotechnical, transportation, structural, water resources/environmental, and construction). Since each afternoon discipline was taken by one of the panelists, attendees were able to ask questions and get perspectives on the specific exam they were preparing for. The event was attended by engineers from both the private and public sectors. Feedback from the attendees was all very positive, as they received a lot of valuable information on preparing for an taking the Civil PE Exam.

When choosing a company to work for, most young engineers spend a lot of time considering which firm is "right" for them. Everyone wants to make the "right" decisions to advance their careers, and one of the largest issues young engineers consider is whether it is better to work for a large or small firm. In order to provide further insight into this question, the Met Section's Younger Member Forum (YMF) chose "Engineering Firms: Does Size Matter?" as the topic for the Eleventh Annual CEO Forum, which was held at Columbia University in Manhattan on March 6, 2012.

Peter Mancuso and Anahid Andonian meet with Representative Robert Turner (center).

By: Peter S. Mancuso, P.E.

The prospect of attending ASCE's Annual Legislative Fly-In had been on my mind for quite a while. The conference always sounded a bit too involved in politics for my liking. Lessons in civics were never my strong suit. However, my interest in the policies that shape both my personal life and professional career has increased in recent years. As times have gotten harder for those close to my position, I began to question why more wasn't being done to insure that this country's talented engineering force was being put to work for a better tomorrow.

On Tuesday, February 21, 2012, the Met Section Younger Member Forum hosted its first-ever information session for engineers registered for or thinking about taking the PE Exam. The YMF assembled a panel of engineers who recently passed the Civil PE Exam to share their personal experiences and participate in an open Q&A session with prospective exam takers. The attendees learned valuable study tips and test taking strategies. They also received a lot of practical information such as how to get to the testing location and what to bring with them.

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