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Assalam-o-alaikum! In the USA, no one can start working as an engineer, just by graduating from an accredited engineering university in civil (or some other) engineering discipline. Rather, each engineer has to pass a comprehensive examination, called Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam, before he/she is eligible for joining some government or private consulting organizations as Engineering Intern (EI) or Engineer-in-Training (EIT), for gaining relevant professional experience to work as independent engineer later on. This exam covers and reviews all the basic subjects, a freshly graduated engineer is expected to have studied in the university during the engineering education. The FE exam is a closed book exam, except that 'FE Reference handbook' (a standard booklet, developed by NCEES_ the exam developing and conducting organization), is the only source material the examinees may consult during the exam. FE reference handbook gives a very good overview of the type and extent of basic technical knowledge (subjects, tables, formulas, equations etc) and concepts, a fresh graduate engineer (whether civil/structural, or any other) must have, to enter into practical engineering field in a technologically advanced country, like USA. The study of 'Civil engineering' portion of this handbook and relevant 'exam specification' at the end, may help us understand level of engineering knowledge we should have, as well as the subject areas requiring improvement of knowledge and strengthening of concepts, in order to make us better engineers. FE Reference Handbook may be downloaded from NCEES website,using following link, free of cost. : http://ncees.org/exams/study-materials/download-fe-supplied-reference-handbook/ Note: You will have to enter your email address in the space provided on the above webpage, and to press 'Submit email' button. The site will send you a password on your given email address. You need to provide this password (on the above webpage) in order to obtain/unlock download link of the FE handbook. Regards.

Assalam-o-alaikum! start of professional career as an engineer, in the USA, is not a simple and easy process. Although actual requirements may vary somewhat from state to state, but generally a four-step process has to be followed for obtaining license to work as an independent professional engineer. (See the thread: http://www.sepakistan.com/topic/1610-benefits-of-getting-pe- licence/#entry3958, for learning the benefits of having a PE license.) Step 1: Graduating from an accredited engineering program (e.g., B.E./B.S./M.S in Civil Engineering,...) Step 2: Passing 'Fundamentals of Engineering' (FE) exam (Details available at: http://ncees.org/exams/fe-exam/) and to become eligible for being classified as an intern, also known as Engineering Intern (EI) or Engineer-in-Training (EIT). Step 3: Obtaining required length of work experience relevant to chosen engineering discipline, after passing the FE exam. In many cases, the experience period is to be supervised by a licensed engineer, depending upon specific requirements of concerned State Licensing Board. Step 4: Passing 'Principles and Practice of Engineering' (PE) exam. Once an engineer has successfully completed the first three steps of this process, he/she may take the second exam in the licensing - the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam. The PE exam tests the ability of an engineer to practice competently in a particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained at least four years’ post-college work experience in their chosen engineering discipline. Each PE exam has a total duration of 8 hours, and is split into a morning and an afternoon session. PE exam specifications and design standards, applicable for the forthcoming exam are posted on NCEES web site, 6 months before the exam date. Updates for April exams are posted in November, and updates for October exams are posted in May. The specifications and details of design standards for PE Exams 2015, related to five (5) Civil Engineering disciplines, are available at following links: Civil - Construction (https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-Con-April-2015_Combined.pdf) Civil - Geotechnical (https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-Geo-April-2015_Combined2.pdf) Civil - Structural (https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-Str-April-2015_Combined2.pdf) Civil - Transportation (https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-Tran-April-2015_Combined.pdf) Civil - Water Resources and Environmental (https://cdn.ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Civ-WRE-April-2015_Combined.pdf) The PE exam is an open-book exam. The examinees are allowed to bring reference materials to the exam, provided they are bound and remain bound during the exam. Further details regarding PE exam can be found at: http://ncees.org/exams/pe-exam/ The design codes and manuals referred in these documents, are the ones to be followed all across the US, for the structural design of all kind of engineered structures. As such, these are the most important references, a civil or structural engineer (working in a jurisdiction, where US design codes are the basis of engineering design) will need to know, learn, and follow in his/her engineering design practice. Hopefully, this information will not only be beneficial for those, interested in taking the PE exam in near future, but would also help us improve our knowledge and understanding of code requirements regarding design and construction of various kind of civil engineering works. This, in turn, will make our structures safer as well as more code-compliant. Regards.