Thursday, October 8, 2009

Unlicensed for Another Year

Our New Year's resolution for 2009 was to not waste a single weekend. We went to museums, volunteer events, zoos, concerts and street fairs to satisfy the requirement. It was wonderful, and we had a lot of fun on our mandatory dates.

And then we got engaged. Suddenly, there's no money for concerts, no time to use our zoo or museum memberships. Planning has come and it has come to stay. That business class at the community college we signed up for before? We're already 2 or 3 weeks behind in reading the material. Add to that nine hours of work, finding time to exercise, Bible study, and eat? The carefree life we enjoyed before will be put on hold for the next year. And the horrible thing is - I'm positively sure that I have a lighter load compared to most brides-to-be out there!

There is one thing I've shelved, however, that feels worse than all others.

The P.E.

(Click image for source)


After two years of career work and a pass on the F.E., California engineers can apply to take the Professional Engineer licensing exam. This would be similar exams lawyers or doctors take to get their professional certification. It's an 8 hour test with a 30% pass rate, held only twice a year.

Now, I'm lucky in the sense that my company does not require me to be a certified P.E. to work. But it's one of those career goals that I have, and would definitely open up more opportunities for advancement if I was licensed. I'm eligible to take the test now, either next Spring or Fall, but...I'm not going to take it.

This is a hard decision for me, since I'm effectively saying that one day of getting married is more important than being a licensed professional in my field of study. And the further things are delayed after college, the harder it becomes to remember everything! But honestly, I just don't think I can handle the studying on top of everything else that's going on.

So I'm going to wait until Spring 2011. By then I'll be married and bored again, so I'll have both the time to study, and the peace of mind to not be distracted by glittery wedding details (I hope!).

Are you shelving any dreams or goals in lieu of your wedding? Or for those that have already "been there, done that", was it the right thing to do?

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