Skip to content
Civil Engineering Academy
  • About
    • About Us
    • CEA Partners
    • Join Our Newsletter
    • Contact
  • Practice Exams
    • FE Civil Exam
    • PE Civil Exam
    • Certified Floodplain Manager Exam
    • PE Environmental Exam
    • Exams Errata
  • Review Courses
    • Civil FE Review Course
    • Civil PE Review Courses
    • Floodplain Manager Review Course
    • CA Seismic Review Course
    • CA Survey Review Course
    • SE Review Course
  • Resources
    • The CEA Podcast
    • CEA Blog
    • CEA Quick Tip Videos
    • Approved Calculators
    • Civil FE Resources
    • Civil PE Resources
      • Construction
      • Geotechnical
      • Structural
      • Transportation
      • Water Resources
    • CA Seismic Resources
    • FE and PE Study Groups
    • PE Stamp & CEU’s
  • Practice Problems
    • Civil FE
    • Civil PE Construction
    • Civil PE Structural
    • Civil PE Transportation
    • Civil PE Geotechnical
    • Civil PE Water Resources
    • Floodplain Manager Exam
Menu

Blog

CEA 218 - Acing the Civil PE as a Mechanical Engineer Using CEA with Esteban Valderrama | Civil Engineering Academy

Posted in Blog, Podcast

CEA 218 – Acing the Civil PE as a Mechanical Engineer Using CEA with Esteban Valderrama

 

 

Video

Introduction

From a Mechanical Engineer in Colombia to a graduate student in the US to unemployed driving Uber with two kids…all the way to passing the PE Civil Structural Exam! 😲 Impressed? Well, this is the exact life journey of Esteban Valderrama, our guest for this week’s episode.

 

He got his PE on his third try, and this journey can teach you a lot if you find yourself either taking the Structural PE Exam or considering taking the Civil PE as a mechanical engineer with very little background education on civil engineering topics.

 

Tune in to Learn:

  • How his structural background in mechanical engineering led him to civil engineering
  • How he went from unemployed and driving Uber to passing the Civil PE Structural Exam
  • What he does today in the 5G telecommunications industry
  • How the PE license gave him and his opinion more weight in the workplace
  • His top tip for other mechanicals who may be thinking of going for the PE Civil Exam
  • What made The Ultimate Civil PE Review Course stand out from the other prep courses
  • What motivated him to keep at it after failing the PE three times…and how you can, too
  • What his weekly study calendar looked like balancing work, family, and exam prep
  • A study trick he used to get familiar with every chapter of the codes and standards
  • Two topics that caught him (extremely) off guard on the exam
  • How many Alternative Item-type questions were on his exam
  • Does he recommend The Ultimate Civil PE Review Course?

 

Our Partner:

Audible

 

Freebie:

CEA Newsletter

 

Resources Mentioned:

The Ultimate Civil PE Review Course

PE CBT Exam Simulator

PE Breadth Practice Exams
PE Depth Practice Exams
RISA 3D

SAP 200

University of Texas at San antonio

 

Connect With Esteban:

LinkedIn

 

Our Exam Prep Resources:

Main Website

Civil FE Review Course

Civil PE Review Course

Civil PE Depth Review Courses

Floodplain Manager Review Course

CA Seismic and Survey Courses (Waiting List)

FE Practice Exams

FE CBT Exam Simulator

PE Breadth Practice Exams

PE Depth Practice Exams

PE CBT Exam Simulator

 

Connect With Us:

Free CEA Community

Free Newsletter

YouTube Channel

Instagram

LinkedIn

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

Transcript of Show You can get our transcript of the show below! 👇

 

Other Great Content

CEA 196 – Going for Your PhD in Water Resources with Riley Post

CEA 195 – Crushing the Transportation Depth Exam with Wade Broussard

CEA 194 – Crushing It as a Solopreneur Structural Engineer with Scott Wible

Helpful links:

Civil FE Review Course: civilfereviewcourse.com, a complete FE review course to help you
Civil FE Exams: Click HERE to find our FE exams

keep up with us

@theceacademy
Ready to crush your FE or PE this year? Ready to crush your FE or PE this year?
Want to build stronger relationships—at work and a Want to build stronger relationships—at work and at home?

Try the power of the 3 C’s:
✔️ Congratulate
✔️ Compliment
✔️ Console

It’s simple, but it sticks. Whether you're leading a team, working with clients, or just being a better human—these three habits go a long way.

Master this, and you'll naturally become a better coworker, leader, friend, and entrepreneur.

Relationships drive results. Start with the 3 C’s.
From the Stage to the Exam Room: What James and th From the Stage to the Exam Room: What James and the Giant Peach Taught Me About the FE and PE

Today, I got to watch my daughter shine in her school play (OK it was just a practice), James and the Giant Peach. She crushed it (yes, I'm a proud dad), and while I was there, something clicked.

Every performance like this takes weeks of rehearsal, repetition, and nerves. It's all about showing up, putting in the work, and eventually stepping out under the lights, even if you're not 100% sure how it'll go.

Kind of like preparing for the FE or PE exam, right?

You don’t pass these exams by luck. You pass them by practicing the problems, knowing your lines (aka the equations), and having the guts to show up and give it your best—even when the nerves hit.

So whether you're studying late nights or heading into your first attempt (or third!), remember this: progress takes practice—and you’re not alone in the performance.

Break a leg.

#FEExam #PEExam #DadLife
Ever thought of building buildings overseas for th Ever thought of building buildings overseas for the US Government? 🤔 That’s one route you can take as a civil engineer as well! Here’s John Pitts, P.E., PMP, on what it’s like to do exactly that!
  • ABOUT
  • COURSES
  • PRACTICE EXAMS
  • PODCAST
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • VIDEOS
  • CONTACT
Civil Engineering Academy

Stay connected with CEA and crush your exam and career goals

    Civil Engineering Academy
    • Twitter
    • linkedin
    • Insta
    • youtube
    • FB
    © 2026 CEA all rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | want a website like mine? check out Brandup
    Manage Consent
    To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
    Functional Always active
    The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
    Preferences
    The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
    Statistics
    The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
    Marketing
    The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
    • Manage options
    • Manage services
    • Manage {vendor_count} vendors
    • Read more about these purposes
    View preferences
    • {title}
    • {title}
    • {title}