Chartered Engineer 2016

godtabh · 09-02-2018 10:59pm

mktsoi wrote: »

You are like 3 hours ahead of me. I had the video link interview at 1800 hours Dublin time because of the assessors could not carry out in the earlier time slot, so I ended up to have the interview at 0200 hours in am. I was struggling to be honest because I was trying to stay up to for the interview. For your case, if they give you a time slot for 1800 Dublin time. You will have the interview at 0500 am in Sydney. I thought about it. I only need to stay up few hours instead of spending a thousand euro to fly over. The video link saved me alot of money! I thought I did not get CEng right after the interview because the lead assessor kept asking difficult questions but to be honest. I think the questions from the assessor was fair because it was all related to my report. Like the other people mentioned previously in the post. The assessors are trying to help the candidate in the interview instead of trying to make it difficult for the candidate. So, if they let you proceed to the interview, make sure you know your report inside out and have an extra example other than what you already written in your report for each competence as a backup!!!!!!

If you meet the standard you meet the standard. There is no grading curve

James Ford · 21-03-2018 1:52pm

Hi all,

Just looking for a bit of advice here. I have twice submitted a chartership application. The first one was returned to me with comments on Competency Essays 1, 2 and 3, and the assessor advised that I could resubmit straight away at the next deadline. I did this, having consulted closely with my application supporters for advice, and resubmitted however my second application was rejected, with deficiencies in all competencies noted except for Competency 4, and I was advised to defer my application for 1-2 years.

The main thrust of the assessor’s issues with my applications are that I have worked primarily in Construction Management or as a Project/Contracts Manager since graduating. I have never worked in a Design environment, and at this stage am very unlikely to. I was aware of this at the outset as the whole Application is geared more towards engineers in a Design environment. I had a lot of general text in the essays in my first application, and was short on technical data or examples.

I felt my second attempt made up for the deficiencies in my first, however I received an even more damning assessment! Among the notes I received were that I had not demonstrated any actual engineering experience, creative problem solving or innovation, and that while I may be a very able project manager I need to experience the required competencies or demonstrate properly that I have done so.

My question is whether anybody else on here has had this difficulty with their application? I have no issues with the Educational Requirements as I graduated Civil Engineering, and also had enough CPD at the time of both applications. I have started the process of achieving PMP Certification and this may add weight to my application, but I’d be interested to hear from anybody else who also works in a Project/Contracts Management role and who got Chartered.

The last consideration I had was to change direction and apply for chartership with the CIOB instead. I’m not sure if anyone here is chartered with them and can advise on the differences or pro’s/cons, I’ve spoken to a few people in the industry but no one who can give me much definitive advice on this.

con1982 · 24-03-2018 1:16pm

Hello.

From reading your post, I feel you were a little unlucky with the assessors.

I was part of the chartership panel for a few years. The guidance for assessors leaves a lot of room for subjective interpretation. The same application could be approved by a different assessor, depending on their background and experience.

For people like yourself, who have mostly been involved in the construction/project management side of things, it can be a little trickier to get across the line. I haven't met an assessor who came from an on site background. Engineers Ireland should look at the diversity of their panels. The problem at the minute is finding volunteers.

Best of luck with your PMP certification. The Irish Chapter could really do with more construction project managers.

Bobjims · 14-04-2018 3:39am

Hi all,

Does anyone else have their chartered interview this coming week? I'm due to do mine and would love to get other engineer's thoughts on it, particularly from those who have been through the interview in the past.

For preparation, I've been going over my report and thinking of additional examples from my career to demonstrate each of the five competencies. I'm also trying to think of what kind of questions the assessors could ask.

With the 10 minute presentation, I'll be preparing a short PowerPoint slideshow to go through some of my projects and also discuss one project which I'm working on at the moment that isn't in my report.

I'm naturally pretty nervous about this, a bit like how you would feel in the run up to a job interview so any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers!

thebsharp · 17-04-2018 4:05pm

I did mine two years ago. It did feel a bit like a job interview beforehand but I found the interview itself to be very relaxed.

My presentation consisted of a portfolio of a number of schemes I have worked on. By portfolio I mean 4-5 photos/layouts bound together in A3 with a glossy cover. I spoke about various challenges I faced on each scheme. it seemed to go down very well. They subsequently used my evidence to query other aspects of the schemes which suited me perfectly.

Don't try bluffing anything - instead acknowledge you don't have the answer to hand, think of a comparative example and talk about that instead.

Best of luck with it.

Bobjims · 18-04-2018 12:41am

thebsharp wrote: »

I did mine two years ago. It did feel a bit like a job interview beforehand but I found the interview itself to be very relaxed.

My presentation consisted of a portfolio of a number of schemes I have worked on. By portfolio I mean 4-5 photos/layouts bound together in A3 with a glossy cover. I spoke about various challenges I faced on each scheme. it seemed to go down very well. They subsequently used my evidence to query other aspects of the schemes which suited me perfectly.

Don't try bluffing anything - instead acknowledge you don't have the answer to hand, think of a comparative example and talk about that instead.

Best of luck with it.

Thanks for the reply! I did it a few hours ago and I think it went ok. The assessors were very nice to speak to and parts of the interview felt much like a friendly conversation. They were genuinely very interested in my experience.

Lots of questions about environment, ethics and communications.

Still I'm not certain on whether I passed or not. All history now anyway and I'll just have to wait and see.

BlackEdelweiss · 18-04-2018 7:54am

I am in a similar situation but I qualified in 2012 with a Sydney accord degree. Too much going on to do a masters. All of my experience is in New Zealand, is there anything I should do before coming home or anything I should bring home with me?

Don Byrne wrote: »

I’m looking into it but would very much like to hear from folks applying via route b further learning I.e. received hons degree post 2013 and don’t intend getting a masters

godtabh · 26-04-2018 9:50pm

Bobjims wrote: »

Hi all,

Does anyone else have their chartered interview this coming week? I'm due to do mine and would love to get other engineer's thoughts on it, particularly from those who have been through the interview in the past.

For preparation, I've been going over my report and thinking of additional examples from my career to demonstrate each of the five competencies. I'm also trying to think of what kind of questions the assessors could ask.

With the 10 minute presentation, I'll be preparing a short PowerPoint slideshow to go through some of my projects and also discuss one project which I'm working on at the moment that isn't in my report.

I'm naturally pretty nervous about this, a bit like how you would feel in the run up to a job interview so any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers!

Prepare your opening 10 mins well. Give good examples but not the full story. If you have done it right it gives the panel something to question you on. I did it that way. Worked very well.

Bobjims · 27-04-2018 12:04am

godtabh wrote: »

Prepare your opening 10 mins well. Give good examples but not the full story. If you have done it right it gives the panel something to question you on. I did it that way. Worked very well.

Already got my result last week because the MQB was sitting the day after my interview. I was awarded the title so had a celebration at the weekend! Such a big relief!

That's pretty much what I did. I spent a lot of time getting my presentation right and preparing examples from my career which satisfy all of the competencies.

The interview was very relaxed and was more like a friendly conversation. It was just me demonstrating that what I said in my report was my actual experience.

engineerfear1 · 29-04-2018 9:59pm

Does anyone know when the remaining interviews are being held? I submitted my application in January and it was approved but I haven't heard anything since. I find it strange seeing as I know a lot of people who have had their interviews already and I haven't received any confirmation of a date.

PaddyCar · 09-05-2018 10:28pm

Can I ask anyone who has submitted there application how long it took to put it together?
Hoping to have it submitted by the June deadline but fear I am running out of time.

Bobjims · 09-05-2018 11:39pm

PaddyCar wrote: »

Can I ask anyone who has submitted there application how long it took to put it together?
Hoping to have it submitted by the June deadline but fear I am running out of time.

You've plenty of time to get it ready for the June deadline. How long it takes to write will vary from person to person.

I started mine in October and did a couple of hours a week on some evenings after work before submitting to my sponsors the week before Christmas.

If you put in a few full days on weekends you'll have no problem getting it done.

devs1978 · 24-05-2018 4:35pm

Hi everyone, some really useful information on this post! Has anyone had their interview yet following submission before the January 18 deadline. I'm due to have my interview in a few weeks. Any further advice from those of you have had a recent interview would be greatly appreciated. I had hoped to get my interview in Belfast but it seems that only Clyde Rd interviews are available now.

Bobjims · 26-05-2018 6:10am

devs1978 wrote: »

Hi everyone, some really useful information on this post! Has anyone had their interview yet following submission before the January 18 deadline. I'm due to have my interview in a few weeks. Any further advice from those of you have had a recent interview would be greatly appreciated. I had hoped to get my interview in Belfast but it seems that only Clyde Rd interviews are available now.

I had my interview last month and was successful in getting CEng. The best thing to do in preparation is to get very familiar with your application submission. You'll need to know as much as possible about the projects that you've written about. The assessors are not trying to catch you out. They just want to ensure that you've been honest in your application and have actually experienced what you've written about.

The assessors also need to be sure that you've demonstrated all of the competencies of a chartered engineer. Make sure you are very familiar with these competencies and have several examples for each to back it up.

Other than that, just try to relax during the interview. Mine was more like a friendly conversation; definitely didn't feel like a job interview. The assessors showed a lot of interest in one of my projects in particular so I had a good time chatting to them about that.

Best of luck with it!

devs1978 · 27-05-2018 8:07am

Thanks Bobjims for your help. 2 weeks to prepare now!

xchancellor · 07-08-2018 2:41pm

Anyone submit Phase 2 for June deadline?

Shedy · 07-08-2018 10:15pm

Hi,
Can Anyone tell me if there are any Civil based masters in Ireland part time accredited by Engineers Ireland. I am due to graduate in Ireland in 2019 from an accredited program and would like to pursue chartership. I would like to do my masters part time however any part time program. However, I have seen are not EI accredited. They say you can make up the learning outcomes with further learning but what extra will I have to do if I pick an unaccredited masters. Any advice would be appreciated

Alkers · 07-08-2018 10:28pm

As far as I'm aware if you have an accredited level 8 you don't need an accredited masters, any masters will do?

selephonic · 14-08-2018 10:18pm

Simona1986 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware if you have an accredited level 8 you don't need an accredited masters, any masters will do?

No, you still need an accredited masters to fulfil the automatic phase 1 requirement.

There is an accredited part time construction project management masters in Waterford IT.

ddubs · 16-08-2018 11:03am

Has anyone been called to interview for the June deadline yet? How long does it typically take?

xchancellor · 16-08-2018 11:31am

Just got my report acceptance email this morning. No call for interview yet...'Interview rounds within a 6-month period'. From chatting to others in the office I reckon October/November for Phase 2 interviews.

cherrytaz · 24-02-2019 11:30am

cherrytaz wrote: »

I'm in the same boat. I just found out that I also did not pass the interview. I'm extremely disappointed and trying to fathom where it went wrong. I felt the interview went well and similar to yourself feel like I have worked extremely hard since graduating and demonstrated progress throughout that meets and exceeds the competencies. I will await feedback but it is very demoralizing.

Hey all,

Just a quick update on this, I just received notification that I achieved Chartered status. I re-applied 18 months after the above initial rejection. So for anyone in the same boat, don't get too down about it, use the recommended time to hone in on your skills and re-apply. Great feeling to finally get it

:D

24-02-2019 11:52am

cherrytaz wrote: »

Hey all,

Just a quick update on this, I just received notification that I achieved Chartered status. I re-applied 18 months after the above initial rejection. So for anyone in the same boat, don't get too down about it, use the recommended time to hone in on your skills and re-apply. Great feeling to finally get it :D

Congrats! Same happened to me.

godtabh · 12-03-2019 8:15pm

Has there been a slow down in applications? Grads from 4 years ago could probably be counted on one hand!

poteen · 28-04-2019 10:46am

Im for interview this week. Just wondering how technical the interview gets. Will they ask for some specifics on figures, calcs etc.

Also, for the competencies, how do you approach it. Do you very pointedly say this us how i have achieved competency for this and this is how for that etc or is it the interviewer that leads it?

Also what do you say for your opening statement?

28-04-2019 2:43pm

poteen wrote: »

Im for interview this week. Just wondering how technical the interview gets. Will they ask for some specifics on figures, calcs etc.

Also, for the competencies, how do you approach it. Do you very pointedly say this us how i have achieved competency for this and this is how for that etc or is it the interviewer that leads it?

Also what do you say for your opening statement?

For my opening statement, I had brought in a folder and I included an update on work I had done since I submitted the report, with particular focus on the competencies for all my experience. Plan your statement accordingly I would say.

I don't remember the interview being technical. My report had stated sections which covered each competency, so I mentioned my experience around the competencies instead of saying you had completed competency 1.2 here. But whatever works!

Best of luck. Read back through your report and endure you know it, and how you've met the competencies in your submission.

bmacsuibhne · 22-01-2020 11:08am

I have a couple of question of the Competencies. I am an structural engineer with all of my experience in the USA and I am trying to fill out the Chartered Application. How close did you get to the 500 word limit in each of the competencies? Also how different is Competency 1 and 2? I feel that some of the Guidance examples are very similar.

madmac187 · 01-05-2020 5:16pm

Hi all, the firm I work for are covering my IEI membership. I havent been a member since 2014 so here I am. Anyway, once they pay for it Im thinking of trying to go for chartership. I was planning on doing another masters, but think it would be better served to get chartered if I am to try to get a job council job. (Not getting any younger). So what is the process to all of this. I have been abroad working in Australia, Papa New Guinea, UK and home, so I have been around and have approx 11 years experience. I know I have to be a member for 3 months, but I was a member prior to 2014 for a long time so Im hoping that will cover it. I have a fair bit of CPD done on my own bat also. In relation to the chartered supporting members, do I look for them or are they assigned to me?

Billiam5099 · 04-06-2020 4:33pm

Has anyone been through the remote chartership interview process in the last few weeks in these socially distanced times? Were there any particular difficulties with the medium which I should be aware of?

Going for my first chartership interview next week, wish me luck!

xchancellor · 05-06-2020 2:18pm

I have just been through the online process for my 2nd attempt at Phase 2.

I found it quite seemless and the tech worked well though I'm very used to remote working, screen sharing etc. There was some issues with connection dropping in and out on the reviewers end but didn't really put me off tbh.

Compared to the face to face interview it was like night and day, however my first experience was not a good one so the bar was set very low. So I don't see this format as a dis-advantage at all.

Best advice i can give, although easier said than done, is to relax and take it in your stride and be confident.

Billiam5099 · 06-06-2020 8:58am

Thanks for the reply xchancellor. Have you received a result yet?

I'm reasonably experienced at remote working & presenting so hopefully that aspect won't be too challenging.

In terms of interview content, to what extent were the questions technical? Were you quizzed on engineering theory, or was it more to do with how you handled your projects?

xchancellor · 08-06-2020 8:37am

Haven't received result yet.

I would say it depends very much on your reviewers to be honest. But would suggest they are more general questions on projects/situations and how you dealt/managed them. Also report content feeds in to this e.g. is your report technical/managerial etc

Probably also depends on your discipline. Have a general response about sustainability/environment and also health & safety.

If you are good at this type of thing (which I am not) you can probably react to questions and lead them in your own direction to get across a certain bit of experience you want to highlight. If you are talking they aren't asking/having to think up awkward questions!

Billiam5099 · 15-06-2020 10:44am

Had my interview last Tuesday. The video conference aspect of it wasn't any sort of hindrance at all. The team was very friendly and polite. The questions were not delving into the intricacies of calculations, but more on what xchancellor said: how you dealt with situations. How did you design H&S into X project? What lead you to Y decision? And why were you confident that that would work? Are you confident that it will go smoothly? Why? How have you planned, budgeted, lead, managed? Lots of detail on leadership and how you develop your team. Asking how I innovated with particular roles. My experience doesn't include being the manager for large teams but more leading one or two, so I had to develop how I show leadership in bringing design/contractor teams around to new concepts or technologies that may be new or unfamiliar to them.

In general, you're pushed until you hit your limit, before they would move on. Don't BS, be honest. Develop for them experience that's comparable if you haven't an exact match of an answer for them.

The membership board are set to meet mid this week (17/6/20 I think), and results will be issued in 3-4 working days thereafter.

Haulie86 · 31-10-2020 6:19pm

I am thinking about starting my chartership but I have been based in construction (site engineering) and not design or consultancy. Is it possible for me still to get chartered?

Bobjims · 01-11-2020 4:12am

Haulie86 wrote: »

I am thinking about starting my chartership but I have been based in construction (site engineering) and not design or consultancy. Is it possible for me still to get chartered?

Yes, absolutely possible. It's not nessessary to have been in design or consultancy to achieve chartership.

roadmaster · 19-01-2021 8:31pm

Sorry for going slightly of topic but with brexit is Chartership with the CIOB & CABE still recognised in Ireland/EU

Outkast_IRE · 27-01-2021 11:56am

roadmaster wrote: »

Sorry for going slightly of topic but with brexit is Chartership with the CIOB & CABE still recognised in Ireland/EU

Highly likely they are , but most have released a press release on their website to confirm it, if not check in with their membership team.

I am hoping to go for CIBSE chartership later this year and their agreement stands for mutual recognition.

godtabh · 26-02-2021 11:01pm

Any one signed up to be an assessor?

poteen · 26-02-2021 11:43pm

godtabh wrote: »

Any one signed up to be an assessor?

Do you sign up or do you have to be asked ?

shesty · 08-03-2021 12:42pm

You sign up, or offer your services if needed, as far as I know.
Haven't done it myself, but a family member has and a couple of colleagues.

godtabh · 14-03-2021 11:13pm

poteen wrote: »

Do you sign up or do you have to be asked ?

A mass email went recently. I did the webinar about it. Got an email asking for volunteeers for an upcoming session but as I haven’t had any training etc I declined. Was hoping to get a bit more info before doing the first one.

Van Doozy · 22-03-2021 1:32pm

I was awarded CEng by Engineers Ireland recently. I found this thread quite helpful as I was doing my application. I too had heard that if you make it to the interview stage, you are sorted, but having read through this thread, I saw that this is not necessarily the case! So that definitely made me work that little bit harder to give myself the best shot of achieving CEng first go. The thoughts of having to do that all again!!

There's loads of good advice in the thread - here's my tuppence worth for anyone interested:

1. Start on your application early and give yourself loads of time to refine it. I started at the previous deadline (January), for submission by the following one (July). This gives an hour or so a week for you to work on your application, which you will need if you want to do it properly and not have a last minute rush.

2. All the information you need is in the regulations and the guidance notes so I would strongly advise you read them carefully and align your application with them, in order to work most efficiently and clearly show how you meet each of the five competencies.

3. CPD is important for any engineer, but especially CEng. Have yours fully up to date on the website and be familiar with what you wrote. They asked me about mine, which I wasn't expecting. Everything in it was true and accurate and I luckily knew the answers off the top of my head as I had recently compiled it for 2020 so I wasnt caught out by it.

4. I know everyone says this but it's true: Be very very familiar with your written application. It's their template for the interview.

The interview is grand. Mine was like a polite, formal conversation. My suggestions for this:

1. In advance, go through your written application and "ask yourself" to elaborate on every claim you have made about how you meet a competence. Can you comfortably do this from memory? Practice talking about them aloud.
2. I did mine on zoom and I had the guidance notes open in a folder beside me. I had hand-written some examples on the guidance notes to prompt me if I was asked about a particular competence. That worked really well, for me.
3. Your interviewers are volunteers, be sure and thank them for their time at the end.

gucci · 28-06-2021 8:46pm

Bit of a johnny come lately to this thread, but I have just submitted my CEng Application to IMechE (I am based in UK)
I went via the Continuous Learning Assessment route, to detail my learnings as my Mechanical Engineering Degree is a Level 7. Its quite a long process, but I do feel its been quite a beneficial one so far. I should have an interview in Aug/September and fingers crossed that will be a success.

gucci · 30-11-2021 12:32pm

Update: IM IN THE CLUB 😀

Interview was in November, I found it a bit trickier than I expected. I dont think they questioned me too hard, I think I just expected to be eased into the questioning rather than:

The first question went real deep on stress calcs and challenging why I chose to work from first principles and my selection of methodology, rather than design to a code (Pressure vessel design)

Anyway I recovered after a bit of steady breathing and sips of water and I guess I must have explained my reasoning well enough to satisfy them I wasnt a complete spoofer!

I did find the process for applying through Continous Learning Assessment quite a chore at times, but there was great support from IMechE in the form of online tutorials/events to discuss the procedures and really focus your application. In the end it was quite nice to have a body of work written up to show some of the best work I have done in my career and it does feel like a worthwhile endevour. I also changed job in the middle of my application, so it was great to have everything very fresh in my mind, I felt alot more interview ready than if I hadnt had spent a few months working on my application.

30-11-2021 3:14pm

Congrats!!

08-12-2021 2:29pm

I was a paid up member of Engineers Ireland for well over a decade and had always planned to get chartered with them. However, I found that there was little benefit to being a member, any courses of interest that they ran were massively over priced with poor discounts for members. I became disillusioned and left even though my employer (large consultancy) paid the subscription each year.

Having attended a number of excellent IET CPD events in Dublin pre-covid I decided to go through the CEng process with them instead. I have been working as a lead E & I engineer for a number of years and decided that the IET were far more relevant to my discipline. For example, the IET produce a number of important standards including the 18the Edition BS7671 (UK wiring regulations). This post is not intended as a "dig" at anyone that is chartered with EI or EI itself, just my own view.

Anyway, I started the process last January and am very relieved to say that I received an email today stating "Further to your application for CEng Professional Registration, the final decision has been received and we are pleased to advise you that your application has been successful."

Delighted 😀

Facthunt · 05-05-2022 11:44am

Has anyone had their interview yet?

Chartered Engineer 2016

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