I'd like to ask for some career guidance.
Let me give you a little background. I'm going to be graduating next year with an AE degree. I have primarily focused on the structural side, but I have taken the majority of the electives required for focus in electrical/lighting design, as well. By time I'm finished, I will have most of the building enclosure/MEP courses as well. I'm intending to follow up with an M.S. in Architectural Engineering as well, and as all of these electives are 400 level courses I can apply up to 12 credit hours towards the masters. I made sure to confirm with my advisor, the programs grad advisor, and department head that the courses I'm taking now will count towards that master's later.
The problem is I still don't actually know how I can apply these things in practice. I have been working for the past year, part-time, but primarily on the construction management side of things. We do almost no design work, and nobody there really has any experience with this program. Additionally, the professors with an actual background in AE, as opposed to CE, are pure academics without PEs. So, I have a hard time getting concrete answers from them.
Is it possible to find work where I will be able practice in more than one area? In my limited experience, I have seen many drawings where all of the MEP is done by the same group, but almost always the S sheets are from someone else.
If I do find a place where I can practice, will I actually be able to stamp different sheets? I suspect at a minimum I would need the PE Architectural, followed up by the SE later.
Am I setting myself up for failure by not focusing on one area? I am a strong student, and am comfortable academically with all of the aspects of the building that I've been studying. When I finish I will have the same courses as someone with my degree going into MEP, Electrical, or Structural, but I know that is just the smallest fraction of the competency required for practice.
Finally, if I do end up focusing what purpose would taking the PE Architectural serve rather than taking the structural, one of the mechanical, or one of the electrical exams?
Thanks for reading this block of text. I have yet to come across an architectural engineer in person, but I'm guessing there are quite a few people here with some good insight.