Anyone LEED Certified?

When I was at my internship at a big General Contracting company in L.A. a few years back, they had all the Project Managers and the rest of the team studying for and trying to get LEED certified. I am about to graduate next year and will probably apply to a similar company and would like to stand out a bit from the rest of the folk by getting certified as well. Is it something anyone can do? How hard is it? I believe there are two levels, the associate an the AP correct? Just looking for some advice on where to start and get study material. I have three week winter break coming up and would like to get started then. Thanks for the help.

 

You can't get LEED Certified, the buildings you construct get LEED Certified. The individual, like yourself, would be LEED Accredited. Sorry, but if you're going to have the letters after your name, you gotta know the difference.

We have several people in my company who are LEED Accredited and I'm next in line to sit for the test. I believe they provide you study materials, I could be mistaken about that. I hope you're good with remembering numbers and specific useless info (such as which LEED Credit a particular item falls under). IMO, it's a great thing to have this day and age but the whole LEED thing in general is a crock. If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?

Also, I believe they just changed how the test is taken. You now have to pick a particular area you want to be accredited in. It used to be just LEED AP, now you see LEED AP, BC+C for example.

 

LEED is a flawed system IMO .

 

I concur.

 

Very much so... but unfortunately a lot of corporations are bought in so if you're going to build for them, they look for LEEP AP's on your staff. There are also some incentives for building LEED Certified buildings in certain areas.

 

LEED certified/accredited same thing kind of? I see what You're saying though. These big contractors like to have as much staff accredited as possible because it looks good and helps them get the contract. I work for a general contractor doing residential right now part time. Finishing up my BSME. I plan to get my general license next summer as well.

 

I think it is a great idea to be certified etc , but it is a whitewash akin to " green " building

 

Like I said, if you're going to have the letters after your name, you should know what they mean. Only buildings are LEED Certified, the individual is LEED Accredited. When speaking, you should know the difference and use them the correct way. It sounds like something really stupid but if you're presenting to a potential client, you should use the correct terminology.

^^ This... Unless you have a reason to do it, I wouldn't waste your time with the actual exam. You can build a 'green building' without the intervention of the LEED people. The reason I'm going through it is we build for larger commercial clients who care very much about their image in the public eye and will therefore pay for their buildings to be LEED Certified. The Green Building stuff is good to know for general construction, but the industries that have made a business out of it I think are walking a fine line when it comes to ethics.

 

I'm only doing it because all the buildings are 100M + jobs. A lot of them for the city. I worked with the GC that did the Pasadena City Hall Rehab, the Pasadena Convention Center, and the 1 Billion dollar LA live project. I wouldn't get accredited for residential stuff. Like I said. Just looking to stand out so I can get hired. I came here asking for help because obviously I know nothing about LEED right now. And of course I will learn the material.

 

LEED AP since 2007. Just finished my first round of credential maintenance. I pretty much feel like it's a waste of time and money, but don't feel like retaking the exam.

Mike

 

which specialty?

i'm still just a LEED Green Associate. i'm deciding which specialty to go towards. with my background (landscape architecture) i'm leaning towards neighborhood development but the economy is telling me noooooo

 

I got the books, studied, my old job paid for me to take the exam, then laid me off, cancelled my test, and now i dont work in the engineering industry any longer. GO figure.

 

Landscape architecture!!! Me too....I work for the natural gas industry doing the permits for the Marcellus Shale Drilling sites now...If LEED is worthless, My B.S. Landscape Architecture is Super worthless, as i will never work with it again...ever...ever ever ever...puke.

 

WVU BSLA?

i'm a 2008 graduate, and where i work (full service engineering firm) we are HEAVY into the marcellus shale doing permitting and well site design etc...

 

BD+C. I work for a general contractor.

Mike

 

i've been thinking of switching to that specialty. it seems that is the majority of the LEED projects (at least from a LARCH/engineering standpoint). i've also read that it is probably the most to get that specialty.

 

I had a few classes with you! I graduated in 2009 wvu

 

So I graduated last December and work with an MEP firm. They will pay for my test. Looking to take the Associate test maybe sometime the year or beginning of next. What study material did those of you that passed use to prepare?