Dave,
I actually took the SEI and SEII last fall. I failed the SEII. I was pretty exhausted after two 8 hour exams in consecutive days. I studied many hours in preparation, about 1 year in advance. I am getting ready to study once again for the spring exam. Hopefully, I will pass it and not have to give up my social life for studying anymore.
I live and work in Illinois. For structural work in Illinois, a PE is pretty much worthless. You need to get a SE license which requires passing the SEI and SEII exams. The application is similar to the PE applications, but you must show that you've worked under a PE or SE doing structural work for 4 years.