ELECTRICAL and MECHANICAL ENGINEERFor electrical and mechanical engineer applicants who have worked in
situations where they were not exempt from all licensing requirements,
and for experience which has occurred in California, the reference forms
must be signed by licensed engineers authorized to practice in the branch
in which the applicant is applying.
In California, electrical and mechanical engineering work performed by
employees of the Federal Government, and employees of manufacturing,
mining, public utility, research and development, or other industrial
corporations is exempt, and thus, such employees may serve as
references whether or not they are licensed as long as they are qualified
to appraise the technical competency of the applicant.
Typical examples of exempt employers would be aerospace companies
such as Boeing, or McDonnell Douglas; public utilities such as San Diego
Gas & Electric or P.G.&E.; manufacturers of electrical or mechanical
equipment such as Allen Bradley, Square D, Trane or Carrier, etc.
Examples of non-exempt employers are consulting electrical or
mechanical engineering firms and state and local governments.
Also, since licensed civil engineers are authorized to practice
supplementary electrical and mechanical engineering, such engineers
may serve as references.26
If the applicant has worked in a non-exempt situation, and if the applicant
does not know or has not worked with sufficient licensed engineers in his
or her field to be able to procure the minimum number of appropriately
licensed references, the applicant can solicit any appropriately licensed
engineer to review her/his work samples (drawings, calculations, reports,
etc.). Based on that review and a discussion with the applicant, such an
engineer can then serve as a reference. The foregoing procedure is only
permissible for supplementary references, and it is based on the
assumption that the applicant's primary reference for an engagement is a
licensed supervisor. If all else fails, the applicant should contact the
Board for instructions on how to obtain licensed references. In no case,
however, will references from unlicensed persons or references not
licensed in the applicant's branch of engineering be accepted in lieu of
references from appropriately licensed engineers, when the requirement
for having licensed references applies (i.e., when the applicant has been
working in a non-exempt area). Persons working in California in industry
or otherwise covered by the exemptions need not submit references from
licensed engineers, but must submit sufficient references to cover the
required period of experience. The determination as to whether or not the
employment is exempt is based on whether or not the employer is a
corporation and usually, but not always, whether or not the primary
business activity of the corporation is the making of a product.
Unlicensed persons or persons not licensed in the applicant's branch of
engineering, who are completing reference forms, should indicate their
educational background or other information to signify their engineering
qualifications (see Question 7, for more information).
