# HVAC depth



## souper (Oct 29, 2009)

For those of you who took HVAC for the 2nd half of the test, what type of licensed engineer do you become? Will your stamp say HVAC or Mechanical?

I only ask because i'm currently a HVAC &amp; Plumbing designer (going on 9 years), so I want to be able to engineer both systems when I become licensed. If my license is HVAC only, I'll miss out on Plumbing....

If you still fall under 'Mechanical Engineer', then it would probably be wise that I take HVAC depth, no?


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## MechGuy (Oct 29, 2009)

souper said:


> For those of you who took HVAC for the 2nd half of the test, what type of licensed engineer do you become? Will your stamp say HVAC or Mechanical?
> I only ask because i'm currently a HVAC &amp; Plumbing designer (going on 9 years), so I want to be able to engineer both systems when I become licensed. If my license is HVAC only, I'll miss out on Plumbing....
> 
> If you still fall under 'Mechanical Engineer', then it would probably be wise that I take HVAC depth, no?


Your stamp shouldn't say anything other than "Licensed Professional Engineer". They don't put Mechanical or Civil or anything... at least not in Texas. I assume this is in every state but I could be wrong.


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## souper (Oct 29, 2009)

MechGuy said:


> Your stamp shouldn't say anything other than "Licensed Professional Engineer". They don't put Mechanical or Civil or anything... at least not in Texas. I assume this is in every state but I could be wrong.


In MA, they specifically label the stamp. Atleast, that's how they did it in the past. My boss is a PE and his stamp says 'Mechanical'. I thought this was nationwide... apparently not. So if anyone who's from MA and has taken this test, i'd appreciate your input.

*edit* I would also be concerned with how the state recognizes me. If they see me as HVAC, I probably won't be able to practice Plumbing (atleast when consulting legally).


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## chaocl (Oct 29, 2009)

In CA they DO specified different BRANCH that you are in...such as Mechanical, Civil, Eletrical, etc. However they won't specified which displine that you are taking in the exam (HVAC. MD, and T&amp;F) and they will only said Mechanical engineer on your license.


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## MechGuy (Oct 29, 2009)

I stand corrected!


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## nashbmattPE (Oct 29, 2009)

it depends on the state. some states just say you are a PE and should pratice in areas of compentancy others are specific.


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## souper (Oct 30, 2009)

chaocl said:


> In CA they DO specified different BRANCH that you are in...such as Mechanical, Civil, Eletrical, etc. However they won't specified which displine that you are taking in the exam (HVAC. MD, and T&amp;F) and they will only said Mechanical engineer on your license.


I'm hoping this is the case here in MA. I think taking the HVAC specific test would be easier than Mechanical for me. Thanks for the info.


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## pelaw (Nov 1, 2009)

Your stamp should say: Professional Engineer, Mechanical, Registration No.

HVAC was fair and hard this time.


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## chadesullivan (Dec 2, 2009)

pelaw said:


> HVAC was fair and hard this time.


I agree that the HVAC depth was both fair and challenging at the same time. I tested better than I expected in the morning module...but was overconfident because of this going into the afternoon module and might have psyched myself out. With all this time to wait for the results that's the part I keep thinking about.


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## chadesullivan (Dec 2, 2009)

souper said:


> chaocl said:
> 
> 
> > In CA they DO specified different BRANCH that you are in...such as Mechanical, Civil, Eletrical, etc. However they won't specified which displine that you are taking in the exam (HVAC. MD, and T&amp;F) and they will only said Mechanical engineer on your license.
> ...


That's correct, Souper, your MA stamp will include 'Mechanical' on the stamp if you passed the Mech Exam, or 'HVAC' if you passed the HVAC specific exam.


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## RevMen (Dec 10, 2009)

MechGuy said:


> Your stamp shouldn't say anything other than "Licensed Professional Engineer". They don't put Mechanical or Civil or anything... at least not in Texas.


Lucky for me! I'm an acoustical engineer and there is no good exam for me to take in Texas. I took the HVAC exam cause that's the best I could do based on my education, but I'd be kinda screwed if my stamp said Mechanical. That's assuming I passed, of course.


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## buick455 (Dec 10, 2009)

Just curious what do you do as an acoustical engineer that would require a PE stamp?

I thought about switching to HVAC just because I felt it would be easier but I stuck with machine design as I work mainly in ASME Code nuclear primary system design and repair so I felt machine design would be a better fit.


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## RevMen (Dec 11, 2009)

> Just curious what do you do as an acoustical engineer that would require a PE stamp?


Every once in a great while we'll design something like a sound barrier that we'll need to stamp. I'll probably only stamp a dozen documents in my career.

I'll get more use out of simply having it, as it is a requirement of some clients that all subs have licenses, even acoustics. This tends to happen in the government realm. Go figure.


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