# Licensed PE without college degree or experience -- just pass the PE exams?



## JustMe

I have an 80-something neighbor who is a civil engineer (University of Iowa). He still works at his firm two days a week. He seems to have all his marbles but he told me that there are still some states where one can become a licensed PE without any four year degree and without experience just by passing the PE exams. Is this true?


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## ventilator

I can't speak for other states but to the best of my knowledge in FL you have to have 4 years experience and a degree.


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## ptatohed

You do not need a BS degree in CA to get licensed - you just need the required experience (I forget the # of years of experience needed, but I think it is a lot) to be approved for the exam and then, of course, pass the exam.


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## chemicalpe

I work in SC and if you want to get PE license you need to have work experience with BS degree. No exceptions.


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## Badger

In Washington state you can get your EIT with 4 yrs of qualifing engineering experience, the the PE with 4 yrs of additional engineering experience. The qualifing experience has to be engineering work typical under the supervision of a licensed Professional engineer. I don't know if I could have done it without the degree.


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## Peele1

All states require either degree and some experience or a LOT of experience. The amount varies. Not all states require the experience to be for a PE.


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## CU07

You can do it in NY still. You need 6 years of work experience for the FE and an additional 6 for the PE. If you have an ABET-accredited engineering degree, you can sit for the FE after 84 credit hours and the PE after 4 years of work experience. I believe NY is thinking of changing this; I even heard a rumor from a coworker who used to sit on the board that they were thinking of requiring a master's degree or 30 credits of continuing education between the FE and PE.


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## snickerd3

that last part isn't really a rumor...thats been going around for while. NCEES has been talking about the recommendation for the bs plus 30+ hrs for several years now. It is up to the individual states to decide if they are going to implement it....but it wont be until like 2020...the date keeps getting pushed back. It was 2015 for awhile. IL is leaning towards agreeing with NCEES.


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## ptatohed

If I remember correctly, in CA you can even take the PE exam without taking the FE exam but, as I recall, you need a buttload of years experience to go this route. I checked the CA website but can't find info on this quickly. I remember there used to be a flow chart showing the options/requirements to becoming a PE.


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## CAPLS

Flowchart for California that ptatohed mentioned: http://www.pels.ca.gov/applicants/flowchart_for_pe.pdf

California does not require a degree and requires a minimum of 6 years engineering experience + the EIT. There is a process for waiving the EIT requirement, but this process requires a degree + many more years of experience.

Flowchart for EIT waiver process: http://www.pels.ca.gov/applicants/flowchart_for_eit_waiver.pdf


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## dpavelek

Pretty sure you have to have a 4-year degree to qualify in Texas.


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## ptatohed

CAPLS said:


> Flowchart for California that ptatohed mentioned: http://www.pels.ca.g...hart_for_pe.pdf
> 
> California does not require a degree and requires a minimum of 6 years engineering experience + the EIT. There is a process for waiving the EIT requirement, but this process requires a degree + many more years of experience.
> 
> Flowchart for EIT waiver process: http://www.pels.ca.g..._eit_waiver.pdf


There it is, thanks CAP. Wow, 15 years experience if you don't want to take the EIT. And you still need a Bachelors degree - I forgot about that part.

So CA equates the EIT to ~13 years of experience. Interesting.


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## civilized_naah

snickerd3 said:


> that last part isn't really a rumor...thats been going around for while. NCEES has been talking about the recommendation for the bs plus 30+ hrs for several years now. It is up to the individual states to decide if they are going to implement it....but it wont be until like 2020...the date keeps getting pushed back. It was 2015 for awhile. IL is leaning towards agreeing with NCEES.


A direct quote today from someone on the committee at the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE)

The following resolution passed at today's EDC business meeting by a vote of 34-4:

"The ASEE EDC does not support a requirement of 30 semester hours beyond the BS degree to sit for the licensing exam. This change, although supported strongly by a few of the professional societies, is not broadly supported by the disciplines. Further, the requirement may have unanticipated impacts on curricular content and accreditation processes and could adversely affect interest among individuals who wish to pursue engineering for their professional careers."


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## NoDegreePE

It's true, in some states you can take the PE exam without a degree. I did it here in Washington in 2002. It's not easy, at least it was not for me, and I don't recommend it over the conventional way. It took years of preparation, a lot of perseverance as well as many years of working at an engineering level. If you have the choice, do yourself a favor and get the degree while you can. I only know of one other person who has gone this route, but I'm sure there are more. Going back to school at the time was not a viable option for me, however my employer was very supportive of letting me take on engineering level work that gave me the experience needed to qualify. I've detailed some of the process at my site called NoDegreePE. Is there anyone else out there that has done this?


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## tmacier

CT you can sit for PE without a degree and 20 years experience as a class 3 applicant.

Ten years with an AS degree as a Class 2

http://www.ct.gov/dcp/lib/dcp/dcp_regulations/20-300_professional_engineers_and_land_surveyors.pdf

I have to believe it would be challenging to pass without education.

Tim


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## max exergy

Despite what the CT statutes say, the CT board will not allow you to sit for either the FE or PE exam without a degree no matter how much experience you have. I know this from recent personal experience. You're better of trying NY. They will let you sit if you meet the appropriate combination of experience and education requirements shown in tabulated form on their website.


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## tim1981

You always need a minimum number of years experience. There are some states with separate criteria for candidates who do not have an engineering degree, which requires more experience than candidates with an engineering degree. The number of years varies from state to state between 6 (in California) and 25 (New Hampshire).

Oddly, New Hampshire is the only state I know of that will allow anyone to take the FE exam, so if you don't have an engineering degree, they have the easiest criteria for the FE and the hardest for the PE.

If you have a degree in a related science (Math, Physics, etc), almost half of the states will allow you to take the test after fulfilling the more stringent (compared to candidates with engineering degrees) criteria. My Math degree and 6 years experience allowed me to sit for the PE exam in Virginia last week.

Here's a good link, but definitely confirm the information with the state where you're going to take the test before formulating a plan:

http://community.nspe.org/blogs/licensing/archive/2010/01/04/table.aspx


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## tim1981

ptatohed said:


> 'CAPLS said:
> 
> 
> 
> Flowchart for California that ptatohed mentioned: http://www.pels.ca.g...hart_for_pe.pdf
> 
> California does not require a degree and requires a minimum of 6 years engineering experience + the EIT. There is a process for waiving the EIT requirement, but this process requires a degree + many more years of experience.
> 
> Flowchart for EIT waiver process: http://www.pels.ca.g..._eit_waiver.pdf
> 
> 
> 
> There it is, thanks CAP. Wow, 15 years experience if you don't want to take the EIT. And you still need a Bachelors degree - I forgot about that part.
> 
> So CA equates the EIT to ~13 years of experience. Interesting.
Click to expand...

That seems fair, considering the same candidate, with no college degree, could get a PE license after only 6 years experience in CA if they can pass both exams.

6 years experience can get you a PE in California with no college degree whatsoever. They have the lowest experience criteria in the country, both for candidates without degrees (6 years), and candidates with degrees (2 years). If you have your MS degree, you only need 1 year.


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## Jay1959

In maryland you only need 12 years responsible charge. No degree required. I managed.


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## DoctorWho-PE

In Iowa you have to have an engineering degree.  I have a co-worker who went to Illinois, did the M. Arch program emphasized in structures and has his S.E., but because his degree is not an engineering degree (even though he has had a boatload more engineering coursework than I have) Iowa won't let him get his P.E. (Side note:  Illinois now does a dual degree program where you can get both the M arch and M Eng, but didn't in the 90's.)


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## ptatohed

Jay1959 said:


> In maryland you only need 12 years responsible charge. No degree required. I managed.


Ok.  Thanks for the 4.5 year bump to let us know.


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## knight1fox3

ptatohed said:


> Ok.  Thanks for the 4.5 year bump to let us know.


You said it. I was thinking it. LOL :lmao:


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## nmaevh

Badger said:


> In Washington state you can get your EIT with 4 yrs of qualifing engineering experience, the the PE with 4 yrs of additional engineering experience. The qualifing experience has to be engineering work typical under the supervision of a licensed Professional engineer. I don't know if I could have done it without the degree.


In Washington you need 10 years of engineering work under a PE instead of four. You are also required to have your FE. I know people have have actually done this.


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## John QPE

Yeah, my undergrad degree is geography, and I'm licensed in a bunch of states. You can do it. I do suggest taking both the FE and PE even if you can get an FE waiver.


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## mdstanzel

Three years later. After reading through this I discovered I could have already gotten licensed 10 years ago. Resign from my job back then and went to the VA. They gave me 100% disability. Any hope for someone like me that can no longer work full-time?


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## AdityaG

John QPE said:


> Yeah, my undergrad degree is geography, and I'm licensed in a bunch of states. You can do it. I do suggest taking both the FE and PE even if you can get an FE waiver.


My UG degree is B.Arch (foreign) and Grad MS Civil Engineering. Which states you recommended to apply. I applied NJ, they does not allow B.Arch (Non Engineering Degree) so I am looking for state which can allow PE license.


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## civilrobot PE etc etc

AdityaG said:


> My UG degree is B.Arch (foreign) and Grad MS Civil Engineering. Which states you recommended to apply. I applied NJ, they does not allow B.Arch (Non Engineering Degree) so I am looking for state which can allow PE license.


You have to look at each State Board's site to see if they have an 'experience only' option. There is an 'experience only' option in the State of Maryland and I think you need 12 years (?) of documented experience. After you get one license, you can apply for reciprocity in some other states. I used this option because I didn't pass the FE exam (because I took it one time before I graduated from college 17 years ago without studying. My stupid professors told us to just go take it - I didn't even know people studied for it).


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## RBHeadge PE

AdityaG said:


> My UG degree is B.Arch (foreign) and Grad MS Civil Engineering. Which states you recommended to apply. I applied NJ, they does not allow B.Arch (Non Engineering Degree) so I am looking for state which can allow PE license.


Did the school where you got your MSCE have an ABET-accredited BSCE program? If so then, usually in the past, Pennsylvania will grant a waiver and let it satisfy the education requirement. You'll still have to go through the regular FE, then experience, then PE process.


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## Dothracki PE

AdityaG said:


> My UG degree is B.Arch (foreign) and Grad MS Civil Engineering. Which states you recommended to apply. I applied NJ, they does not allow B.Arch (Non Engineering Degree) so I am looking for state which can allow PE license.


NY State will give you two years of experience for a non-engineering degree, but you need a total of 12 years experience to apply. So you would need those 10 other years properly documented and signed off by a direct supervisor. 


http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/pels/peexpchart.pdf


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