I have just graduated and started my career and would like some advice. My B.S. is in Mechanical engineering but the job I took is on a Technology team (the firm still does MEP). There are currently no PE's on this team and only about half the team has an engineering degree. Our drawings are stamped by EE's from another team when we need it done, but not everything needs it as all our work is low voltage and state requirements vary. If I decided to pursue a PE in Electrical, what would it take? Our work does not require much engineering knowledge so unless I got my firm to cross-train me I would have to learn pretty much all the material on my own and a lot of it would be new to me as the only EE course I took was Intro to Circuits. If I were to get cross-trained and take on some electrical EI work, how long would it take to pick up a good bit of it? I am based in Tennessee but we do a lot of work in nearby states so I would try and get licensed in multiple states.
Congratulations on graduating, and welcome to the forum.
First off, I’m not licensed in Tennessee, but it does not appear to be a discipline-specific state (according to their web site), meaning you would be allowed to practice in any area where you are competent. This implies (and their web site confirms) that your degree/education need not match your experience, so I wouldn’t be too worried about that. (Reference:
https://tdcihelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/209640437-Are-professional-engineers-licensed-by-discipline-civil-electrical-mechanical-etc-in-Tennessee-?mobile_site=true)
It’s difficult to say how long it will take for you to gain the experience necessary to “be ready” to become licensed, but it will take, at a minimum, the required number of years of progressive engineering experience that the state board requires. For Tennessee, this appears to be 4 years with an engineering degree and passing of the FE exam (
https://www.tn.gov/commerce/regboards/architects-engineers/license-applicant-resources/types-of-licenses/engineers.html). Essentially this means that it’s up to the board to decide when you’re ready, based on your demonstration of your experience, and the concurrence of your references (in TN, including your current and past supervisor(s) and at least 3 licensed engineers).
Since you mention that your group is not made up of licensed engineers, it sounds like cross-training will be necessary; on top of that, it sounds like you need references from at least two different places of employment. Perhaps talk to your supervisor about your desire to pursue licensure; if they see value in it, then there is a good chance they will work with you to make it happen.
As for the material itself, in this case it really is up to you what discipline you want to take your exam in, but my suggestion would be to study in the exam area where you are strongest, or where your practical experience matches most closely.
I can’t tell for sure whether your firm does more power or electronics, but if you want to get licensed in electrical and you want a lot of study resources, maybe start out looking up resources for the power discipline, and see if that interests you (there’s an entire sub forum on this site dedicated to power concepts/resources).
I hope this helps. Good luck, and hope you enjoy the forum!
