Enhanced Education Requirements for the PE

[Road Guy]

Sad saps wish to require a masters + degree to sit for the PE exam (its a good thing the states decide who sits for the exam and not NCEES)

Have these guys ever worked in the "real world" ? outside of academics?

This is not the way to go about "bringing value" to the profession, it has been tried in so many other professions and failed, why do they think it will bring value to engineers?

While I have a masters degree, IMO I would rather hire someone with 1 year of work experience than someone with a Masters Degree (7 0 experience) any day of the week..

http://www.ncees.org/news/index.php?release_id=1

 

[civengPE]

I did notice that anything over 120 credit hours counts toward the required extra 30 outlined in the proposal. So I guess that means I would need another 5 credit hours to qualify for the exam under the new requirements.

My question is this. How many hours did you have when you graduated? I had 145 and all of them were required.

 

[Road Guy]

I dont honestly know, I was on the quarter system when I graduated I would have to look it up.

All this will do IMO is discourage "Americans" from getting an engineering degree due to extra coursework and increase the # of engineers from India & China, who have to get a masters degree anway (to have there undergrad validated) to come here and take the place of American students who decide to major in something else.

Is NCEES charged with setting the standards?

In most states the legislature has to decide to change the requirements for who sits for the exam.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I had around 128 hours I think as an undergrad. Then 30 additional hours for a master's.

I've heard that the idea of requiring a master's degree to become a PE has been tossed around for a bit. I remember hearing about it in college maybe 5 years ago.

I'm not sure how I feel about it. A lot of the topics on the PE exam were very similar to what I had in grad school. And seeing as I took the PE less than a year out of grad school, the stuff I learned really helped me pass the test.

However, I'm not really sure how much grad school helped my ability as an engineer. If definitely helped get me more money, and a leg up on the competition. But as far as on the job design skills, not so much.

I wonder if it will narrow down the number of PE's in the future. Maybe it will weed out some less serious folks, but it would also weed out folks that don't have the time or money for grad school.

 

[Road Guy]

weird, i just checked my transcript and I had 154 hours ?

you mean you slackers only had to have 128? Get a damn masters degree!

maybe its not that big a deal, but I still think NCEES doesnt have any business setting policy outside of the administration of the exam.

Luckily here in Georgia, you can still be a PE with zero college expereince, of course you have to pass the EIT & PE, and have about 16 years experience, but techically it can be done...

 

[DVINNY]

I have 136 hours, and needed them to graduate my B.S.

You needed 154? or was that for masters?

 

[Road Guy]

I took 2 extra survey classes after I graduated (for the LSIT) but when I pulled up my transcripts online it said I had 154 hours?

maybe I took some extra crap i didnt need :dunno:

my masters was seperate...

 

[rdbse]

275 credit hours here for me, so bring it on NCEES!!

Too bad I already passed the PE exam.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

^ Professional Student? :study

 

[rdbse]

Two undergrad degrees (one non-engineering) and a masters degree... I was officially done with school at the age of 30, when I switched from a P.S. to a P.E.

 

[EdinNO]

RG,

I originally thought it would boost our profession. Fewere engineers/less supply equals more demand.

But your poijnt makes sense too- more foreigners will be encouraged to fill the void, which will lessen our value.

Who knows. Hopefully by the time it all shakes out, I'll be more into a management type deal anyeay where engineering won't matter as much to me.

BTW, I THINK I had around 135-140 hours.

Ed

 

[DrFranz]

I had around 128 hours I think as an undergrad. Then 30 additional hours for a master's.
I've heard that the idea of requiring a master's degree to become a PE has been tossed around for a bit. I remember hearing about it in college maybe 5 years ago.

I'm not sure how I feel about it. A lot of the topics on the PE exam were very similar to what I had in grad school. And seeing as I took the PE less than a year out of grad school, the stuff I learned really helped me pass the test.

However, I'm not really sure how much grad school helped my ability as an engineer. If definitely helped get me more money, and a leg up on the competition. But as far as on the job design skills, not so much.

I wonder if it will narrow down the number of PE's in the future. Maybe it will weed out some less serious folks, but it would also weed out folks that don't have the time or money for grad school.

they should add to the requirement to sit for the PE to have a chinese or indian citizenship

:lmao:

 

[DrFranz]

sh**t I have 270 credits for first level degree (dipl.- Ing. degree - old german school system) + 30 for MS + 40 for MBA + 53 for Ph.D. = 393 credit hours...

and all that while working full time...

 

[DrFranz]

Agreed... all those degrees (except for the MBA) don't really help a lot professionally... for engineering design. The knowledge acquired during the first degree is what I use some 90-85% of the time and some advanced FEM for modeling and dynamics from MS/PhD that I use some 15-10% of the time. For management, the MBA conceprs helped a bit, but for risk assessment, BD, etc the MBA helped some 60%. the rest is just experience.

Now, with respect to foreign degrees, FL is pretty stringent. I have several friends specially from India w/ a B. Tech. that could get the PE in CA but it was not recognized in FL because theit B. Tech. did not meet the standards and the FL board sent them back to get some extra 20-30 credits in humanities...

Well, I guess it's good to have a PE and forget about those issues... they keep changing the laws here and there... at the begining a PhD did not need to take the EI exam, but they added a 3 year as a full time professor to the requirements... go figure... my advise, get the damn thing ASAP before they require you the citizenship, the masters and God know what else.

 

[ferryg]

I was wondering what some of you guys thought about the recent hooplah about increasing the educational requirements in order to be eligible to take the PE exam.

Personally, I can understand where they are coming from, and I don't have a huge problem with it. But, I can also see the other side. I look at it like this, the engineering profession is completely fixated on public safety and public well-being. I really can't see a problem with augmenting the educational requirements in order to call yourself a professional.

Though one of the immediate problems I see, is that there will likely be LESS engineers and not more. Younger people, knowing that they will now be required (assuming that is the law in their state) to gain an additional two years of education to become a professional, might start pursuing other endeavors when they head off to college.

In an ideal world, less engineers should make the salaries of existing engineers go up, however me thinks this will not be the case.

I don't know...I was just curious how others felt about it. Like I said, it personally doesn't affect me all that much. Just interested in the feelings of others.

 

[Road Guy]

I was sort of hot about it at first, but then I realized its really an attempt to increase the number of hours taught at engineering schools, I guess some schools have fallen behind in the # of hours required to earn a degree.

If you look most of us probably already exceed the # of required hours already.

Also its up to the legislature in each state to decide who can sit for the exam, not the NCEES.

 

[ferryg]

That's true....but I wonder how this will affect reciprocity. Are states that DO require the additional eduacation going to grant a PE license through reciprocity from a candidate who passed the exam in a state WITHOUT the additional educational requirements.

I agree...I don't have a huge problem with it either. I just wonder about issues like that.

 

[Road Guy]

yeah if some states adopted it it could really screw things up reciprocity/comity speaking...

I would imagine there would be some grandfathering?

If it came down to it, so long as they accept the previous passing exam score, and then say I want to move to a state that requires 6 more credit hours than I have, so long as I ONLY have to go take 2 classes(& get a C :thumbsup: ) and not have to retake the PE after taking the additional hours...

My biggest problem is that I also think they are trying to build up the profession through education, some engineers think having a masters degree will require the public to look at us like doctors/lawyers, etc. I dont know how many of you have done hiring, but I will take a gal/guy with a year of real experience over a masters degree and 0 expereince any day of the week (& Yes I have a masters degree as well-its just not in Engineering)

They could require all Engineers have a phd and we still wont get the same respect as doctors/lawyers, etc. It doesnt bother me, both my brother in law and his wife are doctors, I could design a bridge to the moon, and I still wouldnt be able to trump handing out free prescriptions and armchair medical advice to the family...

 

[ferryg]

I agree completely, once again. I think the real motive is to put us on a level with doctors and lawyers. Those three have always been considered the three traditional professions (though I think teachers should be included in that). Since doctors and lawyers have required additional education...engineers are finally catching up.

:resp

 

[DVINNY]

I merged these two topics BTW.

I'm on the fence with this issue. I haven't came to an opinion yet, because I see points on both sides.