Experience Question II

[Monroe]

California currently only requires 2 years of experience under a PE to become licensed. Let’s say you become licensed after two years, and decide to go out on your own. You work for a couple years and expand to another state. Most states require 4 years under a PE. How would this work? Technically you only worked two years under a PE and two years on your own. Anyone have any insight?

 

[kevo_55]

California currently only requires 2 years of experience under a PE to become licensed. Let’s say you become licensed after two years, and decide to go out on your own. You work for a couple years and expand to another state. Most states require 4 years under a PE. How would this work? Technically you only worked two years under a PE and two years on your own. Anyone have any insight?

The reason why 2 years is the "magic" number for CA is because you can take the PE: Civil exam after 2 years of experiance. Most other states require 4 years.

As for going out on your own after getting a CA:Civil, I'm not sure what states would think if you try to get other seales via comity. I'm sure it could go either way to be honest.

I suppose the easy out for this is to take and pass other CA exams (SE2 & SE3) before you try the comity route.

 

[grover]

Most states don't require you to work under a PE, only that a number of PEs certify that you were doing engineering work. All my work experience was at the federal level where PEs weren't required and were extremely rare- my references were all contractors or engineers from other departments that I'd worked with on various projects over the years that vouched that yes, I was an engineer during the time period I claimed eto be, and they had no reservations about my professional qualifications.

If you don't have the necessary experience to qualify for a state, they would likely not grant comity. Someone else posted a similar question about EIT experience and taking the FE and PE back-to-back, that one state just required x years, but the other required x years as an EIT. So, they passed the exams back-to-back and are a PE in the adjacent state, but have to wait until 2 years to get comity in their home state.

 

[vongwv]

Monroe...

I'd say yes you can get licensed in other states if you have worked under a PE in Ca for 2 years, then worked for 2 more years out on your own. Sounds like some states don't even require to work under a PE. Oregon requires 4 years of "Active practice in engineering work shall be in the applicant's area of competence and under the supervision and control of a licensed engineer or be active practice in engineering satisfactory to the Board."

You should be good to go I think.