Getting a second PE

[rppearso]

Does anyone know what the experience requirements are for getting a second PE. Do you have to get all 4 years again or just the 2 years of responsible charge? I have a quiry in with the board but they have not got back with me. The PE I hope to have passed is chemical and the one I want next is EE, I have 8 courses to take at the university to pick up my EE degree and will do that as I work as a chemical engineer, chemE is really specialized and I would be able to pick up a EE job alot easier so it would be good to have both.

 

[benbo]

Does anyone know what the experience requirements are for getting a second PE. Do you have to get all 4 years again or just the 2 years of responsible charge? I have a quiry in with the board but they have not got back with me. The PE I hope to have passed is chemical and the one I want next is EE, I have 8 courses to take at the university to pick up my EE degree and will do that as I work as a chemical engineer, chemE is really specialized and I would be able to pick up a EE job alot easier so it would be good to have both.

To answer your question, every state is different.

However, I would worry about getting the degree and getting some experience in EE before I started worrying about a PE. The vast majority of employed EEs don't have PEs, and although a PE might be helpful, it isn't going to land you a job if you don't have the requisite experience.

 

[rppearso]

So the PE is really not all that, I have heard it both ways that a PE is a way to be younger and maybe a bit less expereince but show that you know your stuff and can put you in a better position than even your supervisor and then some people say it looks nice on your buisness card. Its a non trivial process to get a PE even if the time were reduced for a second one. I would think a 2 year guy in the EE field with maybe 7-10 years total with 2 PE's would have way more credibility than a 5-7 year guy in EE with no PE or even a 10-12 year guy with no PE. I have heard it both ways so I guess I need to be careful before dedicating effort to doing this.

 

[benbo]

So the PE is really not all that, I have heard it both ways that a PE is a way to be younger and maybe a bit less expereince but show that you know your stuff and can put you in a better position than even your supervisor and then some people say it looks nice on your buisness card. Its a non trivial process to get a PE even if the time were reduced for a second one. I would think a 2 year guy in the EE field with maybe 7-10 years total with 2 PE's would have way more credibility than a 5-7 year guy in EE with no PE or even a 10-12 year guy with no PE. I have heard it both ways so I guess I need to be careful before dedicating effort to doing this.

PE is especially helpful to Civil engineers. For EE it depends where and what you want to do. I worked 20 years in aerospace and semiconductors and met maybe 2 PEs total. Most people didn't even know what it was. I only got it when I went to work in governmnet and it was reuired for promotion. If you want to be a consultant, in construction or power it is more helpful. But you can't write your ticket.

For a combination chem and electrical a semconductor fab seems a perfect match job, and they don't require PE. Another perfect match would be process in a refinery or chem plant, and although some like PEs, most don't require them, and remember, you will already have one license anyway (in chem).

But you don't even have the degree or any electrical experience yet. Those things are very valuable for EE. And I don't believe just taking the exam, assuming you would even be allowed to do that, will substitue for most employers. And when you have a degree and experience it is just a matter of a few months of study and taking an exam to get the license, as you know. It's not like you have to plan it out in great detail. It seems like you're putting the cart before the horse here.

 

[MechGuy]

So the PE is really not all that, I have heard it both ways that a PE is a way to be younger and maybe a bit less expereince but show that you know your stuff and can put you in a better position than even your supervisor and then some people say it looks nice on your buisness card. Its a non trivial process to get a PE even if the time were reduced for a second one. I would think a 2 year guy in the EE field with maybe 7-10 years total with 2 PE's would have way more credibility than a 5-7 year guy in EE with no PE or even a 10-12 year guy with no PE. I have heard it both ways so I guess I need to be careful before dedicating effort to doing this.

These statements are really broad and don't apply across the board to every engineering field, as benbo said. A PE can be very important for certain lines of engineering work, and not so important in others. It all depends on what you want to do with it.

What do you plan to do with a PE in ChemE and a PE in EE? Figure out what you want to do before trying to figure out what degrees/licenses/certifications you need.

And yes as benbo says, its different for every state. In Texas, your stamp just says "Licensed Professional Engineer" and you are expected to practice in disciplines you have proper knowledge and experience in. Even though I'm a mechanical, I could technically stamp civil designs without passing the civil PE exam, if I had the proper experience and knowledge (which I do not).

But other states you have to pass the CE exam to stamp civil drawings, the ME exam for HVAC drawings and so forth...

 

[rppearso]

If I were to go for a EE I would finish up the degree which is about 8 classes since I already have an engineering degree and I would need at least 2 years experence before I could test for the EE PE so the degree and experence would be there it just wouldent be 500 years of experence. What I am learning is exactly what you guys are saying is sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesnt however in my line of thinking even jobs that dont require you to actually stamp something it would give you a major edge up, but that does not seem to be the case and definitly cant write your own ticket like you said, im not even sure what qualifications would allow you to write your own ticket anymore I guess thats life, just showing that you are on top of things enough to study up years after school and sit for the exam which is more intensive than warming a chair for 10 years where you may see certian topics come up in that 10 years maybe once or twice where as with the PE you have to dig it all back up again. I just want to be in a position where all my bills are paid off because I am learning that engineering really rides the line as to wheather or not they are treated as professionals, a guy I work with was just laid off and given like 3 days notice, thats what you do to mexican migrant workers.