How to Fill Out Engagements for CA Civil PE Application

[eaarico]

I found out I passed the Civil PE last Wednesday. I just started BPELSG's application and it requires 4 "engagements". I've been with the same employer, as an EIT, for 6 years. I'm trying to figure out how to enter dates for my "engagements". Should they all have the same start date (the date I was hired), or should they be sequential? I'm usually involved with more than one project at a time so it doesn't seem like it makes sense to structure an engagement around a specific project. I'm guessing most people haven't had 4 separate employers before becoming licensed. How have people handled this?

 

[CAPLS]

You can have the same content in each engagement with the only differences between them being the licensed references and the list of projects. That is a common approach.

Create the first engagement, then there is a Copy icon which will copy that engagement and you can revise the information for each.

 

[eaarico]

Thank you. That's very useful advice. I think I'll use exactly that approach.

 

[Happily wild]

You can have the same content in each engagement with the only differences between them being the licensed references and the list of projects. That is a common approach.

Create the first engagement, then there is a Copy icon which will copy that engagement and you can revise the information for each.

This is how I would like to handle my references, but I see on this website that engagements should not overlap? I have been working under 1 engineer for 3 years but have 3 other licensed PE references that I have worked with (but not directly under). I am not sure how to fill out this form without having any references overlap.

"Clearly identify each engagement and ensure that engagements do not overlap"
https://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/applicants/gerefinst.shtml
Also, does anyone know if all references can be from the same company? Because I have only worked for one company for this time, so I cannot link any outside references directly to projects I have worked on.

 

[CAPLS]

This is how I would like to handle my references, but I see on this website that engagements should not overlap? I have been working under 1 engineer for 3 years but have 3 other licensed PE references that I have worked with (but not directly under). I am not sure how to fill out this form without having any references overlap.

"Clearly identify each engagement and ensure that engagements do not overlap"
https://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/applicants/gerefinst.shtml
Also, does anyone know if all references can be from the same company? Because I have only worked for one company for this time, so I cannot link any outside references directly to projects I have worked on.

The way I described works just fine and is often used - that is the primary reason why the Copy Engagement feature was added into Connect. Your claimed qualifying months will only count once.

Many references work for the same firm. Where the references work is of less importance than whether they were in responsible charge of your claimed qualifying experience or not. And each reference quantifies this in their portion of the reference response.

 

[CFLuke]

I really do not understand why this isn't made explicit on the web application. You have language like this: "Different projects for one employer at one level of responsibility are not considered separate engagements" but then if you try to use the same job, it automatically populates "2" in the engagement field on the next line, which to most people means a second ("separate") engagement. That's confusing and people shouldn't have to come to engineerboards to figure out the best way to communicate common situations.

It should also be made clear how to split up time with one employer between multiple references (e.g., if I've worked somewhere for 36 months, 12 months on some projects with one PE and 24 on others with a different PE, it should be explicit whether it's preferable to show that as 12/24 or 36/36. Maybe either works but the application should say. I get that it might seem easy enough to people on the inside (and why do they care? it's not the most important moment of their careers...) but it appears that this wasn't tested at all for outside users.

Being explicit about what is being requested and how it's evaluated might also help to reduce the backlog, which I last heard is something like 600 applications.

 

[CAPLS]

What you have described is the same requirements which have been in place for decades and not new to the online system. People also tend to think that Connect is the end all, be all and totally ignore the Board's website which contains much more information and is likely easier to get to than other sites likes this one because...you're already on the Board's website. Connect is just a tool for the specific purposes. In the time it takes someone to login to this forum and type a message, you could had found more information.

Maybe this will help. About halfway down, look under Civil Engineer Applicants Professional Engineer Application - Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists

FYI, the people reviewing your applications are licensed and have already gone through everything you are encountering and much more.

PS: There are links to various resources available on your Connect dashboard and links embedded within the instructions on tabs within the application process. Use those.