Need help. Engineer technology major for PE license

[dude312]

okay, this is something i have not been able to get any solid answers for. I have talked to old professors, co-workers and state testing reps.

I have a Mechanical engineering technology degree from a ABET acredited program and university. Its a 4 year bachlor of science degree. Same thing as a BSME except it was non calc based, for the most part. In the state of IL (i live in chicago) you cannot take your PE exam with this degree. In the state of wisonsin and indiana you can. These are the only states i have confirmation from either way.

I have been working as a hvac engineer for about 5 years now and am interested in getting my PE license. I can take the FE exam and then the pe exam in WI and IN, but i assume i cant transfer the license to all states. If i cant get licensed in the state i live in does this still make sense to obtain?

Does anyone have or know of someone who has a engineering technology degree and has tried to get there PE?

I have spent the last 6 months trying to reserch this, but have really come up with few solid answers. Any advice would be apriciated.

 

[Dexman PE]

If you apply for a license in a particular state, that license is only good in that state. So, if your company only does work in IL, then getting a PE in WI might not be the best thing for you. However, if you see yourself doing work in these other state(s), the yes I would recommend going this route. Please remember that if you get your PE in WI, you probably will NOT be able to transfer it to IL because your application/license does not meet the IL requirements.

Many will say that getting your PE is more about your own personal satisfaction than it is about advancing your career, and this is true for many of the PE's out there. For the Civil Engineering consulting world, many say it is career suicide NOT having a PE.

So I would ask yourself a few big questions:

1) Do you need this license for your career?

2) Do you want this license (regardless of which state you get it in)?

3) Do you see yourself doing work & needing this license in other states in the future (ie does your company do work in WI, or do you see yourself moving to WI)?

I know I answered your question with a series of other questions, but I hope it still helped.

 

[KEG]

I passed the PE in Georgia last year. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology. The state of GA recogizes the EET degree but you have to have 7 years work experience rather than 4 (I think) with a BSEE.

I also know of people that live/work in GA but took the PE in Alabama. I don't know if they've tried to transfer their license to GA or not.

I'd take it in one of your neighboring states.

Good luck!

And I agree w/ Dexman's post. Answering those questions might give you the answer.

 

[dude312]

the main reason i am interested in persuing my pe license is mostly for my career, not personal. Most people in the HVAC/Energy engineering fields that are upper managment have there PE's, LEED, CEM, etc.. It's not necessary, but its something that would be very benificial. In consulting i work in all the states, so i am definetly not limited to only IL.

I would also LOVE to know which states allow you to have your PE with a Eng tech degree, if theres somekind of list somewhere. If there are only a few that do then i might not be benificial, but if most states do, then why not.

 

[Dexman PE]

I know Colorado allows engineering tech degrees. The work experience requirements are higher (8 years instead of 4, I think).

 

[Mike in Gastonia]

I would also LOVE to know which states allow you to have your PE with a Eng tech degree, if theres somekind of list somewhere. If there are only a few that do then i might not be benificial, but if most states do, then why not.

Go to this link on the ncees website. Licensing Board Survey

On the left side of the page is a link to a survey where all of the states answer common questions like this. Click that link and go to PE questions. I think question number 4 will answer which states allow technology degrees.

 

[MA_PE]

Have you looked into what credits are required to get a BSME degree in addition to your BSMET degree? I'm sure that alot of ytour existing credits can be transferred and it would put your question to bed.

 

[dude312]

Have you looked into what credits are required to get a BSME degree in addition to your BSMET degree? I'm sure that alot of ytour existing credits can be transferred and it would put your question to bed.

thanks for all the info up to this point guys.

I actually did look into switching back in my junior year in collge. Basically i would have to retake like half of the credits required. All the physics, thermo, fluids, main eng courses are non calc based, eventhough that was not true and the ME program was calc based. I was recomended out of HS to go into MET as opposed to ME becuase my GPA was never great and in order to get into a good school i had a better shot of going into the MET program then regualr ME. Didnt realize until my junior year in college that getting a PE with MET was a problem. I did very well in college, but i wished i took the regular ME program instead.

 

[MA_PE]

Have you looked into what credits are required to get a BSME degree in addition to your BSMET degree? I'm sure that alot of ytour existing credits can be transferred and it would put your question to bed.

thanks for all the info up to this point guys.

I actually did look into switching back in my junior year in collge. Basically i would have to retake like half of the credits required. All the physics, thermo, fluids, main eng courses are non calc based, eventhough that was not true and the ME program was calc based. I was recomended out of HS to go into MET as opposed to ME becuase my GPA was never great and in order to get into a good school i had a better shot of going into the MET program then regualr ME. Didnt realize until my junior year in college that getting a PE with MET was a problem. I did very well in college, but i wished i took the regular ME program instead.

I understand, however two years of additional schooling to satisfy a requirement for a lifetime achievement still might be something you want to consider now. FWIW I believe the IL board is one of the more demanding ones (at least I know that's true for structural requirements).

 

[IlPadrino]

Licensing requirements are sure to change in the future (though who knows if they'll get more stringent or more relaxed?)... so you could get a license in a nearby state and see what happens in your home state. There are also maybe states that allow enough experience to exempt the education requirement. Get the examination out of the way if you think there's *any* reasonable chance it might be useful some day. I doubt the exam will ever get any easier for you...

 

[TBSS]

Virginia allows people with engineering technology degrees to sit for the PE but the work requirement is 6 years versus 4 with straight engineering degree. I have not tried to get my PE in other states yet. The link provided above should provide you with the info that you are looking to obtain for all other states.

 

[Road Guy]

I believe its around 37 of the 50 states allow the ET degree for the PE Exam, but they all have varying requirements , extra experience, etc.

Your PE is good when you take it, but for example Florida doesnt allow ET degrees so if you wanted to transfer to Florida you would need to get your degree changed to an engineering degree, where some states that wont allow you to transfer your license will accept an Masters In Engineering to over-ride the Bachelors, but most states defer to the Bachelors degree, regardless of your level of advanced education..

long story short it varies by each state and is rather confusing...

 

[Bman]

I am in the same boat. I went to school in upstate NY and have a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology that is ABET/TAC accredited. I now live in Florida which requires a degree that is ABET/EAC accreditation, so I cannot get licensed in Florida. I researched this a few years ago and it looked like only 3 states would not license me with this degree (Florida, Alabama, and somewhere else) from what I recall, but there may be others based on Road Guy's post. I am taking the exam in NY since that is where I went to school and at least I'll get to see some old friends again in a couple weeks.

I travel for work quite a lot, so I don't really care if Florida will license me or not (ok, it bothers me a little). I view it as more of a credential than anything since most companies will not allow you to move into senior management without a PE. We don't do design work, so it's mostly just signing and sealing reports and I can always have someone at work co-sign a report if I can't get licensed in a particular state. We also do a lot of legal work, and you pretty much need a PE to have any credibility as an expert witness. They can make a big deal of you not being licensed in a particular state, but usually its not that big of a deal as long as you are licensed.

 

[ElCid03]

Speaking of all this does anyone know which states allow people to take the FE with an associates degree?

 

[kschwa]

okay, this is something i have not been able to get any solid answers for. I have talked to old professors, co-workers and state testing reps.
I have a Mechanical engineering technology degree from a ABET acredited program and university. Its a 4 year bachlor of science degree. Same thing as a BSME except it was non calc based, for the most part. In the state of IL (i live in chicago) you cannot take your PE exam with this degree. In the state of wisonsin and indiana you can. These are the only states i have confirmation from either way.

I have been working as a hvac engineer for about 5 years now and am interested in getting my PE license. I can take the FE exam and then the pe exam in WI and IN, but i assume i cant transfer the license to all states. If i cant get licensed in the state i live in does this still make sense to obtain?

Does anyone have or know of someone who has a engineering technology degree and has tried to get there PE?

I have spent the last 6 months trying to reserch this, but have really come up with few solid answers. Any advice would be apriciated.

You need to get your PE and get it now. You have to consider the possibility that at some point, the requirements may become stricter, see the model law changing to essentially a masters in engineering to be able to test for the PE, as an example. If you get it now and that happens, you will at least be grandfathered in whatever states you held a PE in. My state, Wyoming is one that would not recognize you, but it seems a fair amount will. If I were you, I would get my PE, and then apply for reciprocity in any state you might ever conceive living/practicing in. Now, this could get expensive, but maybe not if you work for an employer that covers your licensing costs. Anyway, just something to chew on, you never know what the future will look like. It's one thing to choose not to do it right now, it's another to wake up and not be allowed to do it tomorrow.

 

[Bman]

Below is the information on PE requirements for the state of Illinois. You can still get a PE with a non EAC degree, you just need more experience than if you did have an EAC degree. This is pretty typical of the Technology degrees. Like I said before, I think there are only about 3 states that will not license an Engineering Technology degree at all. You can always take the exam in another state and apply for reciprocity once you reach the 8 years of experience requirement if you don't qualify now...

PE Exam Information:

NCEES exams offered: All

Residency requirement: No

Required experience: EAC Eng degree + 4 yrs exp; MS Eng degree + 3 yrs exp; PhD Eng degree + 2 yrs exp; non-EAC 4-yr Eng degree or related science degree + 8 yrs exp

 

[Bman]

Speaking of all this does anyone know which states allow people to take the FE with an associates degree?

I know New York doesn't even require a degree. They only require that you have a total of 6 credits for the FE and 12 credits for the PE, of which some can be college and some or all can be experience. So to take the FE in New York with an associates you would need 4 years of experience (the other 2 would come from the 2 year associates degree). Its pretty tough now a days to get into engineering without a degree, but technically it is possible. I know we are not supposed to talk about the other board here, but PPI's website does have a good resource for finding state requirements for PE and FE.

 

[Rob8rich]

My degree is a BS in Mechanical Engineering Technology from UH-D. The courses I took were also not calculus based. I live in Texas and just took my PE exam last week. Texas requires that a BSET graduate have at least eight years experience before applying for licensure.

I have seen a negative bias that exists in a lot of companies from degreed engineers, against the BSET degree. As if their degree is somehow better.

My advice to all BSET graduates is to ... GET YOUR PE LICENSE! Even if you have to go across state lines.

The PE is the GREAT EQUALIZER. BS in Engineering ... or BS in Engineering Technology, ... with a PE behind your name you have the edge!!!

Good luck on your journey!

 

[FINK_RB_PE]

I have a BSET in civil engineering technology and I was required to get an additional 2 years experience in Virginia even with a masters in civil from Virginia Tech. I was able to get a West Virginia PE by comity with no problem. I would recommend going ahead and getting the PE in at least 1 state because I only see the requirements getting more stringent across the country and you never know where life will lead you.

The technology degree gets a lot of crap because there are some really bad technology schools (as if there are no bad engineering schools, a friend of mine has an engineering degree from an acredited university and could not design a damn thing if his life depended on it). That is one of the reason I went on to get a masters degree, because of the stigma.

 

[Bman]

This is interesting, I went on to the Illinois State website and found this:

"A recent change in the law now allows for Engineer Interns to take the PE before or while working on obtaining their engineering experience. Previously one could only take the exam after completing the experience portion of the requirement. You may still opt to take the PE after obtaining your experience if that is your preference. If you graduated from an accredited four-year engineering program you require four years of professional experience. If you graduated from an accredited four year program in an engineering related science you require eight years of experience."

So you can actually take your PE exam in Illinois before you have the experience, I guess they just don't actually give you your PE license until you qualify with experience and pass the test. I so wish I could've taken the PE exam right after the FE exam while all that stuff was still fresh in my mind and then just show my experience later on!