PE License Experience Requirements

[Hamilton]

Myself and a couple of friends are in a situation we aren't quite sure how to handle. Hopefully you all can give a little insight. My question is how to handle work and education experience that overlap. If I was working part time or full time as an engineer during my bachelors and/or masters program, can I can't that experience? I can't really find anything from NCEES that seems to be helpful. Does it vary by state? Does it matter if I am in a decoupled state?

 

[CAPLS]

Yes it varies by licensing jurisdiction since NCEES does not have any licensing authority. Suggest you seek guidance from the jurisdiction where you plan to apply for a license.

 

[steel]

It varies by state, but the general consensus among most states is that you can’t count education and work experience that occur simultaneously. You can use the education to reduce the amount of work experience required, but you'd need that lower amount of work experience to be obtained outside of your education.

my advice would be to work for 4 years and don’t even count the education as part of it.

 

[AngelaK]

Call your state board. I am in Missouri and they had credits/ something like that for masters. But you will have to submit the application and board will evaluate. But they were very helpful with me on phone. Ncees won’t be that helpful!!

 

[Hamilton]

It varies by state, but the general consensus among most states is that you can’t count education and work experience that occur simultaneously. You can use the education to reduce the amount of work experience required, but you'd need that lower amount of work experience to be obtained outside of your education.

my advice would be to work for 4 years and don’t even count the education as part of it.

May I ask why you wouldn't count the education?

 

[Tiger15]

I agree, you have to check with your state. In Louisiana you cannot count any work experience that you get before you complete your BS degree. But you can count work experience and grad school experience that happen at the same time. The amount of experience for grad school is fixed. An MS counts for 1 additional year of experience, and a PhD counts for 2 additional years of experience (but they don't add, you either get 1 year for an MS or 2 years for a PhD).

 

[Manufacturingman]

It's ALWAYS the state who determines it. Every state has its own nuances. Overlapping work time periods generally won't count separately though.
Think of it like this: If I am working for a company 80 hrs/wk for 6 weeks, and someone else is working 40 hrs/wk for 1 company and 40hrs/wk on the side for another for 6 weeks, it's still 6 weeks of engineering work. I don't get to double my 6 weeks to 12 to average 40hrs/wk. Likewise, the other person doesn't get to count their 6 weeks as 12 even though they were working effectively 12 weeks worth of work.

Many states, if not all, will grant 1 yr of credit towards a PE for a MS. Similarly, PhDs actively working in their engineering field are generally granted PE licenses without even testing. So, you could be a professor at a University, and simply apply for a license in many states and they will simply issue it.

Also, work that counts towards a PE license only counts AFTER you graduate with your BS. I worked as an engineer, starting in 2002. There were years in my career when I had already earned my Bachelor's in Business, but was a Senior in Engineering, but I was teaching Engineering 250 courses at Wichita State, because they were CATIA/ENOVIA/DELMIA courses. They were more technical courses, than theoretical.
And even though I was faculty at WSU, and I taught hundreds of degreed engineers over the years, I was unable to count any of that experience towards my PE.

Working as an engineer during a MS program DOES count toward a PE, so long as the work is actually engineering. Most, if not all, states have an exemption request for work not done under the supervision of a PE, so long as it can be verified that it is actually engineering work.

So, don't worry about it. The point is not to see who can get their license the fastest. Be patient. There is always more to learn and become proficient at. So, put in the work. Put in the learning. You'll get there.

 

[Hamilton]

Thanks all for your responses. For posterity's sake, here are the guidelines in Utah:
"You can begin counting experience after completing the minimum education requirement which is an EAC/ABET accredited bachelor degree in engineering."
"(c) A maximum of one year for completing a masters degree in engineering provided that both the earned bachelors and masters degree in engineering meet the program criteria set forth"

 

[RBHeadge PE]

May I ask why you wouldn't count the education?

Generally speaking, it makes things cleaner, easier, and faster - especially if you ever plan on applying via comity to another State.

Different States have different rules regarding graduate degrees counting as experience. Things like: accreditation, time equivalence, discipline, etc. You could get licensed in a more "lenient" state and get rejected when applying via comity to a State with more "strict" experience requirements. Plus its less transcripts and forms you to complete and have reviewed by the State Boards.

The most surefire route is to have four years of full time engineering experience under the supervision of a PE acquired after the issuance of the EIT. I'm not aware of any State that requires more than that.

None of this is to say that you must have the above. Don't interpret it that way! Just that it offers maximum flexibility later. If you have 3 yrs and a MS in engineering, and your State lets MS= 1yr and you are ready to the PE now, then you should go for it now. But if you already have four years experience, then just apply for the license using only experience.

PhDs actively working in their engineering field are generally granted PE licenses without even testing.

To the best of my knowledge, only Wyoming issues PEs to Engineering PhD without passing the PE. Those PEs wouldn't be able to transfer their license to another jurisdiction easily. Have other States adopted that model?

So, you could be a professor at a University, and simply apply for a license in many states and they will simply issue it.

Many States consider teaching engineering full time at the undergrad (typically upper classman level) and grad level to be professional experience. IIRC the programs must be ABET accredited or equivalent. Those professors would still need to meet the experience requirement.

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

Thanks all for your responses. For posterity's sake, here are the guidelines in Utah:
"You can begin counting experience after completing the minimum education requirement which is an EAC/ABET accredited bachelor degree in engineering."
"(c) A maximum of one year for completing a masters degree in engineering provided that both the earned bachelors and masters degree in engineering meet the program criteria set forth"

Based on this, the work as an undergrad wouldn't count. For work during your masters degree,it may depend on which you were doing full time vs. part-time. If you worked full-time and took1-2 classes a semester your full-time experience should govern. If you did Masters full-time and side work part-time, you wouldn't be able to double dip for the work experience

 

[Manufacturingman]

Based on this, the work as an undergrad wouldn't count. For work during your masters degree,it may depend on which you were doing full time vs. part-time. If you worked full-time and took1-2 classes a semester your full-time experience should govern. If you did Masters full-time and side work part-time, you wouldn't be able to double dip for the work experience

I agree with that assessment. We have that limitation in Kansas explicitly in the statute. But, if you were to start working after 1 year into your Master's, I'm pretty confident, they would let you get credit for that 1st year of education as credit towards the 4 yr requirement.

 

[steel]

May I ask why you wouldn't count the education?

As others have said, it varies by state, but generally you can't count work experience gained while you are gaining education that you want to use to reduce the amount of work experience required for licensure. Many states also have rules regarding when work experience can even begin to be counted. For example, in Pennsylvania, you cannot count work experience gained prior to your registration as an Engineer-in-Training.

And in some states, you cannot begin accruing experience until you hold a Bachelor of Science in Engineering.

Even then, you cannot count experience gained while enrolled full-time in a master's degree program.

That is why my advice is always to take simplest route: Work full-time for 4 years under a professional and apply for your license using those years of experience. Now if you're working part-time and attending graduate school, it may take you more than 4 physical years to accrue 4 years worth of experience.