Learn How to Earn your Professional Engineer License
Engineering degrees are great areas of study for any person to get into. Taking this path and becoming a qualified Professional Engineer is really a good choice any engineer can make. Professional engineers (or PE’s for short) make very good salaries and work on many challenging projects. Although just like other certification processes, getting certified is no easy task. The following paragraphs describe the various steps in order to get a professional engineering license.
The first step is obvious; complete an undergraduate degree in engineering. Specifically, within an ABET endorsed engineering curriculum. Usually these are at least four-year programs within a discipline of engineering like electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and chemical engineering. In the program you will learn the basic fundamental core concepts in the craft including mathematical problem solving and scientific evaluation, as well as participate in projects involving design work.
The FE Exam (stands for Fundamentals of Engineering Exam) is a formal proctored exam that must be taken on the path toward becoming a professional engineer. The exam was developed in order to test out your general mathematics, science, and engineering skills. As mentioned previously, these are core competencies one would expect to gain in an undergrad engineering program. The exam is given at two times during the year and much like other standardized tests, requires preparation and study beforehand.
One of the most arduous requirements for becoming a professional engineer is the necessity to have work experience for a minimum of four years. And not just any work experience, but work experience in a functional engineering role. Hence job tasks such as determining equipment features, coming up with technical designs, or programming technical components would be acceptable. In addition, you will have to record this experience and identify your individual contributions. The reason for this is because you will need to submit this experience record when you formally apply for your license.
While every state will have their own unique application procedure, you will need to formally apply using the appropriate forms provided by the state’s engineering board. In addition, you will need to provide the documentation of your work experience, provide actual school transcripts, obtain references from practicing professional engineers, and pay required fees. Gathering these items can be tedious thus it would be wise to begin pulling them together well ahead of your expected application date.
The Professional Engineering Exam (known as the PE Exam) second and last exam you must pass on the path toward licensure. It takes a different approach from the FE Exam in that you need to show your know-how inside of your individual part of engineering. For example, an electrical engineer specializing in the power area would only be tested in topics such as power flow or power electronics. In general the PE exam will be more difficult as it aims to insure you are technically competent in your profession.
With any luck, this short article points you in the proper direction on the steps you will have to take toward licensure. Engineering careers are amazing fields of study to enter. Not only can engineering graduates make sizeable salaries, but the profession is certain to grow at a rapid pace in the future. Thus making the decision to become a professional engineer can be a valuable one for any young engineer.
Tags: careers, certification, education, engineering, fe exam, test, tests
