Career Advice 2

[ScottishEngineer]

I am looking to move from Scotland to the US (Austin, Texas)and would like to work as a Civil Enginer. I have a Masters Degree and 7 years of Experience but am uncertain as to how I should go about getting work and a Visa. The problem is that I cant get a Visa without an employer, and I cant get employment without a Visa (a classic Catch 22!). Further to this I have noticed that I require a professional licence but am unclear whether I qualify for this, and if so, how I can get one.

My question is:- Is there any Engineers who have had experiences of making a move like this, and if so, do you have any useful advice?

 

[LHA]

I practice in Pennsylvania (PA), USA. I used to work with a guy from Ireland (north). He had a PhD and was licensed in England. I also used to work with a Bangladeshi, who had a Master's and a license in Ontario, Canada. Both had decades of experience FAR in excess of that of most US-born licensed P.E.'s I know.

They already had Visa's, so I don't know what difficulties they went through obtaining those.

To get PA licenses, however, was very difficult. PA did not want to recognize either of their degrees (even their advanced ones), or much of their foreign experience.

Both gentlemen, however, were eventually approved to sit for the exams.

My advice to you: before you leave Scotland, contact the Engineering Licensing Board in Texas and find out what they will require (in the USA, licensing is done by each state, and the criteria varies greatly). Also, document any experience you have had under a P.E. licensed in any US state, and get something in writing from that PE. In PA, you need 4 verifiable years under a PE.

Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve

 

[BobPE]

scottishengineer:

You will most likely need the services of a credential evaluation firm to act as a liason between your desire to become licensed in the US and your background and credentials.

It is a shock to many people that the requirements for licensure in the US are very strict and very well organized. The use of foreign experience and degrees complicates the process greatly.

A credential service will equate your foreign degrees to "American" equivalents for use by State agencies in assisting you with your licensure requests. You still may be required to enhance your experience to meet requirements, but it is all well worth the effort in the end....


I believe this site may help....

http://www.ecei.org/

Let us know how you make out....

BobPE

 

[HgTX]

From

http://www.tbpe.state.tx.us/lic_faq.htm

:

If I am currently licensed in another country, can I gain licensure in Texas by reciprocity?

The Act does allow reciprocity between Texas and another country. At this time, Texas has comity only with Canada and Mexico. Those who are licensed in other countries will need to have passed the NCEES examinations or be eligible to request waiver of those exams. Anyone currently licensed in another country will need to submit a complete application including supplementary experience records, ethics exam, official transcripts, fee, references, and other applicable documents to support the request for licensure.

What commercial evaluation of a foreign non-ABET degree will the Board accept?

Several commercial evaluation services are available. The evaluation shall determine if the non-accredited degree is “equivalent” to an accredited degree and include a description of the courses in semester hours with grades following the practices recommended by the National Council for the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials. The applicant is cautioned to let the service know the evaluation is for an “equivalency transcript”. If the applicant has an advanced graduate degree from a U.S. institution and that institution evaluated the non-accredited transcript and determined the degree to be “equivalent, then the applicant can have the institution submit a statement that informs the Board that an evaluation was performed and the non-accredited degree was found equivalent to an accredited degree.

A new board rule allows applicants with a foreign degree to have that degree evaluated against ABET criteria. If the degree is found to be equivalent to an ABET degree, then the applicant can apply with four (4) years of experience.

Whycome you want to move from Scotland to Austin?

Hg

 

[BigH]

ScottishEngineer - don't let the testing requirements scare you off. I know of an Indian civil engineer who went to US as an accompanying spouse (his wife was a nurse). Within 3 years he is now in possession of a Maryland PE license!
Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[bimr]

As far as immigration goes, the easiest way to get into the US is to marry someone. Don't know if that is in your plans. If you find someone in the US that is willing to marry you, you can get a fiancee visa in 2-3 months. The catch is that you have to get married within 90 days of arriving in the US.

You can come over here on a vacation visa, find someone to marry you, then go back home and await the visa approval.

Otherwise, it is extremely difficult to immigrant to the US and typically will take you up to 10-15 years. In regards to sponsors, unless you have a friend with an important position at a firm that is willing to sponsor you, it will be near impossible to find a sponsoring firm. The job market in the US is not that great right now and most firms are not even willing to recruit workers outside of their normal marketing area. The firms feel that plenty of help is available locally.

As far as practicing, your best bet is to get another degree over here. That will expedite the process of getting a PE license.

Another avenue for getting over here is to come over here as a student. You may be able to find a spouse while you are studying.

Good luck.

 

[cvg]

agree with bimr - I have known several engineers who obtained a visa to attend an American university, obtained an advanced degree and then obtained licensure and employment.

 

[queque]

Maybe someone can describethe job market in greatyer detail.
A region by region analysis may be helpful.

 

[ScottishEngineer]

Thanks for all the advice. It pretty much covers the problems that I am having. I have to say that I do have a rather nice lady over in Austin, which is one of the main reasons I am looking to move there... However, I am not sure we want to go down the marriage route just now... but I guess you never know! In terms of the studying, I'd like to do that, but the initial responses to my enquiries tell me i need around 24,000 dollars a year to pay for all my study fees, and living costs - which I am not sure I can afford. So, the search for a solution goes on. I will certainly keep those of you interested informed on my progress. Thanks again

Dave.

 

[HgTX]

If you're any good as a graduate student candidate, you get funding. Harder to get as a master's student than a PhD, but not impossible, and many options are open to both foreign and US students. Funding would typically be a tuition waiver and a half-time job as a research assistant, somewhere in the $11-18k range. Based on undergraduate grades, GRE scores, and recommendations from your former professors and I suppose supervisors if you've been in the real world for a while.

But a graduate degree isn't that helpful for licensure. Undergrad degrees seem to be all they care about. However, a grad program would at least get you a student visa.

Hg

 

[MEM1]

Your wanting to move to Austin for a lady. My lord an engineer with a brain (lol). Just kidding. Not sure if it will help, but it seems to me the education avenue would be the way to go. I would contact The University of Texas, in Austin, "Hook em Horns" not that I'm a UT fan, since I live in Kansas I am by default a K-State fan, which by the way has a dandy engineer program. See what credits you currently have that will transfer to a University in the US. Many times, I have seen that not all credits will transfer and you actually end up taking undergraduate courses. Now these were not in engineering fields, but something you should be aware of. Good luck with the lady friend.

Scott

 

[Focht3]

Well, I'm a legitimate Texas Ex - so "Hook'em" sounds good to me!

[blue]HgTX[/blue] gave you the citations. Now for the "hard to swallow" part. Not all UK "masters" degrees match up very well with US degree programs. This is particularly true for geotechnical engineering for some reason. Your experience will probably help you land a job - it seems that European firms generally do a very good job of mentoring their young staff. But the licensing part? That will take real persistence - and maybe another degree...




Please see FAQ731-376 for great suggestions on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora. See faq158-922 for recommendations regarding the question, "How Do You Evaluate Fill Settlement Beneath Structures?"