Chartered Engineer - how to become PE 2

[Parsnip]

Hi,
I am a Chartered Mechanical Engineer through the IMechE and Engineering council in the UK, I have a PhD and 14 years industrial experience. If I work in the US or Canada, do I need to obtain PE status and sit all exams etc or is there a scheme by which transfer of qualifiations and experience is taken into account?
Cheers in advance for any comments
Caroline

 

[QCE]

You would have no problem getting PE status in Canada. You would need to get your PEng from which ever province you end up in. You would not have to write any tests but you may need to have one year of Canadian work experience before you can get the PEng status. I think if you have over 10 years of experience you probably just have to fill out the paper work and you will be in. Although many people on this site make it sound very difficult to get your PEng status it is actually very easy.

 

[Adrian2]

Dear Caroline;

In Ontario, Canada you would apply to the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario and they would review your education and qualifications and make a decision on whether or not you could be admitted without any exams.

They might at least require you to work under a Canadian Professional Engineer for a short period of time who would act as your sponsor. You would also have to write an engineering law & ethics exam

Check out

http://www.peo.on.ca/

and send them an email, I'm sure they will try to help you out.

Hope this helps

Adrian Dunevein

 

[Parsnip]

Thank you for those responses - I can quite see the need to work for a period of time to learn the codes of practice and releveant standards - but the thought of taking more exams was not filling me with joy!!
Cheers
Caroline

 

[Iskit4iam]

Who knows anything about CEs from Canada or the UK working in the US. My daughter is at U of Toronto studying civil. She expects to stay and work in Canada, but I have hopes she'll come home someday.

A small word of advice. Don't take your daughters on cruises to Alaska when they are picking colleges. They meet boys from Canada.

 

[PSE]

If you are looking at working in the US, you would need to contact the Engineering Licensing board of the particular state you are interested in. At that point you can present your credentials and petition to receive a PE license without having to take the exams. The better documented your work history and background is, the better chance you would have of your petition being accepted. Each state carries it's own requirements so again, I would recommend checking with them individually.

Regards

 

[Rich2001]

You can find the Internet and physical addresses, contact information, etc. on the NCEES website

http://www.ncees.org

As PSE stated each state carries it own requirements. Obtaining a licensed in one state without taking the exams, does not mean that you would not have to take the exam in the future, if you wanted to practice engineering in a different state.

Contact the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME

http://www.asme.org

ASME has a liaison and agreements with the IMechE. They might be able to guide you in obtaing engineering licensing the the USA.

 

[Haf]

Parsnip,

I hate to even bring this up (I don't want to start another PE/nonPE flame war), but do you really need the PE to work in the US? I noticed you are a mechanical engineer. Most ME's in the US don't need to be PE's. While it is required in some fields (HVAC and consulting, for example), it is unnecessary in most fields and will provide zero benefit (financially) in many fields.

I realize this doesn't answer your direct question, but before you worry about the ease of transfering your professional license, you might want to determine if you would even need it (I apologize if you've already done this).

Haf

 

[Iskit4iam]

Thanks for the input. I've read the requirements for licensing in several states and understand what is needed. What is unclear is what weight may be put on CE status. I was hoping someone that actually went through the experience might have some insight.

 

[Rich2001]

I once talked with an ICE Country Representative:
Frank A McDonough CEng FICE
c/o McDonough Bolyard Peck
8315 Lee Highway, Suite 400
Fairfax, VA 22031-2215
USA
Tel: (wk) 1 703 641 9088
E-mail: fmcdonough@mbpce.com
Fax: 1 703 641 8965
he might be able to help.

Also one the IMechE website under Regional information

http://www.imechenearyou.org.uk/nearyou.asp?page=region.asp&NearYouId=48

are contact information for several Corresponding Members that should be able to help.

 

[QCE]

Iskit4iam,

A degree from U of T would get you into any USA PEng program especially if your American.

No worries.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Parsnip : As others have said, to get a Canadian PEng, all you need is a British BSc - a friend of mine with nothing more than that had no trouble when he emigrated to Canada from the UK. Also, in most cases, it is my understanding that these days, if you have a Canadian PEng, you can get a US PE without taking the exams, although I could be wrong. But about 20 years ago, in the days when I applied for a US PE, my British qualifications were regarded as practically worthless for the purposes of exempting me from the 16 hour PE exam. And since even Prince Charles is an MIMechE, I can't say I blame them! So I cheerfully became an "Engineeer in Training", even though I had about 15 years experience at the time, and took both the EIT and the Principles & Practice exams, although not on consecutive days, since I wasn't in any hurry, and in any case that feat comes close to requiring the use of drugs. With your PhD, you would probably find both examinations ridiculously easy in terms of content, since in difficulty they lie somewhere between "A" levels and the first year of a British honors degree. At least that was my impression then, but maybe things have changed. I think these days many states have seen the light and exempt experienced Americans with good quality degrees from having to take the exams, so things may well have changed regarding foreign qualifications as well. And if you were eminent enough, I think you could always get a free pass. But taking the examinations was not without its merits, since I learned, or perhaps I should say re-learned, quite a bit actually. It was also my first and only experience of taking both an open book examination, and a serious multiple choice test. Good luck !

EnglishMuffin M.Sc. M.I.MechE. C.Eng. P.E.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Parsnip : Oh, by the way, if you were going to go after a US PE License, it might be worth talking to the NCEES.
see

http://www.ncees.org

Once you have become registered through their records program, you can become licensed in any state much more easily, without having to go through everything all over again if you change states. And there is something called the ECEI - see

http://www.ecei.org/

- which they make use of to validate international credentials like yours and mine. I have not gone through all this, but have been thinking about it, since my PE license is from a different state from the one in which I now reside.