Difficulty obtaining qualifying PE experience 8

[PropWashBucket]

Hello everyone, after reading some of the other posts here I'll go ahead and start playing the worlds smallest violin for myself.

I'm a mid 30s Product/Development "Engineer" working for a tier 2/3 aerospace company making plenty of money for my role and enjoying a great work/life balance. The problem is one of my life goals is to obtain my PE and in my current field/job I'm not tripping over licensed engineers to attempt and obtain qualified experience under "Direct Supervision". I've been in this field for about 10 years now and for half of that I've had my EIT.

If I can't shake this desire, is my only option really abandoning my current role/job and searching for a PE mentor? I've attempted to ask the state board for information to petition without the experience requirements as I understand there are some instances where they will allow you to sit for the exam in "underserved industries" but I can't ever get any correspondence back, I believe I even hand wrote a letter some time back, no response. This is in Georgia.

Suggestions? Thank you in advance for the replies.

 

[NorthCivil]

Civil/structural/buildings guy here.

I have my PE (multiple countries). be lucky you work in an industry where you dont need it (sounds like a good industry).

The reason civil/structural types need it, is for bureaucracy needs. There are too many cavemen trying to build dangerous things out of sticks and stones. The government needs to regulate it. An easy way is to have the city works clerk require a form from an "appropriately licensed" engineer for building permit applications, in order to approve it. (And these days you need a permit for what seems like anything more extensive than a coat of paint to your wall.)

Most of my customers don't use me because they want the service. They use me because they are legally required to. And they find using me, to tick a particular box, the most prudent balance between cost and difficulty i give them, compared to my competitors.

If you have an industry and clients where your expertise and knowledge are sought out, regardless of license, that sounds dreamy. If you could open your own consulting office in that business without a license and still receive work, that sounds even dreamier. If i was in that situation, i would not seek out a pointless license.

 

[Sparweb]

Because in some engineering fields, including aerospace, they is no need for a PE. None. Nothing gets stamped. No employer cares if you have a PE. And there isn’t a PE test that covers what we do anyway.

True, but aren't you ignoring something pretty important?

While I think you're right that you don't need the PE to be a DER, or administer an ODA, to claim that nobody needs to stamp anything (or more accurately, sign and mark your registration number) is an exaggeration. In civil aerospace, data isn't approved until a DER or the FAA signs it. There's even a standard form for that. And most of the time the DER's business comes to them because they can provide this signature. Actually, I thought you were a DER yourself SWC!

Of course, if an aero engineer doesn't want to be a DER (there are lots of them) that's fine too. Be a specialist or a manager within a corporation. But I believe that without the DER credit, the door to independent practice is shut. That may be part of the OP's underlying goals.

PWB
Since you are based in the USA like SWComposites, perhaps they can inform you a bit more knowledgeably than I can (I'm a foreigner to both of you) about the federal delegation system. There seems to be a blind spot in the preceding discussion that the non-aerospace people can't see.

 

[SWComposites]

Sparweb - what I meant was no one puts a PE stamp on anything. Of course we in aerospace sign all sorts of documents, and certification documents get submitted to the FAA (in the USA) by a DER/ODA either approving the document/data or recommending approval. And DERs / ODA members certainly need to have certain qualifications and experience and have to be approved by the FAA or ODA system. BUT, that is all completely unrelated to the state administered PE system.

I and many colleague have been independent industry technical consultants for many years, and most don't have DER authorization, and we have have had (maybe fortunately) lots of work over the years. Yes, there are some tasks where having a DER authorization is required. But the interesting thing is that most of those "DER tasks" which involve approving documents/repairs/etc. don't pay very well.

And for those interested, it is almost impossible to get approved as an independent DER without previously being a company DER / ODA member (I tried and the "hoops" the FAA want me to do - which would have involved many unpaid hours - were ridiculous; and this even with certain people in the FAA recommending me for DER authorization).

 

[Sparweb]

Thanks for clarifying SWC,
Given the discussions I've had over the years, with non-aerospace PE's and non-registered engineers, plus many engineers in aerospace but research or military specialties, the system that you and I know so well is not well known at all.

I didn't want it to go unmentioned, given what the OP has asked about. It might have been an underlying assumption of his/hers. Left unsaid, they could have left us with lot explained but a major fact missed.

We would get side-tracked, so I won't comment on the "hoops", though I know what you mean.