P.E. licensure 1

[Jdharia1]

Hey guys,
I have done my undergraduate degree from india and my masters from auburn university in structural engineering.
I had applied to give my P.E. license exam and my undergraduate degree evaluation shows that my curriculum is defficient in maths and science credit hrs as per the requirements of ABET. Since in India we do all our maths and science before we go to college this evalaution does not represent the math and science education i have had.
I am not able to give my license exam because of this requirement.
Any suggestions welcome

 

[KENAT]

Have you tried explaining this to the board, if not that's my first suggestion.

If that's not an option then I'd be interested in seeing over responses as my degree isn't from the US either and getting licenced one day might be nice.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[TheTick]

Is your masters program not ABET accredited?

 

[lappygamer]

As strange as it sounds, it is my undeerstanding that ABET will only accredit an undergraduate OR graduate program, but not both at the same school. Most schools choose to get the undergradute accreditation for obvious reasons.

 

[frv]

tbova- I've heard the same thing, although I have no knowledge if this is true.

 

[lappygamer]

Curiosity got the better of me. It looks like it is true. From abet.org:

"ABET accredits graduate programs within applied science and engineering only. However, within engineering, institutions are restricted to accrediting only one program per discipline per level. Because graduation from an undergraduate program is generally considered adequate preparation for entry into the engineering profession, most institutions choose to accredit undergraduate programs only."

 

[msquared48]

Push comes to shove - challenge the math classes you need credit for and have taken.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[zdas04]

I had a similar (but less serious) problem when I tried to get licensed in an additional state. My undergraduate program allowed me to skip the Physics requirement based on my Physics coursework in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School. My graduate program required a review of my notes from that class and they allowed it. When I applied for a PE they had no problem with my credits and I was allowed to sit for the exam. The NCEES granted me a Board Record with them (to facilitate reciprocity) and the first state I applied to accepted me with no problem. Then the next state said I was deficient in Physics. They would not entertain any additional information nor was there an appeal process. 5 years later I still don't have a license in that state.

Were I you I would apply to an adjacent state without ever mentioning the first state and see what happens. 3/4 of the jurisdictions who reviewed my records were willing to accept a non-traditional path to math and science. I'd say it was worth a shot.

David

 

[rheim]

jdharia1,
here is how it worked for me: when I came to the US from Germany in 2004, I applied to sit for the PE exam, but ABET did not accredit my degree (it equals a MS)in full, because I had substituted transportation, fluid mechanics, and hydrology for steel and wood design. ABET reasoned that I didn't have enough classes in "creative design". Actually, the basics of steel and wood design are part of classes called building design, which I had taken, but ABET didn't care. The board of Licensing then asked me (or should I say allowed me) to take the FE exam first, i.e. 25 years after graduation I had to go back to the very basics and could then consider myself an engineer in training. What a blast. All my working experience was acknowledged, so that I could take the PE test 6 months later. Maybe this is a way for you to go. BTW, I am in WA, licensing boards of other states may handle this differently.
Addendum 1: the classes in transportation and hydrology I had taken actually helped a lot during both the FE and PE test, as there were lots of related questions, and hardly any questions about steel or wood design.
Addendum 2: I perfectly understand that there have to be different licensing requirements in each state, as Newtons law of gravity works differently everywhere. A friend recently said they have different reqiurements because it keeps a lot of people busy, allows them to feel in charge, and gives them a chance to collect fees. But as I said, this is only a friends opinion, and I don't buy it. Sorry for the rant, but I had to say this.

 

[zdas04]

The NCEES board record is slowly homogenizing the process, but it is danged slow. As long as there is even one self-important individual on the board that doesn't feel that he needs to give credence to other states, the different states will have very different rules. At the end of the day the current system just puts too much authority in the hands of small-minded jerks.

David

 

[PilotPM]

Did you take the FE Exam? It's a no brainer right out of school, just take it. I took it 5 years post graduation and had to study, but it is doable, and an extreemly strong argument for equivalency. Haven't checked reciently, but many states used to recognize two exams (FE and PE) with no degree (requiring more experience) so ABET would become a moot point.

Sounds like a real Catch-22 here. Very infortunate. One word of caution: If you do decide to persue another state, DO IT NOW, before you have a written determination from this application, as, they always ask: "Have you every been denied registration in another state"? I guess your answer could still be no, as you have not been denied registration, but rather have been denied the opportunity to sit for the exam, buy hey, why let this spin out of control any farther than it already has?

 

[KENAT]

PilotPM, at least in CA some of the same issues come up with wanting to take the FE as with taking the PE with regard to the foreign degree, the alternate experience being under a PE and so on.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484