P.Eng Academic Requirements HELP! Energy Engineering 4

[Eric1992]

Hi I need some help on P.Eng Academic Requirements please.

I obtained a Energy Systems Engineering Technology Diploma (3yr) from College in Canada, I then went on to get a B.Sc. (Hons) in Renewable Energy & Energy Management in Ireland (1 yr). Now I'm completing a M.Sc. in Energy Engineering (1yr) in England. My end goal is to get a P.Eng License in Canada.

My question is when applying in Canada for EIT, (specifically when they review my academics) will my B.Sc. in Renewable Energy & Energy Management be a red flag to them?

1. I am wondering if it makes sense to go back to Ireland for 1 year and get a B.Eng to align myself with what seems to be a specific B.Eng academic requirement or should I just apply for a P.Eng/EIT license and see what happens? I dont want to get caught in a long loop of technical exams and have them determine my college courses weren't good enough either, if I can just avoid it all by going and getting a B.Eng quickly and streamlining my application. Also I dont really see "Energy Engineering" as a discipline listed to apply under so it seems like somewhat uncharted territory, not many programs exist. The closest thing related I found was Building / Mechanical Engineering.

2. Can you provide certifications such as a LEED AP, CEM, CBCP, CMVP (all from AEE) to show your academics in your application?


I've also got 5 years combined work experience as a Mechanical Commissioning Agent in Canada and USA if that counts.

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[miningman]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you are going about this the wrong way. You will not be eligible for P.Eng in Canada until you have been working as an EIT for three years, under the direct supervision of a P.Eng. This implies that none of your work experience todate will be relevant. Your B.Sc forom a college in Canada sounds suspicious. Unless this college is
known and accredited by one of the Provincial Engineering Associations , this will likely be essentially valueless.

You seem to want to work /live in Canada. If this is correct , apply to emigrate here, find a job of some sort , and then build on that. And sooner or later you have to be able to articulate where you want to settle and what type of engineering you want to practice.. and , hint ,, I've never met or worked with an " Energy Management Engineer"

 

[jmec87]

Each province in Canada has its own engineering association and there will likely be variation in their requirements and/or their interpretation of the requirements for complicated cases. I recommend carefully reading the requirements of the engineering association for the province where you want to get your P.Eng. If you still have questions, contact them.

Certifications that are not from a college or university normally don't count as academic qualifications. Diplomas and degrees from accredited institutions (and courses that count towards degrees from accredited institutions) are what normally count.

 

[IRstuff]

I once interviewed someone who was sans a degree, but had a manila folder chock full of certificates; and the net result was he still didn't have the theoretical background to do the work he was applying for.

If you are planning on getting a license in ME, you're going to have huge issues if your academic background didn't match up with a BSME's. It's going to be hard enough if you were an ME, but not having the academics is another level of difficulty.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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[Eric1992]

Just to clarify

- I dont have a B.Sc. from Canada, I have an Ontario College Applied Arts and Technology Diploma, my B.Sc is from Ireland. Here's a link to how B.Sc. in Energy Management aligns with the Washington Accord.

https://www.engineersireland.ie/services/accredited-courses/all-programmes.aspx

- I am a Canadian Citizen with work experience in Canada. My understanding from the licensing guide for PEO is that the work experience may help my case towards less technical exams since it was done after my B.Sc.

- There's plenty of Energy Engineering and "Energy Management" Engineers out there, its a new disclpine in Canada but quite older in Europe. As an example the University of Calgary, Carleton University, and Simon Fraser University in Canada have created energy engineering programs within the last 5 years.

 

[miningman]

Ontario College Applied Arts ......... might do a good course in basketweaving or film making or some such goof off subject but I cant see any of their technology type courses having been evaluated and accredited by one of the provincial engineering associations. I dont think the Washington accord has any relevance here either. You have been given good advice here. It might not be what you wanted to hear but dont take our advice....... contact PEO directly

 

[Eric1992]

Here straight from PEO. Regardless Miningman you're not providing any sound advice. Please go away.

http://www.peo.on.ca/index.php?ci_id=2058&la_id=1

The minimum educational level stipulated by the Professional Engineers Act is:

a three-year diploma in technology from a College of Applied Arts and Technology; or
a bachelor's degree in a relevant science area; or
academic qualifications deemed by the Council to be equivalent to a diploma or degree.

 

[skeletron]

I don't think there is anyway to avoid technical exams because of this statement:

"To obtain your professional engineer licence, you must have a bachelor's degree in engineering from a Canadian university program accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB), a working Board of the Engineers Canada (EC), or equivalent academic qualifications. If your bachelor's degree in engineering was obtained from a non-CEAB-accredited program, your qualifications will be assessed against the Canadian Engineering Qualification Board (CEQB) criteria in your engineering discipline."


While you have demonstrated that you have some academic qualifications, I think your application will be at risk for not meeting that requirement. I say that after observing other international engineers having difficulty getting their degrees recognized with their application.

Most direct option is to work/educate in the area that you want to practice. I think acknowledging that you want to circumvent or short-cut some rules is kind of the first piece of evidence that you might not be taking the best route.

 

[Sparweb]

Hi Eric,

The minimum requirements that you've listed are just a minimum, and the specific interpretation for any person's case can be a combination of objective and subjective measures, so watch out. The assumption built into that list is that the accreditations are obtained in Canada. The PEO starts from a self-protective stance when it comes to foreign credits, putting the onus on the applicant to show that the foreign school is adequate.

It might help you to look at the "Licensee" accreditation, rather than the P.Eng. This is one of the ways that PEO's handle engineers that can show that they are or could be accredited elsewhere, but not rigorously enough for the full P.Eng. Or meet the PL standard until they gain experience or documents can be reviewed pursuant to the P.Eng later.

It would therefore help if you have an accreditation in the UK that you can show them, or if you have time before moving back to Canada, to get that process started in the UK so that it's done before you move.

If Miningman is telling you what you don't want to hear, would you respect the opinion of PEO any more, if they also don't tell you want you want to hear? You had better prepare for much more frustration than one contrary opinion on a web forum.

FYI, I've been down a similar road. 20 year career and still negotiating the pitfalls of Canada's many varied professional regulators.

Another aside: Is it absolutely necessary to go to Ontario? There are 9 other provinces, many are more accommodating than the PEO.

http://www.sparweb.ca

 

[Eric1992]

Thanks Sparweb,

Which province is the most accommodating in your opinion?

I have looked into the P.L.Eng and it is an option, my only concern is that its not "well known". Do you know if the public opinion on a P.L.Eng is well received or understood?

 

[moltenmetal]

Be careful, because PEO in Ontario offers LIMITED LICENSES to certified engineering technologists. A LIMITED LICENSE is NOT a P.Eng. license. The latter requires at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited engineering program.

You can have your academic requirements reviewed by the licensure body and they will determine whether or not your degree/program meet the requirements. Don't pay anyone else for such evaluations as they are worthless- only the ERC of the provincial licensure body can do this evaluation.

Generally, a Masters degree from a Canadian university isn't enough to transmute a bachelor's degree which doesn't meet ERC's requirements into something that does. That approach was tried by many foreign trained engineers and they failed. I would be very surprised if an add-on degree elsewhere would transmute a Canadian CET education into a Bachelor's degree, but if you have a Bachelors in engineering ( a B.Eng. or B.A.Sc.) from an accredited Irish program you might be elligible. Talk to the licensing body in the province you wish to work in. And remember you still need 4 yrs of experience, at least 1 of which is mentored by a Canadian licensee.

 

[Sparweb]

Hi Eric,
To many people, you're either a doctor or a nurse, a lawyer or a paralegal, an engineer or a technician. Show up with a CET, P.L.Eng, or (my favourite) P.Tech(Eng) and you will have to explain it to most people, even some that do have one of the lesser-known accreditations.

I find it only a mild annoyance; mostly because I work in an industry that is federally regulated, and needs its own accreditation system. I'm also in a location that cannot attract many credible P.Eng's, but there is a supply of technologists with the chops to do the work. I wouldn't get the same respect in Ontario.

Whatever you want to paper your walls with, better make sure it leads to a career you actually want, and doesn't put a ceiling on your goals. As Moltenmetal points out, a PL does not open all the same doors as a P.Eng, and its effectiveness varies from province to province. Nothing is standardized in Canada. Every province is an island.

If you choose to upgrade to a Bachelor's degree, there are universities in Canada that specialize in that. Lakehead in Thunder Bay comes to mind; probably others. Whether you do that or not, you still need the work experience in Canada. Nothing will happen unless you get the clock started.

I'm in Alberta, where the APEGA is quite hostile to the accreditation of technologists. I'm registered with ASET and that's a pretty good bunch of people, but since aircraft are federally regulated, neither APEGA nor ASET know what to do with my discipline. I began the fight with APEGA but gave up after a while and registered as a PL with APEGS Saskatchewan instead. They were much more open-minded to my application. Neither of these really mattered, because neither a PL nor a P.Eng would allows me to do anything to aircraft anyway. All it does is open a door to get federal delegation, which is yet another pile of paperwork. You don't have to worry about this much stuff in your discipline.

http://www.sparweb.ca