PE Exam Foreign Degree

[slickdeals]

Folks,
Do you know if there are states that allow you to appear for your PE if you have a Masters degree from the US but a Bachelors degree from a foreign country? I already have my EI certification.

Many States like Texas,Florida require that my Bachelors degree be evaluated to equate it to an ABET equivalent. However, I have heard that when credits that you have taken in foreign countries is evalulated, it ends up forcing you to take classes in ethics and statistics and chemistry etc.

Does anyone know if there is a way I can take my PE in another state, get it out of the way, and then work on getting taking stupid courses to get registered in Florida.

 

[JStephen]

It seems to me that it would be worthwhile to find out for sure what is required, first.

In some states, maybe many of them, you can't get your initial registration there unless you live there.

 

[slickdeals]

Thanks.

I know what is required in Florida (based on other people who have gone through the same procedure), but I want to get the PE monkey off my back (as in pass the exam first) and then worry about taking stupid classes to get registered here in FL.

 

[craigmcg]

I know of a guy who flew to Washington from Florida to get his PE in hopes that his PE license would transfer to Florida. That was not the case and he was forced to take his courses in Florida anyways. (He had two masters degrees and a PhD). To answer your question, Washington should allow you to, but it would be better to contact your preferred state boards first before just focusing on one that might not be convenient.

 

[slickdeals]

Craigmcg, thanks for your reply. It is very frustrating when you are a structural engineer and forced to take some classes that are meaningless. I am just venting at my helplessness.

 

[dgkhan]

I believe Michigan state waives education requirements for Non-Abet Bachelors, if they have US masters. Second tip, try to get NCEES accreditation so in future lot of state will give you license with simple application.

 

[prsconsultant]

I went through this excercise and it is very frustrating. I have B. Engg from India and then MS from US university. It does not matter if you have MS or PhD from US you still have to go throug this hurdle. Depending on the state board, you have to get your undergraduate degree evaluated by ECEC or some other 3rd party agency.

For me it took nearly 2 years with ECEC. Most of it has to do with the fact that the engineering school I went in India does not have a policy to issue official transcripts & syllabi directly to ECEC. But after going through all this ECEC did the evaluation and stated that my engineering degree lacks "Basic Math" and "Humanities / Social Sciences". It is funny as they also say I have 3 times more than the required credit towards advanced math! When I talked to them they were looking for basic calculus which I had taken in pre-university level.

After getting this evaluation, I had wrote a letter to my state board stating the actual facts about the deficiencies along with a strong statement of my engineering experience and MS in USA. The board approved my application in less than 2 weeks without asking a single question. I walked in to the exam with less than 1 week of preparation and passed it.

Just don't give up. Be persistant and you will suceed. Let me know if you need any additional info.

 

[shin25]

Or, most of the states will let you take the exam after you have gained certain additional number of years of experience.

 

[JStephen]

Keep in mind also that you can get registered in additional states if you are already registered in a state with similar requirements. But for example, back when I got my Texas registration, Texas did not require any exams. But to get my license in another state, I had to take the exams. So if you need to be licensed in State A, it doesn't necessarily help to be licensed in State B if their requirements are different from State A.