PE Question - take the FE exam or petition??? 3

[soonershok]

I have been working as a drafter/designer for 14 years now. I started back to school part time about 4 years ago to get my mech. engineering degree. I now have 2 semesters left before graduation. My question is - do I take the FE-EIT exam this fall and then wait the mandatory time before taking the PE? OR do I petition to use my experience and just go for the PE exam?

I have heard the PE exam is very difficult. Plus I am not sure if I really need to have my PE. Can you all give me advice on pro's and con's of having a PE? Thanks in advance.

Larry

 

[electricpete]

A long thread with lot of opinions. I'll add mine....

PE is well worth while whether your field demands it or not. The effort that you put in to get your PE would generally be pretty low and the payback in terms of marketability will be high.

Your performance will always make the final difference when you're in a company... but when you're changing companies it's an attractive thing to have on your resume.

I would encourage any engineering student to take the EIT while in college. There are quite a few EE's I know who have a tougher time with the EIT when several years out of school than they do with the PE. That's because EIT focuses on a broad range of things (thermo, mechanics, etc) that were learned in school but not necessarily use on the job... those broad skills may decline over time after school while your primary area (ee power for example) should improve over time after school.

 

[soonershok]

Thanks for the advice everyone. To update people who might be curious. I decided to take the FE/EIT exam. I took it last April and passed. It sure is a good feeling.

Now apparently I have to wait 4 years before taking the PE? I am not sure I will ever use a PE for anything, but I think it is something that would be a differece maker when I go up against other engineers for jobs.

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[Rich2001]

Congratulations on passing the FE/EIT exam.

 

[swertel]

You're right. Having the PE after your name definitely helps when job hunting. Also, the average salary increase for doing the same job is 13% over a non-PE. (My source on that number was an informational poster at the local university.)

 

[dozer]

Swertel,

Your local university better get a new poster. I used to work at a place that if you weren't licensed you were classified as a Technical Professional. Once you got your license you were classified as an Engineer and you got a whopping $500 (US) per year raise, but they did not pay the registration fee. After that and taxes you might have $200 extra a year to play with.

I think all of us could provide evidence both for and against getting more money for being licensed. I just want to point out you shouldn't count on it.

 

[stressriser]

In addition,
Where I came from, it didn't matter a rat's breath if you had a PE or not. If you demanded (commanded) more money than another ME, it was NOT because of your license...in fact, it might be reason not to hire you in a manufacturing firm. In the Chicago area, it was how good, how fast and how dependable you were. Experience was tied to industry, and that's how you were evaluated.

Stressriser
MBA....ha ha

 

[StressGuy]

To a degree, it depends on your company's culture and the board in your state. Here in Texas, a bunch of E&C companies like the one I work for got warning from the state board that people who were not PE's could not have Engineer on their business cards. So, for a while, I became an "analyst" until I earned my PE last year. The company revamped it's job titles into analysts and engineers. However, if you look at the description for an analyst and engineer of the same "level", about the only real difference is the requirement for having a PE for the engineer title.

I've never had to use my stamp and, unless there's some kind of major disaster that leads to a change in the legislature, I don't forsee that I may ever use my stamp. However, moreso now, if you want to be considered for any kind of managment position, the PE is becoming one of those things that you need to have.

So, while it may or may not make a difference in your salary compared to the guy at the next desk who doesn't have the PE, it may make a difference in whether you're still sitting next to him 10 years from now. Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

 

[MASSEY]

Every Engineer should pursue the PE in their respective fields. And continue learning after that.

Another way to distinguish true engineers from people who work in the engineering department, is to wear the ring from the 'Order of the Engineer.' The order has strict qualification standards, and the ring is an easy way to identify a fellow engineer.

We must remember that engineers are first scientists. I believe that unless we hold our profession in high regards and esteem, no one else will. We should demonstrate the respect we have for engineering by becoming licensed Professional Engineers.

No one to my limited knowledge has ever regretted getting licensed, however I have met several engineers who regret not pursuing it sooner, and they now feel it is too late.

I have a lot respect for people who do engineering work even though they do not have an engineering degree. I respect people who have the experience of years of work to their credit. I don't deny that some machinists and craftsmen are more reliable to make "engineering" decisions than the engineers who work with them. Still, a craftsman is a craftsman, a machinist is a machinist, a technician is a technician, a detailer is a detailer, a cad operator is a cad operator, and an engineer is an engineer.

Endeavor to be licensed, and if you are not capable of it, die trying. It's never too late. I just graduated in May 2002 with a BSME, have taken and passed the FE, will sit for the PE in 4 years. Today is my birthday - I'm 37, I've been married for 15 years and have 4 children. It's never too late 'til your dead.

 

[stressriser]

Does that ring have the decoder?

 

[RDK]

Massy
You mention the ring from the calling of the engineer and talk of a PE.

PE is an American term, we Canadians use P.Eng. The iron ring from the “Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer” is Canadian.

Are you talking from a US or Canadian perspective?

Or is there an American equivalent to the Canadian Iron Ring? If so is it similar to our Iron Rings that Canadian engineers almost universally wear?
Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[PSE]

This is the US version.

http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org/

Regards

 

[Rich2001]

Order of the Ring. In the US the Ring is Stainless Steel, otherwise from what I know everything else is the same.

http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org/index.html

 

[MASSEY]

It is my understanding that the Canadian "Iron Ring" is an older order and taken more seriously than the "Order of the Engineer". The Iron Ring is harder to get into. The original Iron Rings were made from a failed bridge that served as a reminder of the responsibilty of being an engineer.

Canadians can be admitted into the Order of the Engineer with the same criteria as Americans.

I THINK americans can be accepted into the Iron Ring only if they are PE's and meet addition stringent criteria.

 

[MASSEY]

stressriser,

The ring I got from the order of the engineer does not have the decoder, but the one I got from the Marine Corps does.

 

[TD2K]

The bridge story wrt the Canadian iron ring is an urban myth BTW. And the Canadian iron rings have been made of stainless for some time (I graduated in 1981, mine is stainless).

 

[RDK]

I had looked into getting a Canadian ring for an American friend.

The criteria is (or at least was on 1999) that the individual has to be either a graduate of an accredited Canadian engineering school or a member of a Canadian professional engineer association. Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[MASSEY]

TD2K,

I had also heard that the bridge story was myth or legend or lore but that also the first one's were from the bridge.

Suffice it to say that they are now stainless steel.

 

[Wirenut]

I passed the PE in April of 2001. I went around to some A&E's and was not too happy with what they had to offer. I recently started a job with a public utility and love it.

I know I will never regret getting my PE!!!!!!!!!! I know that it at the very least opened many doors that would have been closed otherwise. Wirenut