PE Question

[futebol3]

Hello,
I would first like to say that this site has already provided me with a great deal of information that, given my current work environment, would have been nearly impossible to get elsewhere.

To get to my questions, Id like to explain my situation a little bit first. I graduated from Georgia Tech about a year and a half ago and received a BS in Industrial Engineering. I have been working for a small manufacturing company in Ohio since then.

I am interested in becoming a PE, but it seems I may have a problem. I am the only Engineer in my entire company (corporate included). I dont think anyone else even has an engineering degree. To get a PE, is it required to actually be working for someone who has one? Does anyone have any experience with a similar problem and if so, were you still able to accomplish this or did you have to find a new job with an actual PE to mentor with? Does anyone know of any sort of mentorship with an Engineering Association that could count towards this as I cannot accomplish the experience internally with my current company?

Also, I am not sure of this, but I have been working directly with Engineering related projects as the resident "Engineer" up to this point and I have not taken the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering, I guess replaced the EIT). Does my work experience before taking the FE still count towards 4 total years for a PE? Or is it only time served after completing the FE?

Thanks for any input or advice you can provide.

John

 

[JStephen]

I think in a general sense, it can be done, but the details would vary depending on the circumstances.

Usually, the engineering experience is reckoned from graduation, not from the FE test. I think I took the two tests 6 months apart or so.

If you haven't done so, hunt up your state's engineering rules and get familiar with them. It would probably be worthwhile to contact the state board to get their input on the situation as well.

One of the things that can come up is that if you are working in an industry that is normally exempt from the PE requirements, then they may accept someone with equivalent standing- assuming such a person is available.

 

[jpankask]

Only your state board can provide definitive answers.

http://www.ohiopeps.org/

In general, your experience should count from graduation (internships do not count, some states count coop experience at 1/2 time). My state allows you to take the exam without working directly under a PE if there is not one in your company. Your supervisor still has to sign off on your experience AND I still needed PE references, which I got from my college coop job. Ohio probably has a similar provision, check the statutes. If you don't know any PE's, you can start networking now to get to know some who can provide a reference for you. Good luck.

 

[COEngineeer]

Do you need to be a PE to work in your field? I have a friend who is an industrial eng., he told me once that he didnt need PE license.

 

[futebol3]

Thanks all for your responses.

jpankask
Ive checked out this site and it did not have direct answers to these questions that I could find with a few high level searches. I thought it might be the case where they would let me take the test without working under a PE, but I wasnt sure how prevalent this was. And yes, I will have to start networking to find PE's to use as references.

COEngineeer
It appears that its not necessary to have one to work in this field, because I am currently listed as my companies only IE and I do not have a PE. I thought it might serve to establish myself more as a reliable Engineer and in the event I leave my small company and want to get into a larger industry, would give me more credibility as an Engineer. Not to mention, I can probably convince my manager to give a pay bump with it.


I'll try and track down more info as this process is all pretty new to me and I appreciate the help.

 

[ShaggyPE]

In California (Ohio may be different), a person working in an exempt field (i.e. manufacturing, consumer products, etc) only needs references who can vouch for their technical experience. You don't need your references to be PEs. Fortunately, at the company I work at, I was able to get one Mechanical PE (my boss) and a few engineers (non-PEs) in the mechanical discipline, as well as the VP of engineering who is a non-PE Electrical Engineer.

You may have some success in the forums at

http://ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_forums.html

-Shaggy

 

[jpankask]

You'll have to dig a little deeper. The answer will either be one paragraph in the statutes or if you are lucky a statement on the application. My state application gave a separate form that had to be filled out to explain why certain references were not PE's. I earned my PE while working as an engineer in an exempt industry. Basically my explanation was that I worked in an exempt industry and there were no PE's working at my company. Short and simple, it didn't appear to hold up my application. Of course, I still had other references that were PE's from previous work.

If your boss does chip in for a raise after you get your PE, you are lucky. Managers in exempt industry, particularly non-engineer managers often do not realize the time and effort it takes to earn your license and typically will not compensate for it, especially if it is not required for your job. However, I definitely recommend getting licensed. Even if you never use your license, it can help open doors for you and it will impress potential employers that you put in the effort to get licensed when it wasn't required for your job.

 

[MR66stang]

I'm in the same situation as you out here in WA. I'm the only engineer on staff at my company and have been working out of college for 3-1/2 years (BSME). I do a lot of work within the heavy lifting industry which all requires a PE stamp of approval. I became worried about the statute of "working under the direct supervision of a PE" as well, so all I did was call my state board of engineers.

After being tossed through the loops, I finally got someone who mattered and I told him my story. He said all that was needed is to get my 3rd party PE, who stamps my work, to verify my experience and that he would be considered the direct PE supervisor.

I'd assume Ohio is similar, but I'd go to the state board directly. Don't bother e-mailing them or writing a letter, you will never get anything out of it. Call them directly and document your calls. It will usually take about 3 different people to get who you need, but once your there, take there name and write everything down.

Good Luck.

 

[JStephen]

I assume every state requires the references, but I have found that the reference forms vary somewhat in the wording. In some cases, it sounds like they are wanting personal references- which might be people who have known you a long time, even though you've never actually worked for them. In other cases, it might be people who are familiar with your work in a technical sense- in which case, it might be people you haven't actually met. Also, the general presumption is that your normal business contacts will generate the appropriate people for references, but if not, there's no reason these can't be intentional contacts for that reason. I remember reading in time past that CA had a program like that for structural engineers, who needed references from other SE's- the board would actually put them in contact with people who could review their work.

 

[futebol3]

Thanks for the advice all.

Im glad to know that others have been in similar spots and there are options that can still lead to a PE. It seems my next step is to definitly get ahold of ohio's board.

Hopefully, they also have a program which can put me in touch with other PEs because I can safely say no one at my company has theirs...

 

[GSTeng]

Futebol3,
It sounds like you have the answer I was going to give. Call you state board and ask them about everything, because all states are different.

Here in NM you can get an exemption if you don't know any PEs. It requires an additional application or something but it is possible. There are many industries that don't need or have PEs on staff. In my work I am the only Engineer on staff in this region and I don't need to have a PE, but I am getting it anyways. Hopefully with a raise but more for me and my future ambitions, not to mention the company I am working for will pay for all the books and fees.

My advice, get you PE, if you need it or not, there is no way it can hurt and make a friend of someone know gable at the state board, one call should answer all your questions.