SE or PE?

[NateB]

When are you considered an SE? I have passed the Structural I exam and I am liscensed in VA. Do I use SE or PE? Do I need to pass S2 in order to be an SE?

Thanks for your help.

 

[swivel63]

you're a PE. i don't believe you're an SE until after the S2.

 

[socks15]

swivel63 is correct. I also believe you need to get an actual SE license from a state that has the structural engineer designation. Most of the time you have to pass the SE1 and SE2, but CA has an extra test that you have to take in addition to the 1 and 2 exams. For example: I'm a structural engineer with a P.E. in Michigan, but I plan on becoming a Illinois(sp?) S.E.

 

[swivel63]

to be an illinios SE, don't you also have to pass the Illinios PE first? and to get the SE in Ill, don't you have to work for a registered SE for X number of years?

 

[minorchord2000]

I had the same question last summer. During one of our SEA meetings, the speaker was on the Arizona Board of Technical Registration and I asked that very same question. The answer is what swivel has posted. You must have the structural license (if your state even has such a thing) before you can call yourself an SE.

The funny thing here in AZ is that none of the AZ registrants who are structural licensees, do not take advantage of the SE moniker, althought they can if they wished.

 

[grandcasita]

See

http://www.ncees.org/records/mlse/

for info on the "model law structural engineer".

My undergraduate degree is not structural, but my masters is. However, I will be required to take several additional courses if I wish to do a MLSE. Some states recognize the NCEES MLSE when considering licensure.

Fees for the SE II exam go up next year (2008); In TX, the SE II will go from $470 to $720.

 

[nutte]

$720? Ouch. I checked the Texas board website, but I didn't see mention of this. Did they give any reasoning for it going up so much?

 

[grandcasita]

http://www.tbpe.state.tx.us/news.htm#exams1006

NCEES/ELSES is raising the fee.

 

[Qshake]

To be correct you'd have to wade through the following:

States that have a title act,
States that have registration, and
States that actually have licensure.

For those states with licensure, the answer is obvious. States with title acts are particular about using titles but typically there is no legal merit. States that have registration only are specific about what you're registered as and it usually is a PE.

Regards,
Qshake

Eng-Tips Forums:Real Solutions for Real Problems Really Quick.

 

[jt12]

A lot of registered S.E.'s in California, Washington, and Illinois would disagree with Swivel and Minorchord. They would say a structural P.E. in a state such as Arizona would be a P.E. and not an S.E. even though they have passed the Structural 2 exam. You should be aware of this as to not damage your reputation by giving yourself a designation a lot of people don't believe you actually have. I figure it is just an abbreviation, and it doesn't really matter, but I don't want anyone questioning my integrity, so I don't consider myself an S.E. even though I have passed the structural II and am registered as a Structural P.E. in several states.

 

[HgTX]

Wouldn't it be okay to refer to oneself as a "structural engineer" (lower case) without the letters "S.E." after the name, in states that don't have separate licensure? I mean, someone who concentrated in structural as an undergrad, went through a structural grad program (which in most schools is a subdivision of a civil engineering department), and now designs structures for a living--the description of that field is in fact structural engineering (as opposed to geotech, hydrology, transportation, or other subdisciplines of civil engineering). I mean, the geotechnical engineers get to call themselves geotechnical engineers rather than more generically "civil", and same for the transportation engineers.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[JStephen]

Note that in a lot of states, there's no specific requirement to use the SE title. You need to find the state rules for your specific state and read through them very carefully.

Also note that just because you're a SE or PE in one state, doesn't mean you are in other states. Who CA believes to be an SE doesn't matter unless you're practicing in CA.

 

[socks15]

This may put gas on the fire, but what the heck. If and when I pass the SE1 and SE2 and pay my money for the license and stamp, I'm a SE in IL and a PE in MI. This is regardless of what others may think or complain about. If I've met the requirment of a particular state what difference is there between me and another person that met the same criteria? Just because I'm from another state doesn't mean that I'm not up to their level. And yes I know there practice and title laws and such. I'm just concerned that at a time when there is a lot of change occuring in the structural license area that someone who goes to work everyday as a structural engineer is all of a sudden not a structural engineer because of another state's requirements. As long as an engineer meets each states requirement's they are what they are.

 

[IceNine]

Passing SE1 and SE2 are not the only criteria. In IL you need four years of experience under a licensed SE (someone who has passed SE1 & SE2), whereas in most other states, you need four years of experience under a licensed PE (someone who may have passed the Civil PE exam and not even taken SE1, much less SE2).
There's a big difference in my opinion.

Ice

 

[socks15]

Again, if I've met the state's requirements then I've met them.

 

[grandcasita]

A PE is state-specific.

Just as with doctors, your license stops at the state line.

If you are not an SE in your state, it'd be wise to not call yourself one - I'd be in line to criticize you if you came here calling yourself an SE (Texas doesn't recognize the SE designation). You are, as I am, free to call yourself a "structural engineer" if that is what you do (and you are indeed a PE here).

 

[jt12]

Does anyone else think it's dumb that each state has their own license requirements? There has got to be some sort of national registration that would work. Why should I have to go to each of 50 different boards if I need to do work in that state?

 

[crossframe]

It's called the 10th Amendment.

 

[socks15]

Yeah, and I'm sure when a doctor is on vacation outside his/her state he/she tells people when they ask "I'm a doctor, but only in state x".

Maybe eventually we'll have a nation wide license, but in the meantime we get to agree and disagree on this topic.

 

[jt12]

We don't get around by horse and buggy anymore. We are supposed to be living in a global economy. It is obviously a state right to delegate registration requirements, but it seems inefficient and out-dated.