Building Blocks - Vol. 1, No. 7
Practicing with or without a license?
It is the Pennsylvania registration law for students graduating after June 30, 1994 to be subjected to a different set of requirements than the graduates receiving their degree prior to that time. See the BPOA web site for complete details.
http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/cwp/view.asp?a=1104&q=432708#exam
(Other state may have differing requirements.)
Did you know that you are qualified to sit for the FE exam after completing the second year of a 4-year college program?
Did you know that the requirements to sit for the PE exam are: the EIT certificate and four years of experience after the issuance of the certificate? Should you decide sometime during your career that you need to become registered, it will be a long process. That promotion or career opportunity won’t wait.
Having the MAE degree will not shorten the required four years of experience. Graduates with MS and/or PhD degrees will be given one year of experience credit each. Teaching experience counts only if the experience comes after receiving the EIT certificate.
So what does this mean to an AE student?
- Not knowing what the future holds, take the FE exam while in college.
- Take the FE exam as soon as you can.
- Complete the EIT paper work as soon after graduation as possible. The years of experience starts after you receive the EIT certificate.
- Completing the MAE program early will be advantageous.
- Although these are Pennsylvania’s rules, this may have implications if you wish to apply for a Pennsylvania license, while holding a registration from another state. It is wise to cover all your bases.
Would you go to an unlicensed doctor? What about a hairdresser or a real estate broker? Why would anyone use an unlicensed engineer?
FE exam applications are available from the Continuing Education Office on the third floor of Engineering Unit C.