Becoming a PE in a field different from degree

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MechEdetour

Member
Location
NY, USA
Has anyone here gone through the process of becoming a PE under what I would term "unconventional circumstances?"

For example, graduated in mechanical, worked in electrical industry, and now would like to pursue licensure in Electrical industry.

I understand a lot is really dependent on the state, etc., but are any of the following cases possible?


  • Graduate with BS in Mechanical Eng Technology from ABET accredited college, took FE exam in Mechanical discipline, PE exam in Electrical and Computer: Power discipline.

  • Graduate with BS in Mechanical Eng Technology from ABET accredited college, took FE exam in Electrical and Computer discipline, PE exam in Electrical and Computer: Power discipline.
 

mgookin

Senior Member
Location
Fort Myers, FL
2 things come to mind and I speak of Florida experience.

To be a PE in FL you have to have the 4 year degree from an ABET accredited school, pass the FE and PE tests. Then you're allowed to practice in any discipline in which you can demonstrate proficiency & experience. Example: Major in EE and work as EE for a civil engineering firm doing the electrical to start out. Ten years down the road and the guy wants to retire. Well over those 10 years you did lots of civil too. You don't need to do anything else to open your own civil engineering firm. If anyone should question it, you're a licensed PE and have been for 10 years and have worked in a civil engineering firm all that time and have been doing civil.

Other states might not say that though. But there is reciprocity among many states.

I know of a guy who qualified in one state but did not qualify in his state at the time. He went to that other state and got his license, then went back home and did reciprocity. Sounds snaky but perfectly legal by the letter of the law.

Specifically to NY, I can't help you without doing lots of reading but you can do that yourself because you're smart; you're an engineer!
 

ASG

Senior Member
Location
Work in NYC
Occupation
Electrical Engineer, PE
Most people do that when they get their PE in Fire Protection. It can be done no problem.
 

Smart $

Esteemed Member
Location
Ohio
I'm not certain but I believe in Ohio you have to be discipline indentured (not sure if that's the proper term) and experienced before you can take the exam and get your license.
 

MechEdetour

Member
Location
NY, USA
Well, just going off the feedback so far looks though it really does come down to the state. I guess I'll have to dig into it.

I also heard in the past that in certain states, your discipline is irrelevant. So you can sign off on anything whether civil, electrical, etc. so long as you are a licensed engineer. Honestly that's scary, but just what I heard.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Well, just going off the feedback so far looks though it really does come down to the state. I guess I'll have to dig into it.

I also heard in the past that in certain states, your discipline is irrelevant. So you can sign off on anything whether civil, electrical, etc. so long as you are a licensed engineer. Honestly that's scary, but just what I heard.

It's true in Texas. The other side of that coin is that a PE puts his or her license on the line and assumes liability every time (s)he affixes that PE stamp to anything, and if operating independently (s)he had better have Professional Errors and Omissions insurance in place. I certainly do.
 

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
Well, just going off the feedback so far looks though it really does come down to the state. I guess I'll have to dig into it.

I also heard in the past that in certain states, your discipline is irrelevant. So you can sign off on anything whether civil, electrical, etc. so long as you are a licensed engineer. Honestly that's scary, but just what I heard.

This is also true in NJ. My degree was technically a BE, with a concentration in Chemical Engineering. By many a winding path, I now sign and seal plans for fire alarm systems because by training (OJT and PDH's) and experience I'm qualified to do so.
 

ASG

Senior Member
Location
Work in NYC
Occupation
Electrical Engineer, PE
Well, just going off the feedback so far looks though it really does come down to the state. I guess I'll have to dig into it.

I also heard in the past that in certain states, your discipline is irrelevant. So you can sign off on anything whether civil, electrical, etc. so long as you are a licensed engineer. Honestly that's scary, but just what I heard.
In every job I've been on (NJ/NY/PA), one PE has signed off for all trades (M/E/P). In many engineering firms, only the partners sign off on drawings. I think it would be pretty bad, especially considering how few non-Mechanical engineers have a license, if you had to have a licensed mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer on staff in order to have an MEP firm.
 
Well, just going off the feedback so far looks though it really does come down to the state. I guess I'll have to dig into it.

I also heard in the past that in certain states, your discipline is irrelevant. So you can sign off on anything whether civil, electrical, etc. so long as you are a licensed engineer. Honestly that's scary, but just what I heard.

There are states that require that the PE is "discipline specific"... So far they are Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Nevada, Hawaii, and the most difficult to get was California. To my knowledge all others can be sealed by a PE who feels competent in that discipline.
 

mgookin

Senior Member
Location
Fort Myers, FL
There are states that require that the PE is "discipline specific"... So far they are Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Nevada, Hawaii, and the most difficult to get was California. To my knowledge all others can be sealed by a PE who feels competent in that discipline.

Do those states require separate licenses for each discipline? Or does the PE take multiple tests for endorsement in each discipline?
 

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
There are states that require that the PE is "discipline specific"... So far they are Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Nevada, Hawaii, and the most difficult to get was California. To my knowledge all others can be sealed by a PE who feels competent in that discipline.

Mmmmm, I don't think so. I just looked up Rhode Island, and nowhere in their rules and regulations is there anything about a differentiation of the license. If you look at the official roster of RI-licensed PE's there is no discipline designation.

Here's a portion of 5-8-14:

§ 5-8-14 Certificates of registration – Enrollment cards – Seals. – (a) With the assistance of the department, the board shall issue and renew a certificate of registration, upon payment of the registration fee as provided for in this chapter, to any applicant, who, in the opinion of the board, has met the requirements of this chapter. Enrollment cards shall be issued to those who qualify as engineers-in-training. Certificates of registration shall carry the designation "professional engineer", show the full name of the registrant without any titles, have a serial number and shall be signed by the chairperson of the board.

Notice that it doesn't say, "professional engineer - electrical" or "professional engineer - civil", etc.

Now, when you take the Principles and Practices portion of the exam, you can choose a specific discipline. When I was applying, you could go for Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, or Chemical. They've recently added Fire Protection. That choice does not limit your area of practice.
 

MechEdetour

Member
Location
NY, USA
I ended up emailing NCEES last night and got some of my answers. . . pretty much lines up with what everyone has been saying.

For NYS, "What your degree was earned in has no determination on which FE examination you can take in New York State. What FE exam you pass in New York State has no determination on which PE exam you can take. Once you pass the FE and PE exams and become licensed, you are to practice in your area of expertise. New York State does not license by discipline on the PE exam, some states do."

So looks like one can essentially go any route to attain the PE, any then sign off on their field of expertise.
 

MasterTheNEC

CEO and President of Electrical Code Academy, Inc.
Location
McKinney, Texas
Occupation
CEO
In Virginia - you could be a mechanical engineer and get your PE and as long as you attend some training in the areas to which you intend to practice you can do any of the disciplines. I know plenty of PE's who sign and stamp electrical drawings but are graduates of a civil or mechanical engineering program. Once they get the PE they take some CEU classes in Electrical and the state considers them acceptable to stamp electrical plans.
 

MechEdetour

Member
Location
NY, USA
Yea it seems though the requirements for specific disciplines is less common than I thought. I thought it'd be the other way around for most cases. . .
 

dkarst

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
I thought I had a link to a listing by state of "discipline specific" states but can't seem to find it. If you go to this link at NCEES

http://ncees.org/licensing-boards/

then look at the board profile survey for a state you will see the answer to the question for that state: for example:


Engineering licensure
Last updated 07/12/2012
As a professional engineer, allowed to practice in his/her area(s) of competency

I'll just also mention that some state have some issues with a "technology" BSMET degree vs. a regular BSME... as stated earlier, you really have to look at each state (unfortunately). At least in my state, the state does know what discipline you are licensed in.

Keep in mind, if you took the exam for say mechanical and are sealing electrical plans, the responsibility is yours to show you are competent in that field.
 

kenman215

Senior Member
Location
albany, ny
Well, just going off the feedback so far looks though it really does come down to the state. I guess I'll have to dig into it.

I also heard in the past that in certain states, your discipline is irrelevant. So you can sign off on anything whether civil, electrical, etc. so long as you are a licensed engineer. Honestly that's scary, but just what I heard.

Completely scary, but at one point was definitely true in NY. I wired a high end home for a state engineer who specifically designed radiant heat systems for state highway rest stops. He decided to do his own install and I tried to help him from a mechanical standpoint with how to route the runs. The right way was a lot more tubing and a lot not work, apparently. He drilled over 150 1 1/4" holes through his tripled up LVL main beam that ran the entire width of his very large house, spacing his holes 8" on center. When I told him that LVL cannot be drilled in such a manner and he would likely fail his building inspection, his response was "I'm an engineer, I'll certify it." He was and he did, much to the dismay of the building inspector...
 

GoldDigger

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Placerville, CA, USA
Occupation
Retired PV System Designer
That sounds scary, but if he actually used the sizing software supplied by the beam manufacturer it might be legitimate. It certainly exceeds the number of holes allowed by general guidelines without engineering.
 

ggunn

PE (Electrical), NABCEP certified
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer - Photovoltaic Systems
Completely scary...
Why is it scary? Plenty of engineers graduate in one discipline and later get additional training and experience which gives them competence in another. We PE's put our license and livelihood on the line with every use of our stamp, and speaking strictly for myself, I take that very seriously.
 
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