EETs and the Fundamentals Of Engineering exam.

Status
Not open for further replies.
U

Ultrahighgain

Member
First post here!

I have recently received my B.S. in electrical engineering technology from the University Of Maine. The State of Maine allows EETs to sit for the F of E and thus become licenced professional engineers following 5 years of experience and the successful passing of the PE exam.

What states do NOT allow EETs to become professional engineers? I am currently looking for new employment and I would not relocate to such a state.
 
Have you tried looking through www.NCEES.ORG? They run the entire testing process, and have links to the requirements of all States.

Welcome to the Forum.
 
Still exploring the link, but as yet have found nothing that directly answers my question. The majority of State's department's of licensing gives somewhat nebulous answers to my question simply stating a B.S. in engineering is required. Information regarding the exclusion of EET students and other state's with whom licensing reciprocity exists is difficult to come by. I'm seeking a comprehensive list of states, which I'm beginning to suspect does not exist.
 
Last edited:
Just shooting from the hip here, but I believe there are 2 states that require a degree in the field which you are taking the test. One of these was Alaska, don't remember the other. As far as EET goes, I wouldn't think a state would exclude you. You will have to have a little more experience most likely (5 yrs, instead of 4 for example), but you'll be able to take it. In New York, for example you have to have twelve "year-credits" to qualify for the PE. A 4-yr engineering degree (ABET) counts for 8 year-credits. An EET might count for 6 year-credits lets say. Therefore to take the PE in this example would require 6 yrs experience rather than 4 years for a EE. If you are concidering moving to a state I recommend researching that state's requirements. Congratulations and good luck.
 
Congratulations on your degree!!!
My P.E. License with BSEET degree is not accepted here in Florida. Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana all did accept the EET a couple of years ago but have heard they are changing their rules. Look at the individual state requirements of where you are thinking of moving.
 
Wow that's interesting Bill. It supprises me.

Here's the NYS website link that shows what is required. I have to believe all states list the requirements somewhere. Give their Office of Professions a call if you can't find it on the web.

http://www.op.nysed.gov/pelic.htm
 
Yeah, I got to know all of the steps and exceptions trying to get my Florida P.E. They did accept the EET before I graduated college, but then they changed and I have to now get a BS EE degree to have my Florida PE.
Exams and reccommendations all count, just not the degree.
Since the Board is in Tallahassee, politics is supreme.
 
1st, make sure the program you graduated from is ABET certified. If it is not, then I beleive you are going to have trouble across the board. If it is, then you have made it over your first hurdle.

Second, without a PE, all is not lost. Simply look for a plant type positions. Right now, just about every power plant in the country needs entry level engineers. check with utility companies where you want to live, and start talking to them. Then check municipal water/wasterwater plants. Also, large industrial facilities hire facility enigneers and they don't require a PE. You can still work in consulting, but you will cap out at about 4-5 years experience without a PE.

I think you have plenty of opportunities, just not what you may have thought of originally.
 
Found this:

http://www.ncees.org/licensure/licensing_requirements_2005/survey_d.pdf#2


Most likely I'll be sitting for the exam at the University Of Maine in October anyway, so merely being eligible to sit won't be an issue. I'll simply have to deal with the issue of reciprocity/transferance at a later date. Then again, I probably won't pass the exam the first time anyway so I'll just deal with each issue as it arises.

Anyway, a bit of background info on myself:

I got my A.S. in electrical power technology from Eastern Maine Technical College in 1997 and then went to work at Fairchild Semiconductor in South Portland, Maine as an electro/mechanical technician. In 2002 I enrolled in a program developed by National Semiconductor, Fairchild Semiconductor, and the University Of Maine to assist those interested employees with 2 year technical degrees such as mine to obtain the necessary credits to receive the B.S. in EET. I participated in this program until I was laid off in 2004 and then went to school full time and completed my degree last spring. I also took work immediatly following my graduation for an electrical contractor as a commercial/residential electrician to expand my knowledge of the electrical trade. I also completed a 45 hour NEC course back in Feburary. After submitting a letter to the State Of Maine department of licensing a few weeks ago documenting my experience in the trade and my eductation I have been approved to sit for the state master electrician's exam, which I will be sitting for on Friday June 1st. Following that I'll be persuing the FE. I'm also currently unemployed and looking for work. :D
 
Last edited:
kingpb said:
1st, make sure the program you graduated from is ABET certified. If it is not, then I beleive you are going to have trouble across the board. If it is, then you have made it over your first hurdle.

Second, without a PE, all is not lost. Simply look for a plant type positions. Right now, just about every power plant in the country needs entry level engineers. check with utility companies where you want to live, and start talking to them. Then check municipal water/wasterwater plants. Also, large industrial facilities hire facility enigneers and they don't require a PE. You can still work in consulting, but you will cap out at about 4-5 years experience without a PE.

I think you have plenty of opportunities, just not what you may have thought of originally.
Click to expand...


Accreditation is not a problem. UMO is one of the best undergraduate engineering schools in the country and I'm sure my B.S. is fully accredited.

As far as emplyoment goes, I currently have a offer from a small company who is interested in me as a field engineer doing service maintenance and repairs on industrial robots. Documenting my experience might be a bit of an issue as I am sure that the guy I will be working for is NOT a licensed PE, but that will likely just involve more writing, effort, and footwork on my part to get credit for my experience.

My fields of interest/expertise include semiconductor/epitaxial, analog amplification, renewable energy, monorail/electrical trains, and especially robots.
 
Congratulations on your degree!
Welcome to the forum!

its up to the state board to determine your degree. But in most the state board does not consider an electrical engineering technology to be an "electrical engineering" degree. I teach a couple classes for the EET program and I can say that one program deals more with technology and the other with science.

I think you should be fine with taking the FE or Eit, just remember to study everything plus some.:smile:
 
They have changed the format of the FE exam several times since I took it. I understand that it is all ?multiple choice? now. But I suspect that the topics included in the exam are as broad as they have ever been, covering all aspects of math, science, ?engineering economics,? and the various engineering disciplines. The questions are generally simple and straight forward, and the tests are designed to allow anywhere from 30 seconds to 4 minutes to solve each problem.

The ?short answer? type questions can be as direct as, ?What is the derivative of ?the Cosine of X squared?? (Answer: minus 2X times the Sine of X squared). The ?slightly longer? type questions require more thought (e.g., ?How much of XXX will combine with YYY to form ZZZ in the following chemical equation). I never liked the chemistry stuff. Other topics may include stresses in horizontal beams (from the study of Statics), rotational inertia (from Dynamics), blocks sliding down inclined planes (from Physics), series and parallel connections (from Electrical Engineering), and the steam cycle (from Mechanical Engineering).

Have you considered either taking a review course, or at least buying a book that covers the FE exam topics?

This may no longer be true, but last I heard a test candidate was only allowed to have a single reference book during the test, and you were not allowed to bring your own copy. They don?t want people to write extra notes in the margins, so they hand out copies of the book as you walk in the door. If that is still true, then I highly recommend that you buy a copy of that book, and use it (and nothing else) while you are studying for the exam.
 
QES said:
Congratulations on your degree!
Welcome to the forum!

its up to the state board to determine your degree. But in most the state board does not consider an electrical engineering technology to be an "electrical engineering" degree.
Click to expand...

Actually most states DO accept an engineering technology degree. Acceptance is the norm, not the exception. The professors at the U Maine school of engineering technology are working hard to do away with this discrimination.
 
charlie b said:
]This may no longer be true, but last I heard a test candidate was only allowed to have a single reference book during the test, and you were not allowed to bring your own copy. They don?t want people to write extra notes in the margins, so they hand out copies of the book as you walk in the door. If that is still true, then I highly recommend that you buy a copy of that book, and use it (and nothing else) while you are studying for the exam.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, you can't bring anything other than a basic non-programmable calculator.
 
Here's the University Of Maine page where it states that my B.S. in EET is
accredited by TAC/ABET (Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology).

http://catalog.umaine.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=45&poid=3835

This was a tough degree to earn. I had to take all the maths through Diff EQ, Thermodynamics, and Statics. I even got a crash course in applied linear algebra through a robot modeling class I took as an elective.
 
Last edited:
look like a pretty good program I must say!. remember to do alot of examples and focus from what you know , ie math ,electronic.... don't waste your time study too much on topic like civil engineering. Thats how I pass the EIT.
 
It is my understanding that recently Kentucky changed their requirements so that a EET can no longer get a PE. Not sure why.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top