P.E. Exam requirements
- Thread starter kenaslan
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Energy-Miser
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- Maryland
And that would have been true if you had held a number of other positions such as communications, control, chip designer, network administrator, radio engineer, telephony, analog designer, digital designer, antenna and microwave engineer, and several dozen other specialties, all of which come under electrical engineering. This is a very verstile field, most of which has nohing to do with NEC. Only a small number of EE's work in construction related industries, which require knowledge of the NEC. e/m.dereckbc said:So what makes some of you think an EE grad needs to know a thing about the NEC?
When I graduated I started to work for a POCO as a Sub-Station Engineer. At that time I could have cared less what the NEC said about anything as it does not apply.
Energy-Miser
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- Maryland
I was always told that if you are a EE, it does not matter much whether you get your PE license or not, as most places of employment do not require it. I went ahead and got mine as a personal challenge, and am glad that I did. Now, a little while after I received my license, I started receiving solicitation for employment in the mail. As I called back to see what they were talking about, they did not want to have anything to do with me, once they found out that I was not an architect or a civil engineer! Apparently it makes the most difference for graduates in those fields, and not so much for electrical engineers. I guess some government contractors hire licensed EE's to qualify to bid on jobs, but outside of that it apparently makes little career difference. e/m.DPW said:
Energy-Miser
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- Maryland
What's even worse though is that a lot of them end up having to write specs, or read through them, or a dozen other boring things, having nothing to do with their training, just to mark time, fill in the "engineering hours" spent on a contract, and bring in the paycheck. You will however have lots of opportunities as a EE, and it will be up to you not to settle for anything short of what keeps your interest and makes for an exciting career. There is a shortage of engineers, so you can pretty much write your own ticket. e/m.K2500 said:
petersonra
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- Northern illinois
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- Semi-retired engineer
It is what it is. The laws on who can do what in every trade or profession is a mish mash of conflicting requirements and desires.
It ranges from a selfish desire to restrict who can practice the trade or profession, to a misguided attempt to protect the public.
There are a lot of people that are quite capable of doing a quality, safe job of electrical wiring of at least some installations. Why do we restrict them from offering those services to the marketplace?
In my area, just about anyone can get an EC license. I think it is $10. There has not been any rash of electrical fires here.
It ranges from a selfish desire to restrict who can practice the trade or profession, to a misguided attempt to protect the public.
There are a lot of people that are quite capable of doing a quality, safe job of electrical wiring of at least some installations. Why do we restrict them from offering those services to the marketplace?
In my area, just about anyone can get an EC license. I think it is $10. There has not been any rash of electrical fires here.
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petersonra
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- Northern illinois
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- Semi-retired engineer
Energy-Miser said:
There is an ongoing attempt by the PE mafia to force more and more PEs where they never existed before (such as control systems). I see it as mostly self interest as there is no evidence that there is any significant difference in the level of incompetence after the PEs are introduced into the equation.
There is also some demand from government that even the most arcane drawings be signed off by a PE, so a fair number of government contractors hire PEs solely for that purpose. Some I have dealt with seem to have no real idea what they are signing off on, as they ask some of the goofiest questions, usually about things that don't even matter all that much.
For many years I was just about convinced that the PE thing was a merit badge for salesmen as virtually all the PEs I ran across were really just salesmen, and never actually engineered anything. That was very common for a long time. Less common now.
brian john
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- Kilmarnock, Va
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- Retired after 52 years in the trade.
I have immense respect for engineers if for no other reason they made it through 4 years of college, something I always wanted to do I have started 3 times most recently this fall. But like any profession some are excellent some are good and others....
But the salesmen engineers* I know made BIG BUCKS, in most cases more that the working engineers I work with in the field.
*Graduated with a degree few were licensed
But the salesmen engineers* I know made BIG BUCKS, in most cases more that the working engineers I work with in the field.
*Graduated with a degree few were licensed
cschmid
Senior Member
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- Northern cold country
I have found this whole issue very refreshing..I am in my mid forty's and want to finish my career with finally getting my PE I wonder how Much demand there will be for a 50 yr old engineer..one who needs to go through all the hoops and if I could ever repay the debt and see the benefit..wonder if there will be a job market in rural america..I am a country boy at heart..
brian john
Senior Member
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- Kilmarnock, Va
- Occupation
- Retired after 52 years in the trade.
My interest came from being able to say I was an engineer, many times my customers hire engineers that hire me or have me work with an engineer that I hire, I do all the field work, write the reports and engineer reviews this and blesses my work. There are many times I am hired by engineers as they need an electrician to assist them in their field work.
In the early days the engineers were charging more for this review and blessing than I was charging for my services, I've changed that now. I have also had customers complain that I was charging them more than their engineer..Oh well, I have learned a lot from these guys and enjoy what I do.
In the early days the engineers were charging more for this review and blessing than I was charging for my services, I've changed that now. I have also had customers complain that I was charging them more than their engineer..Oh well, I have learned a lot from these guys and enjoy what I do.
cschmid said:
I can help with that. The answer depends on where you work. The big money is with AE firms like Flour, Jacobs, etc. It also depends on the firms management structure and the size of the firm. If you ever hope to be a partner a PE is a must. Anyway to answer your question a PE makes about 10 to 20% more then the EE's, ME's, etc and have the option of moving up the management chain. It is more than worth it. If you are 50, you have another 10 to 20 years left in your career. In that 10 to 20 years you should make more than they your proceeding 30 years.
kenaslan I feel your pain about the crap states do for licensing. As a master electrician I am not qualified to work in TX, CA or about 40 other states. I thought the exam was based on the NATIONAL Electrical Code?
This is just part of the game you have to play. Everyone plays the same game.
This is just part of the game you have to play. Everyone plays the same game.
brian john
Senior Member
- Location
- Kilmarnock, Va
- Occupation
- Retired after 52 years in the trade.
There is an active post with all the GOOD reasons why this does not happen..besides with the feds forcing states to do as Uncle Sam wants, States Rights have been dwindled down to this.
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