April 2011

VARIABLES
The PE Quest

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Mark Johnson, P.E.

For Mark Johnson, P.E., the third try was the charm in earning his engineering license this past December in Kentucky. But it wasn't studying alone that helped him over the hump. It took a 22-year hiatus between tests—and the engineering experience such tenure brings—for him to finally earn his elusive license.

Johnson, 50, earned his PE when some licensees his age are running their own firms, though it wasn't for a lack of trying. He took the FE exam in 1987, five years after earning a mechanical engineering degree from Mississippi State University. Marriage, children, and a career moving up the management ladder with both Mississippi and Alabama power companies meant Johnson never found the time to head back and earn his license.

A string of promotions and exam successes, including becoming LEED-AP-certified in 2008, inspired Johnson, an NSPE member, to go back and earn the PE that had eluded him earlier in his career. He studied and practiced problems for an estimated 300 hours before and after work and on weekends, he says. He just missed passing the PE exam on his second attempt in October 2009, but he passed a year later.

His regimen of practice questions and formulas, while grueling, was like a personal quest, he says. Much like an engineering task or challenge, he tackled the large quest in parts.

"Initially, you're overwhelmed with it," he says. "But I just broke it down, and it became apparent that was the best way for me to do it."

Working for 25 years in HVAC and refrigeration helped Johnson tackle the more practical aspects of the exam, he says. Answering the questions wasn't the hard part: Failing to finish the test on time was what doomed his first comeback attempt.

So why earn a PE at 50 when one's engineering experience speaks for itself? Johnson says he's gained a measure more respect for himself and from his coworkers and customers now that "P.E." appears after his name. And his recommendations to customers—many of whom are licensed engineers as well—carry a bit more heft thanks to his license, he says.

"It helps me," he says. "I have credibility with those people I'm asking to [choose certain] equipment for buildings."

Johnson recommends that any engineer without a PE try the test and earn the respect, credibility, and expanded expertise one gains by having a PE license.

Johnson's playing his part in attracting new PEs: He has volunteered to help teach a mechanical engineering PE exam prep course at his company.

Despite reaching one of his career peaks, professional licensure might not be the last stop for Johnson. His proximity to Auburn University in Alabama has him considering a master's degree in mechanical engineering. As long as he's continuing his education and building his credentials, he's upholding his newly earned license, he says.

"The public health, safety, and welfare," he says. "That's what PEs are all about."