November/December 2017

You Said It

Finding a Guide

I have a PhD in a project relating to materials analysis, did an undergraduate double major in materials and aeronautics, and passed California’s EIT exam. I am considering going for a PE, probably in materials and metallurgy. Mechanical might not be out of the question. I am looking for advice, perhaps different points of view from those with experience employed as PEs, and perhaps even a mentor to help me wend my way through the process of getting a PE, or perhaps deciding even if it is worth it or to go in another direction.

Kenneth Streib, E.I.T.
Palo Alto, CA

To send your ideas to Ken, go to the Open Forum at https://community.nspe.org and see the thread “Finding a Guide.”

If You are “considering going for a PE.” Do not hesitate! You do not know what opportunities will appear, nor which resource in your “toolkit” will be most needed in any future circumstance. My employment was in industry, so I do not recall an instance when I needed my PE license, but there were many occasions when having it improved my confidence and increased my influence. And influence is far more useful than is authority.

Raymond Alden, P.E.
Santa Rosa, CA

My suggestion is to get sample exams from NCEES and use that as a deciding factor as to which one to take. I am a degreed agricultural engineer, but work as a mechanical engineer. I took the mechanical PE as soon as I was eligible. About seven years ago, they were talking about discontinuing the agricultural PE exam. With a downturn in the economy hitting the industry I work in at that time, I took the agricultural exam as a hedge bet in case I had been laid off to help open more career opportunities. Luckily, I didn’t need it, but it was satisfying to have been able to pass it. Go for it!

Richard Willoughby, P.E., F.NSPE
Perry, OK

To get your PE license, you need to gain work experience, so get a job under a PE! Sometimes professors have difficulty being allowed to sit for the exam even though they may have many years as a professor, but very few actually “in the trenches.” So... get your work experience early and, with your doctorate, you will be a very valuable candidate for a university faculty position some day.

Craig Bailey, P.E., L.L.S.
Gilford, NH

I so agree that the PE exam should be taken as soon as possible when your education is still fresh! While I have not “really used” my stamp to do design work—I have always benefited from the PE initials behind my name. It has given me confidence to pursue employment opportunities that might not have been open to me otherwise. Same goes for the companies that I have worked for, they have used me and my credentials to pursue projects that we otherwise might not have been qualified for. All together the PE is a big bonus in my career!

Carie Carney, P.E.
Itasca, IL

NSPE members: Join the conversation today at https://community.nspe.org.