Engineering Registration
Engineering Registration
(OP)
Illinois is now requiring 30 hours of continuing education in every two year licensing period. I hear rumors about engineers not renewing or going to inactive status rather than complete the education. Does anyone know if there are any studies (maybe in other states) that support or deny that this is happening?





RE: Engineering Registration
------------------------------------------
"Come to think of it, there are already a million monkeys typing on a million typewriters, and the Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare.
- Blair Houghton
RE: Engineering Registration
I was randomly selected for audit by the State Board in 2001 - no big deal. Mailed in copies of receipts and the adgenda notices for various meetings and short courses that I had participated in. Got a nice letter back from the Board saying that everything was in order.
www.SlideRuleEra.net
RE: Engineering Registration
For what its worth, other professions besides engineers are being held to continuing education. It is not just the engineering profession.
RE: Engineering Registration
It's not surprising that some engineers get fed up. And more power to them if they want to continue engineering.
RE: Engineering Registration
30 PDH's is a bit steep. I am licensed in two states that require 30 hours. One other requires 12 and two require 8 hours. The ones that require 30 hours will accept many things to comply. In my resident state, things like meeting do not meet the requirement. The course must be provided by a registered provider.
If we don't like the laws we should work to change them, not violate them.
RE: Engineering Registration
RE: Engineering Registration
What courses are you able to take that qualify? The community colleges in my area don't offer much in the engineering area, or that will lead to a degree.
RE: Engineering Registration
I'm earning an associates degree in computer aided drafting and computer technology. I have had courses in autocad, mechanical desktop, and inventor. In addition I have taken courses in advanced excel, database design, programming, computer systems, networking, photoshop, and illustrator.
All of these are requirements for todays engineer. I'm just an old fart who decided a few years back to upgrade my skills in the areas of computers and autocad. While these are not engineering courses per se, they are skills that enhance my abilty to do engineering and thus qualify for PDH's.
RE: Engineering Registration
I just documented what I did the previous 5 years, which luckily included writing a chapter for a SNAME Handbook, and it was accepted (I was not that involved with NACE society mattings, so I wasn't sure if my documentation would be sufficient).
I think very little of the practice of using "continuing education" as a prod to get more participation at various society meetings. I may just consider taking a few classes at the community college - doesn't cost much, we should never stop learning, etc.
RE: Engineering Registration
RE: Engineering Registration
As an engineer, and strictly in terms of earnings potential, the value of a WWTP license is arguably minimal at best, and probably worthless. So, I will probably let it lapse. Not a big deal, just dissapointing.
But for those who are WWTP Operators for a living, I've heard a licensed operator in a 1 MGD or less plant only makes about $1/hr more than a non-licensed person. That's only about $2k/yr, or $1600 take home. 15 college-level credits, if they can be had at all for $1600, can't be much cheaper than that.
So, I hear and to some extent agree with Maury's original post. Why take on the liability and responsibility of being a PE, when you could just do the tasks under a PE for a little less money and a lot less headaches? On the other hand, my pay as a PE is way (at least 40%) more than it was as an EIT. So, given Maury's predicament, I think I would just take the courses, shell out the bucks, raise concerns with NCEES or the state Board, complain a little to my wife and co-workersand stay licensed.
Just my $0.02
Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve
RE: Engineering Registration
RE: Engineering Registration
What about taking you car to a mechanic who has only the skills learned in the early 80's?
Yes, educational institutions see this as a cash cow. It does not mean that you have to take the course that they offer.
There are many avenues to obtain pdh's. If you go to a trade show document it. Write an article fro an engineering magazine or e-zine. Give a presentations to a community college class, technical society etc. There exists several publication that give an exam online after reading the article that count for pdh's, some as low as $15 per pdh. Management courses, safety courses count toward pdh's. If you provide training to a fellow employees write up a short syllabi, document when you did the training. The training counts for the fellow employees and double for you.
I do however grant that the system is not perfect. My biggest grip with the system is that states have different calendar years so if one is registered in multiple jurisdictions book-keeping as a hassle.
RE: Engineering Registration
RE: Engineering Registration
As far as all these lectures, etc. counting as CEUs, check with your state first. PADEP has a list of approved courses for their WWTP CEUs, there is free stuff in there, but I haven't found many. I am taking one free seminar next week that will be worth 3, but I still have 12 to go. Most on the list are given for a fee, typically community college night courses.
Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve
RE: Engineering Registration
Engineers that want to keep up will whether there is a requirement or not. Those that do not want to keep up will take whatever cheap/easy classes they can to make the requirement. There are a few in the middle that the requirement might get into the first group instead of the later.
The only solution is for engineers to start regulating themselves at a much higher level than the state. It is not easy and it would be a shock to the system of a lot of engineers and clients, but it is the only way. Do I think it will happen? Not on your life, engineers as a profession have become to competitive with each other to ever get together in a meaningful way for the better of the profession.
Sorry to preach, just a sore spot with me.
RE: Engineering Registration
www.SlideRuleEra.net
RE: Engineering Registration
RE: Engineering Registration
RE: Engineering Registration
That definitely depends on your field. In the Civil field it is illegal to even advertise "engineering" or "engineering services" unless you are licensed. I have never met a civil engineer (not even a tech) without a college degree, although some don't have actual eng. degrees.
Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve
RE: Engineering Registration
The continuing education requirements of the various states is the best thing that has happened to our profession.
Rather than try to change the requirements, let's focus on trying to convince the public that we are entitled to higher fees.
RE: Engineering Registration
You should check out AT&T, MCI, Qwest, SBC, Verizon, WilTell, McCloud, and ect.
I work for one that just had a CEO convicted. Also, all of the PE's that I did work with were laid off over the past 3 years. Go figure. And management doesn't really even know what a PE is.
Something else that is questionable is that we typically work projects across many state lines. I am not sure where the exemption is. Most of the time it is safe since it is just connecting pre-engineered equipment, or a local PE building engineer approves our work. It is just hard to have visibility when an engineer is sitting in TX and the work is being done in California or New York.
I know I have personally refused to do some engineering jobs in California without having a local engineering firm signing off that the jobs were safe to do after earthquakes did damage to some of our buildings.