To P.E. or not to P.E.?
To P.E. or not to P.E.?
(OP)
Sometimes I question the validity of the licensing process because sometimes you have to face very strange situations among the engineering professionals. A few months ago I went to an interview for an engineering design firm. During the formal interviewing questions the engineer in charge told me that I was not permitted to seal my own work due the lack of experience no matter I was licensed and with several years of field experience. I was going to assist other engineers. I was very dissapointed with this policy of the company or the engineer himself ,who knows? however I did not accept such approach. I forgot about the company and walked on. What do you think?





RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
CRG
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
Sealing is not only about personal professional responsibility for a design, it also can be binding financially on the company (or its insurers) and often a company wants one of its long-term senior engineers to be responsible for the final sign off.
If you had accepted the offer at sometime in the future you might have been able to seal work, its just that they wanted some more time to be comfortable with you and your ability. There is a vast difference between field experience and design experience. I have a lot of field experience and I’ll only do simple designs by myself. I will however have a lot of input to the design process to simplify and make the final product more economical to build and operate.
If this was the only reason for rejecting the company then I think you were somewhat immature and naïve in your actions.
Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng
Construction Project Management
From conception to completion
www.kitsonengineering.com
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
CRG
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
He already has his PE.
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
I think sometimes PE's build a certain amount of arrogance (not confidence) when they receive their license and believe that certain tasks are below them. Don't be one of these types. It will get you no where. Confidence is good, arrogance is not. And no they are not the same thing.
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
Thanks all for your advise.
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
This pamphlet describes it pretty well. Also, download the application form-it has detailed info.
You have to be doing engineering work in order to qualify for the exam, and in CA, that means working for a PE, because only a PE can do engineering work. Or, if you qualify for the industry exemption, it is ok, but you will need PEs as references.
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?
Many licensed engineers in California who aren't Principals or Partners go on working without having to seal the drawings they produce. There is a significant professional risk when you seal drawings and without reasonable compensation, no one would be willing to risk their license.
You may be asked to seal a set of drawings produced by your staff engineers. You assume full professional responsibility and when you miss any errors made by your staff, you suffer the consequences. Worst thing that can happen to the one who made the error is to get fired...
Be careful when sealing...
RE: To P.E. or not to P.E.?