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Professional Engineer

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Professional Engineer is the term for registered or licensed engineers in some countries, including the United Kingdom, United States and Canada.

The term Professional Engineer is a legally protected title in USA and Canada; the practice of professional engineering is protected in both Canada and the United States, and—by state or provincial law—only registered Professional Engineers are permitted to use the title or carry out the work of Professional Engineering.

The earmark that distinguishes a licensed/registered professional engineer is the authority to sign and seal or "stamp" engineering documents (drawings and calculations) for a design or a structure, thus taking legal responsibility for it.

Contents

Titles

Post-nominal letters used vary by location:

Registration and regulation

Each country or state/province has specific procedures and requirements for the license or registration. The procedure in the U.S. and Canada is significantly different.

United States

In the United States, registration or licensure of Professional Engineers is performed by the individual states. Each registration or license is valid only in the state in which it is granted. Many Professional Engineers maintain licenses in several states for this reason, and reciprocity agreements between states can make it easy to gain a license in one state based on a license in another state without going through the full application process. The exact licensing procedure can vary from state to state, but the general process is:
  1. Graduate with a degree from an accredited four-year university program in engineering.
  2. Complete a standard Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) written examination, which tests applicants on breadth of understanding of basic engineering principles, and optionally some elements of an engineering specialty. Completion of the first two steps typically qualifies for certification in the U.S. as an Engineer-In-Training (EIT).
  3. Accumulate at least four years of engineering experience under the supervision of a P.E.
  4. Complete a written Professional Engineering Examination, testing the applicant's knowledge and skills in a chosen engineering discipline (mechanical, electrical, civil, etc.), as well as engineering ethics.
In a few states it is still possible for an individual to bypass steps 1 and 2, and apply to take the Professional Engineering Examination, as long as a P.E. will sponsor the applicant and work experience can be substituted for academic experience. The years of experience may also vary; for instance, in California it is possible to take the Professional Engineering examination with only two years of experience after a bachelor's degree, or one year of experience after graduate school.

Some states issue generic Professional Engineering licenses. Others, known as "discipline states", issue licenses for specific disciplines of engineering, such as Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. In all cases, however, engineers are limited to practicing in their area of competency, which is usually a small portion of a discipline. While licensing boards do not often enforce this limitation, it can be a factor in negligence lawsuits.

As regulation of the practice of engineering is performed by the individual states in the U.S., areas of engineering involved in interstate commerce are essentially unregulated. These areas include much of Mechanical Engineering, such as Automotive Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, and Chemical Engineering, and may be specificly exempted from regulation under an "Industrial Exemption". An industrial exemption covers engineers who design products such as automobiles that are sold (or have the potential to be sold) outside the state in which they are produced, as well as the equipment used to produce the product. Structures subject to building codes are not covered by an industrial exemption.

Civil Engineers account for a large majority of licensed Professional Engineers, and many of the remainder are Mechanical and Electrical Engineers whose practice involves areas that states regulate, such as HVAC systems and power engineering. However, some engineers in other fields obtain licenses for prestige even though they are never required to stamp design documents.

The title "Engineer" is legally protected in many states, meaning that it is unlawful to use it unless permission is specifically granted by a state, through a professional engineering license, an industrial exemption, or certain other non-professional engineering licenses such as Operating Engineer. Employees of state or federal agencies may also call themselves engineers if that term appears in their official job title. These laws are not frequently enforced unless the individual is explicitly offering engineering services to the public. Likewise, a business cannot offer engineering services to the public or have a name that implies that it does so unless it employs at least one Professional Engineer.

Most states limit the practice of Civil Engineering and other branches of engineering not exempt from regulation to holders of the appropriate license, or to people working under the supervision of a licensed engineer.

In many states, Professional Land Surveyors are regulated in a similar manner, and are required to pass a Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) exam, perform a period of internship and then pass a Practices of Surveying (PS) Exam. A four-year degree in engineering or land surveying may also be required. In a few states, licensed Civil Engineers may also perform land surveys.

Canada

In Canada regulation including registration is accomplished through a self governing body (Association of Professional Engineers) that is given the power to register and discipline engineers as well as regulate the field of engineering in their province. Many of these associations are also responsible for regulating other related professions (such as Geoscience). The process for registration is generally as follows:

  1. Graduate with a degree from an accredited program in engineering or applied science,
  2. Complete an Engineer in Training program under the direction of a P.Eng. (This is normally a four-year program)
  3. Review of work experience by the Association,
  4. Pass a professional practice exam (essentially an engineering ethics and law exam).
Engineers are not registered in a specific discipline, but instead are prohibited by the Code of Ethics from practicing beyond their training and experience. Breaches of the code are often sufficient grounds for enforcement, which may include the suspension or loss of license, as well as financial penalties and now, through recent changes to Canadian law, could also result in jail time should negligence be shown to have played a part in any incident in which there is loss of human life.

The Canadian Engineering Licensing model is unique in that engineers are not tested on technical knowledge during the licensing process, but instead the accreditation of schools and their accredited degree granting status are tightly monitored and controlled. Unlike many countries where accreditation processes are typically quite broad and simply ensures a low minimum standard, leaving the ultimate testing of the engineer to the licensing stage, the Canadian system ensures a that a very specific and regimented curriculum is offered and tested with strict accordance to set national standards. This streamlines the overall licensing process and ensures a firm national standard on the quality of Engineering in Canada. This accreditation process is governed by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers through their active group the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. The accreditation process is continuous and enforced through regular accreditation reviews of each school. These reviews typically include the review of the school's curriculum (including marked final exams and assignments), interviews of current students, extra curricular activities and teaching staff as well additional areas the visiting board may feel need addressing. The specific areas considered are Curriculum Content, Program Environment, and General Criteria.

Legislatively, the Code of Ethics is legally binding on Professional Engineers.

In Canada the associations are granted both an exclusive right to title, and an exclusive right to practice. The practice of professional engineering is quite broadly defined. This means that in Canada only professional engineers are legally allowed to use the title "Engineer". In Canada the title is protected much more strongly than in the United States. One group that has faced this is those who are Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers. They are not legally permitted to use this title in Canada and instead can only use the abbreviation MCSE.

There are only a few exceptions specifically noted in the acts and it does not include any "industrial exemptions". Therefore in Canada, if you do engineering within industry you are legally required to be registered. The level of enforcement varies depending on the specific industry. The federal government is exempt from provincial laws, but, in general the federal government will only give the title "engineer" to their employees who as part of their job requirements are able to be registered as a professional engineer.

United Kingdom

The UK has professional engineering titles registered via the Engineering Council (UK): Incorporated Engineer (IEeng) and Chartered Engineer (CEng). Incorporated Engineer is a first-cycle qualification for Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Science degree holders. Chartered Engineer is a second-cycle qualification usually reserved for holders of integrated Master of Engineering degrees or Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Science plus Master of Science degrees. Both IEng and CEng require substantial professional experience, a professional review and interview.

It is illegal in the UK to hold that one is a Chartered or Incorporated Engineer unless so registered with the Engineering Council (UK). The title of "engineer" by itself is not regulated in the UK.

Because of changing requirements for registration in the UK, the title of Incorporated Engineer is generally considered equivalent to the UK SPE P.Eng. and Canadian P.Eng. or Ing. or American P.E..#redirect [[Template:Fact]]

External links

 

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