5 Drawbacks of the Professional Engineering License

And Why I Still Recommend Engineers Attain It

I’m often asked by students if getting the Professional Engineer License (PE) is worth the cost, time, and effort. Young engineers today want to advance their career, but don’t want to sacrifice significant time if the benefit doesn't outweigh the effort. They also have a number of advanced degrees and certifications competing for their resources. Choosing which to pursue is not an easy decision. And with only 20% of engineers being professionally licensed, you really have to stop and think if it's all worth it.

I’ll provide the same advice here as I give to students. The PE license is rarely employed during the career of most engineers and can be a bit of 'smoke & mirrors', however I still recommend young engineers obtain it at their earliest opportunity. Sounds like conflicting advice? It is, but let me explain why.

Background

First a confession and full disclosure. I never obtained my PE license. Before you discount this post as sour grapes and move on, please let me explain why.

When I graduated from college in 1987 (Lawrence Technology University in Southfield, Michigan) my school had the foresight to require all graduating seniors to take Part 1 of the PE exam (frequently called the Fundamentals of Engineering, Engineer In Training, or EIT exam). Their rationale was, the wide-ranging content of the first exam is fresh in our heads and if we don’t take it now, the chances of us pursuing our license later were quite low. I’m sure they were right.

So, before I graduated, I prepared and studied for the exam as much as possible. My thinking was, if I have to take the exam and pay the fee, I might as well give it my best shot. Good thinking because my strategy paid off. I passed Part 1 quite easily.

The requirements of getting the PE license in the United States usually requires four years of work in your field of study and then an application to take Part 2 (the actual PE Exam). Where the EIT Exam was of a general nature, covering a variety of engineering disciplines, the PE Exam is available in a number focus areas, grouped by engineering discipline and area of concentration. You can learn more about the PE exam, requirements, areas of concentration, and State to State requirements at the National Society of Professional Engineers website. Just click the logo below.

Top 5 Issues with the Professional Engineering License

1. Want It? Yes. Need It? No.

During the period of ‘apprenticeship’ I began my career at Ford Motor Company. Since I was working for a large corporation and we were not designing facilities ourselves, and therefor not stamping & sealing design documents, there was no need to be professionally licensed. We didn’t have the time nor the people to work at that level of detail in Facilities Engineering. We hired consulting engineers to do this work, who accepted the responsibility and liability for their own designs.

2. Implied Liability

There was also a concern that in the event of a design failure, especially one that resulted in an injury or fatality, being a licensed engineer would expose the employee to potential risk and liability. Basically enabling a lawyer to pierce the corporate veil. It's a valid concern even now, 30 years since I first heard this debate. And the answer is still vague, as shown by the Liability of Employed Engineers page of the NSPE website.

Ford was unwilling to provide liability coverage, as many consulting engineering firms do for their engineers, so our management could not honestly recommend that we pursue our license. Another good call. During my 21 years at Ford Motor Company I never had the need for my PE license, nor did it cause me to lose an opportunity for advancement. In fact, having the PE license was often a drawback.

3. Who’s the Consultant Here?

To add insult to injury, as a client hiring consultants I routinely would find licensed engineers lacking in technical skills more than their unlicensed counterparts. How could that be? Doesn’t having the PE license mean that you’re smarter and more technically astute? Well, not always.

Back in the ‘Old Days’, maintaining a PE license only required paying a bi-annual fee to the licensing board of each State where you were licensed. There were no continuing education requirements or additional testing necessary in order to maintain an active license. This probably being due to the assumption that licensed engineers are professionals and will self-govern to maintain technical proficiency.

Unfortunately, this strategy did not take human nature into account. Reality is such that we all become busy with the demands of work & family, and the assumption that we will follow through on the time and expense of additional training through our own volition is simply not realistic. Human behavior needs to be incentivized.

As a result, I found myself educating licensed professional engineers on topics such as advanced electrical grounding or ways to mitigate power harmonics. So I had to ask myself, “Who’s the consultant, here??” Were we just hiring lousy engineers? I suppose that could’ve been a possibility. Ford, like many companies, tries to acquire the best services for the lowest price.

At that time, the PE license only indicated one thing. That on the particular day that the engineer took the lengthy, albeit difficult, exams they had enough proficiency to pass the minimum requirements. This may have been last week, but usually was many decades prior. If we were to take an exact duplicate of the same exam the engineer passed originally and asked them to take it again today, do think they would pass?

Today, maintaining a PE license requires a certain amount of Continuing Education Credits (CEUs). Here in the State of Michigan, that requirement is 30 CEUs every two years in the field in which the engineer performs work. Whether these are enough credits and whether the training is applicable or beneficial is another topic of debate. Hopefully an engineer’s updating of technical proficiencies in line with advancing technologies is now addressed.

4. Licensed, But Not in Thier Field

As mentioned, after attaining the EIT designation and the recommended years of work experience, the engineer may then apply to take the PE exam by selecting an area of concentration. But this too has it’s loopholes.

Today, an electrical engineer who works in the power industry has a variety of options when taking Part 2. They could take the test module that is focused on electrical power or a different module, such as the much easier Computer Engineering module. Once the second part of the exam is passed and the engineer receives their PE license, there’s no indication of which test they took. At least in Michigan. Passing the exam outside of your field of practice further dilutes the credibility of the license, but does increase its exposure and promotes branding to clients. I don’t see this loophole changing, since it is in the NSPE’s best interest to gain additional members and generate revenue. As with most things in life, the devil is in the details.

5. It’s Not the Credential. It’s What You Do With It.

Lastly, I’ll argue that getting various degrees, certifications, and licenses are great signs of accomplishments, but the real test is what have you done with them? I personally have a wall in my office covered with multiple degrees and many certifications & licenses. Whenever I feel unaccomplished, I can stand in front of my “I Love Me Wall” to gander and reflect on the hard work it took to get those designations.

I also have a few boxes in my basement full of awards, plaques, and accolades accepted on behalf of myself and my teams over the years. Perhaps I should dig those out and display them as well.

Answering my own question of ‘what have you done with them’, my honest answer is Plenty. Although some are more valuable than others, I’m generally happy with the training I’ve pursued and achievements I’ve made thus far. I do have another decade to go in my formal 9-5 career and will continue to reference the training I’ve taken. As well as the additional training yet to come.

But I Would Still Recommend Getting It

So, with all that negativity and rationale on why the PE license is a worthless ticket to hang on your cubicle wall, why do I still recommend students to pursue it? Because others value it.

The NSPE itself identifies the top 5 reasons to get the PE as:

1. Prestige Among Peers. Which is true. Licensed engineers value other PEs. But outside of bragging rights, does the license provide real value?
2. Career Development, since others value the license. This is saying that point #1 provides tangible value, which depends on a number of factors such as industry and services performed.
3. Authority, in that you’re able to stamp & seal drawings or act as an expert witness. This point is correct. In the United States, licenses and related laws are governed at the State level, vary between each State, and require engineered design documents (such as for public works) to be stamped and sealed. Although a large majority of engineers and designers operate perfectly well without a license and only use the services of an independent PE to review drawings and obtain the stamp, if and when necessary.
4. Flexibility to become a specialist or open your own business. This one is a bit misleading. Licensure is not required for either, depending on what type of specialty you plan to focus on or which type business you plan to open. (Pro Tip: Don’t use the word ‘Engineering’ in your business name unless you are properly licensed and insured.)
5. Make more money, since licensed engineers earn higher pay. This is also misleading. The NSPE’s own study showed that licensed engineers only earned 5% more than their unlicensed brethren. Now, a 5% higher income over a 30-40 year career does add up, but obtaining a master’s degree in business and growing into leadership positions will reap far larger gains.

Diamonds Are Forever Until…

I remember when I selected a diamond engagement ring in preparation to ask my wife to marry me. I took the ring to a gemstone appraiser to verify its quality and estimated value. After completing his analysis, he offered one once piece of sage advice that I’ve never forgotten. He asked, “Do you know to tell the real value of a diamond?” I assumed he was referring to the five C’s of Color, Cut, Carat, Clarity, and Certification. (that last C is sometimes called Cost) His answer was “No. A diamond is only worth what the next guy is willing to pay for it”. In other words, if global social mores changed and brides were no longer interested in that particular gem, the market would collapse and diamonds would lose their value. Although, I don’t think we have to worry about that happening.

The PE license is a bit the same, being valued by a limited audience, but can act as a positive differentiator at certain points of an engineer’s career. Since the PE is primarily valued by other licensed professional engineers, its not a bad accomplishment to have. And once obtained, you’ll have it forever by simply taking some general classes that you could probably use anyway.

The Takeaway

I hope this article helps to clarify some of the reality surrounding the PE professional engineering license. And has given you either validation that in and of itself, the license is generally not a career make but can be a differentiator when finding yourself in a competitive job market or attempting to gain a higher position within an engineering organization. Third-party certification of your skill set by a national or global organization is always a good career accomplishment.

Bill Allemon, CEM, CEA, LEED AP writes on the topics of Operational Excellence, Engineering Leadership, Energy Management, and Sustainability. Bill is an engineering management professional with a career progressing through Global Corporate and Consulting roles in Program Strategy, Implementation, Management and Operations.