Curulan wrote:I'm so glad that Titan finally has it's own Electronic Interstellar Tyrannosaurus.
RAWR!
Mikey Taylor wrote:so do you hve a degree in engineering or is this like the same thing but more independently studying to become an engineer? sorry not very informed on this subject but i have a couple of friends majoring in Electrical Engineering...
I've had my degree in civil engineering since 2004. This is certification for becoming a professionally licensed engineer. In order to sign and seal plans, you have to be licensed and have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE or EIT) test and also the Professional Engineering (PE) test. The FE is an eight hour comprehensive test (a 4 hour am test, and 4 hour pm test) that covers everything you took (or didn't take) in college. If you'd like a more detailed listing and have something to read PDF files, you can see the complete listing here:
http://www.ncees.org/exams/fundamentals/fe_exam_specs.pdf Everyone does the same morning test. In the afternoon, you choose a test specific to your discipline (civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical, environmental, industrial, or general).
Once you've passed the FE exam and have worked under a professionally licensed engineer for 4 years, you're qualified to take the PE exam. The PE is another 8 hour exam, but it's specifically geared towards your engineering discipline. It's the equivalent of the BAR exam that lawyers have to take before they can practice. Engineers don't have to take either test to do design work, but they do have to pass the PE to be able to approve plans... and nothing can get built without signed plans, so demand for people with a PE is fairly high. It also pays better.
The kicker is the cost. It's $30 to register through the board of technical registration for the FE and $130 each time you take the test. The PE costs $80 to register through the board and $210 to take the test.
If your friends are engineering majors, I suggest they take the FE test their Jr or Sr year of college. You really forget a lot and your chances of passing the test aren't as great if you wait. I can say that waiting is a bad idea. I couldn't take the test while I was in college-- I had no time to study (I was working 30-40 hours a week and taking 18 credits my last 2 semesters in school) and I had no money (I had to borrow $1k from my 'rents just to pay for my last class). I waited a year to take the test after graduating. I had to re-learn lots of things I'd forgotten in that time... and... because I'd forgotten everything, it took me several times to pass. I'm lucky that I did pass.