understanding the certifications and licensing system in the US for engineers?

[Bug&Bug 143]

Right, so several years have passed and we still havent taken the plunge to start appliying for a CR1 visa....yes, we procastinate and in the meanwhile there has been different job fields and different countries.

 

So 2019 is going to be the year we get married and sent the paperwork.

Meanwhile I (future inmigrant) want to start aligning my career to what will give me more oportunities. I am currently an engineer in the trasportation field and so I have been looking at what the current oportunities look like see what I should try to gain some experience.

What I dont understand is the certification and licensing system in the USA. I see things like professional engineer, engineer in training, licencing for the Department for Transport.. what are some good websites or sources of information I can have a look at to see what I need? 

 

Also should I be getting my university degrees certified in the USA? I have been working for 5+ years in different fields so I dont know how important it is to go through the whole degree certification process (plus my university is in another country, adding a whole new level of complication).  I am also profeccionaly certified in the UK (Chartered) and wonder if its somehow partially transferable.

 

Any insight would be apreciated.

[Liam2021 551]

-The basic entry required Bachelor degree in Engineer(  software, civil, system...etc).

-Some Engineer like software, computer the only requirement is Bachelor degree, but with Civil after you have Bachelor Degree, you also need to have a Cert for practice.

-On another side, any kind of engineer jobs will required US Citizenship.

-You can have your degree evaluation in USA.

[Crazy Cat 39,222]

Personally, I would start my research at the state level (where you intend to reside) licensing authorities......

[RLA 323]

1 hour ago, Bug&Bug said:

What I dont understand is the certification and licensing system in the USA. I see things like professional engineer, engineer in training, licencing for the Department for Transport.. what are some good websites or sources of information I can have a look at to see what I need? 

I guess the Professional Engineer (PE) is America's equivalent to the British Chartered Engineer.  You need it for senior positions in engineering design and consultancy, but not necessarily for production management and the like.  Look at some job postings to see if a PE is required for the kind of positions you're aiming for. 

 

To get your PE license, you typically need Engineer-in-training (EIT) status plus professional experience, references, and a completed PE exam.  To gain EIT status, you typically need a degree, references, and a completed FE exam ("fundamentals in engineering").  If your degree is not American or ABET certified you might also need some professional experience just to sit for the FE exam.  Your 5+ years should be good enough, though.  You might also need to do a TOEFL test before the FE exam. 

 

To get a general overview go to https://ncees.org.  For specific requirements go to your state's licensing board (as @missileman said). 

 

1 hour ago, Bug&Bug said:

Also should I be getting my university degrees certified in the USA?

That might not be necessary for the PE license, but do check your state's regulations.  It'll probably also be necessary if you want to get an advanced degree here. 

 

1 hour ago, Bug&Bug said:

I am also profeccionaly certified in the UK (Chartered) and wonder if its somehow partially transferable.

Probably not.  Here in Virginia definitely not. 

[Bug&Bug 143]

3 hours ago, H&T said:

-On another side, any kind of engineer jobs will required US Citizenship.

 

Wait what? I understand you just need residence unless you are working in a field that needs clearance from the DoE and the such?

 

3 hours ago, missileman said:

Personally, I would start my research at the state level (where you intend to reside) licensing authorities......

Thanks! Will start there!

 

1 hour ago, RLA said:

 

To get a general overview go to https://ncees.org.  For specific requirements go to your state's licensing board (as @missileman said). 

 

Thanks a lot, really useful!

[RLA 323]

1 hour ago, Bug&Bug said:

Wait what? I understand you just need residence unless you are working in a field that needs clearance from the DoE and the such?

That was probably a mistranslation (any/some).  Some engineering jobs require citizenship and security clearance, most don't.  If citizenship is required it will say so in the job posting. 

[Kürbis&Tannenbaum 20]

Another older thread but I wanted to comment, since the above posts seem to go a lot into HOW to get certified as a Professional Engineer, but don't really go into WHY:

 

As a transportation engineer, you don't ever need to get certified. Are you signing off on blueprints? Does your product solely function to provide a public service (i.e. are you designing a public bridge or building?). Are there no other PE's in your company that can sign off on your work? If you answered no to all of these, then you don't need to get your PE. If you answered yes, you do. Almost no one gets a PE unless they are: civil engineers, ME HVAC engineers. And even then, you never "need" to get a PE license as long as someone else signs your work. Now obviously that is not optimal career wise, but for a 1st job in the US, it really isn't a big deal.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Kürbis&Tannenbaum