Week 4 assignment
9/19/19
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Professional Engineering Licensing
• EE Concentrations Planning Follow-up • Professional Engineering Law • Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Spec
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Latest Course Map
9/19/19
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Additional Planning Tools: Use at Your Own Risk
• Excel Workbook o EE Roadmap for EE 200
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Survey Question: My Path to Plan my Degree is …
A. Clear B. Somewhat Clear C. Somewhat Unclear D. Not Clear at All E. Hidden by my Upper Division Transfer
Status
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9/19/19
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Professional Engineering Licensing
• EE Concentrations Planning Follow-up • Professional Engineering Law • Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Spec
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California Professional Engineering PE) Law
• Purpose and Provisions • Exams and License Process Overview
• See https://ncees.org/ o Detailed Exam Info o Set up free account
• CA Board: http://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/ o Select Contact Us for Board contact info or o http://www.bpelsg.ca.gov/about_us/contact.shtml
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9/19/19
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Why are Engineers Licensed ? • To safeguard life, health, property, and public welfare of
the people of California, by … o Ensure minimum standards are met by engineers
§ Knowledge (education and testing) § Experience (work experience verified by PE exam) § Integrity (PE law exam)
o Provides safe practice cost effectively o Note:
§ PE is not a Guild § Provides minimum standards
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Why Would You Want to be Licensed?
• It is good for you o Right to practice o Right to contract to provide
services o Labels you as a professional
• It is good for the profession o Raise the status of engineering o Ensure minimum standards
• Provides standing in a court of law o Expert Witness o Ethical harassment (Challenger
incident) o Collection of fees for
engineering services
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9/19/19
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Key Features of Current Law • Regulates practice
o All civil
o Electrical and mechanical engineering services
• Others: regulates titles only o e.g. control systems,
manufacturing, nuclear
o Practice unregulated outside civil, electrical, and mechanical
• Purchase and use of stamp required o Indicates that plans, specifications,
etc. are complete
o Means you are in responsible charge and approve
• Practice only in area of competence
Note: You cannot legally advertise electrical engineering services to or perform electrical engineering work for the public without being a licensed electrical engineer.
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Should You Be Licensed ? • Engineers in Responsible Charge
o All civil practice
o Electrical and mechanical engineering services o Engineers in state and local government
• Those who profess to be civil, electrical or mechanical engineers • Anyone wishing to use a reserved title • Exemptions from law include
o Communications Industry
o Licensed contractors
o Industry Exemption (including consulting to industry)
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9/19/19
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Survey Question: Before Tonight, My Understanding of Professional Engineering Registration Was …
A. Never heard of it B. Heard of It, But no interest C. Didn’t Think About It D. Didn’t think it Applies E. Aware and Want to get Licensed
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What does Responsible Charge Mean?
• Span of control o Make engineering decisions o Review and approve decisions o Presence (physical or via
communication devices) o Judge specialists and their
recommendations
• Engineering Decisions — selection or development of: o Engineering alternatives o Standards, methods, and
materials to be used o Testing methods or techniques o Manufacturing or construction
methods o Operating and maintenance
procedures 12
9/19/19
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What Constitutes the Practice of EE?
• Profess to be an EE • In responsible charge of EE work • Current definition of EE work:
o Studies or activities relating to generation, transmission, and utilization of electrical energy
o Design of electrical, electronic, and magnetic circuits o Technical control of circuit operation o Design of electrical gear o Concerned with research, organizational, and economic aspects
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Current California Licensure Process Model Law Process in Blue
Licensure Paths
BSE PhD BS No Degree
Education ABET approved
Professor or Ph.D. 1
Engineering or science
No college
FE exam or 15 years 2 waived or 17 years 2 Required
Experience 3 2 1 4 6
PE exam Required Required Required Required 1 Tenure track professor at or Ph.D. from ABET accredited school (waiver
program expires in 2000?) 2 Work experience after graduation and degree must be in engineering
• For comity: Recommend taking the FE exam 3 Work experience after graduation
• For comity: Recommend 4 years experience before taking PE exam • MSE counts as 1 year of experience • Other combinations of education and experience qualify 14
Model Law
9/19/19
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Problems with California PE Law • Board performs functions that do not affect safety:
o Adjudicate conflict between practice and title acts
o Comity made difficult by incompatibility with other states.
• Law restrains interdisciplinary practice o e.g. electromechanical
o Ignores overlap of disciplines o Ignores emerging fields: software, biomedical, etc.
• Title act engineers restricted from practice included in the definition of electrical, civil, or mechanical engineering
• Title act practice not regulated providing no public safeguards • California does not use all NCEES branches 15
Discipline Overlap not Recognized by Current Law
Civil Electrical
Mechanical
Fire Protection
Traffic Control Systems
Traffic Systems
Traffic Signals
Fire Alarms
Sprinkler Piping
Electrical Systems
Mechanical Systems
Chemical
Refinery Piping
Environmental Remediation
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9/19/19
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PE Exams Focuses on Current Practice See https://ncees.org/ for Exam Specifications
• F.E. Exam revised to serve as exit exam o 6-hour exam taken year round at local test centers o Closed book with electronic reference (FE Reference handbook)
• PE Exam for EE o No choice of problems to work o All multiple choice type problems o 3 Exams to Pick from:
§ Computer Engineering
§ Electronics, Controls, and Communications § Power
Can download with free MyNCEES account
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Should You Get Licensed ?
• Get licensed if: o Practicing EE to the Public o Infrastructure (All Power Engineers) o Want to advertise as an engineer o Want to use a title (e.g. consulting engineer)
• Don’t forget to file an organization record o Engineering service firms o Required for civil, electrical, or mechanical
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9/19/19
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Professional Engineering Licensing
• Professional Engineering Law • Fundamentals of Engineering Exam Spec
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Survey Question: Based on Tonight’s Presentation, My View on PE Registration is …
A. Not Interested B. Will consider taking FE Exam C. Plan to Take FE Exam and Register as an
EIT D. Will Consider taking the FE and PE
Exams E. Definitely Plan to complete the PE
process
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