I am going ot be graduating with my BSEE in 6 months and I want to set myself down the right path to get my PE in a timely manner because I really want to do city power and high voltage work. Public works stuff.
I know pretty much nothing about hte steps normally taken to get there, and I know it differs from state to state, but what is teh general path to getting your PE?
I know you need to start out as an EIT and do that for a few years before you can test for your PE, but what is involved in being an EIT?
Do you take tests on a regular basis?
Is this something I can jump right into after I graudate? Should I?
When is the best time to start down that road? I am 26 right now.
Is a Masters helpful to qualify for this certification?
Is there a seriously large pay difference between someone with a PE and someone without?
The requirements listed on the link above includes “at least 4 or 8 years of creditable engineering experience referenced by a P.E.” That means you work under a P.E.'s supervision doing real engineering work. Most engineering departments, especially in the fields you mention, will have a few PEs supervising a bunch of worker bees. You need to get a job as one of those worker bees to get your time in toward your own licensing.
I don’t believe there are any exams between the EIT and the PE. That time period is like a doctor’s internship. It’s intended to be real world experience under supervision.
I don’t know if Masters or PhD. count as part of the “experience under supervision” period. Class time and teaching assistant work wouldn’t, but a research position should.
Whether or not you get a pay bump for having a PE probably depends on how much your employer needs your license. If your license doesn’t help them, they’re unlikely to pay extra for it but it might help you get jobs. It also means you can work for yourself, as an independent consultant, instead of working for someone else. On the other hand, I know a lot of engineers who didn’t need their licenses (e.g. professors) who let them lapse because they weren’t worth the trouble and people kept hitting them up for freebies.
In general, to be licensed, you need to 1) get a four-year engineering degree, 2) take and pass the EIT exam (now called the FE, Fundamentals of Engineering, exam), 3) work professionally for a certain period of time (four years in my state), and 4) take and pass the PE exam. Normally you’d do these four things in that order, although you can take the FE exam at any time between graduation and taking the PE. I’d recommend taking the FE exam as soon as possible after (or just before, if allowed in your state) you graduate, as the FE tends to be more general and your memory of general engineering will fade over time for those subjects that you don’t use in your professional career. Check out the NCEES link below on more info about how to register to take the FE.
I think that takes care of your first two questions. For the rest: Only the FE and PE exams are required, but as a PE you’re usually expected to keep current in your field; a fuzzy requirement, but generally understood to mean availing yourself of seminars or graduate education or what-have-you. A Masters degree may be helpful in that some states will accept an advanced degree in lieu of some years of professional experience (example: in my state, you can be registered with a bachelor’s degree + 4 yrs experience, or a master’s + 3 yrs experience, or a PhD + 2 yrs experience). As for pay, it varies with your field. In your planned field, sounds like it would be pretty important. In mine, much less so.
In Wisconsin, back in 1992, you had the opportunity to take the EIT exam while you were still in school. If this opportunity exists, take it, fast. Waiting any period of time to take the broad ranging EIT will only increase the pain. We all tend to forget stuff, but waiting even two or three years will necessitate painful refresher courses.
Once you have the EIT under your belt, you need the requisite experience, I believe under the tutelage of a PE in the field you have chose. You will also need to take the exam as well. I believe that you can take the PE exam at any time, even in conjuncction with the EIT, but that your certification won’t come through until you get the necessary experience.
I took the EIT without any studying while I was in school (1 month before finals) and passed it, though barely. I then went to law school and had a lot of trouble finding PEs there for some reason. I am currently an EIT patent attorney.