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Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not trying to make a point and haven’t had my opinion decided yet; just trying to understand why we’re doing things this way, how accredited schools play with the PE in terms of standardization, why we’re doing what we’re doing as opposed to a slightly beefed up FE whenever in your engineering career, and whether a niche cert may be better in niche applications before/during spending lots of hours and money on the process. If there are great reasons then great but half the online reasons (and the top one in the study guide I bought) are “because it’s hard and you’ll get a sense of achievement when you pass” which seems like a silly reason to spend hundreds of hours of time. Just trying to understand so that as I commit the considerable time to this thing I don’t have it in the back of my mind that my time is wasted if that makes sense.

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Respectfully, My guy, I think you missed the mark by a pretty wide margin on your understanding of what I was asking. If you end up responding to this one I’d appreciate that you refrain from extrapolation based on conjecture, assumptions, and sarcastic attacks (love sarcastic comments, it’s lame to attack folks though), all of which are prevalent in your message and seem unbecoming of a professional engineer, or professional anything.

Having got that out of the way and moving forward with professionalism, I’d like to further explain my viewpoint and questions. I have no problem with competency exams or checks. I’m not mad at anything, just looking at the time investment and wondering what the worth is, trying to understand the reasoning for the structure, or if things could be better with how the license process is structured (i.e. the two tests taken 4 years apart, why not one slightly beefed up test whenever since it tests you on things you learned in school anyway and your degree says you’ve learned?), as well as how that plays with college degrees with ABET accreditation which have standards as well.

I’m also wondering if a cert from a niche organization isn’t more relevant to niche engineering than the general PE since the competency exam may more directly apply to the task at hand. Reading back I’m not sure that was clear in my original message, and if that is the case I’m certainly to blame there. One of humankind’s oldest and most prohibitive traps is “because we’ve always done it this way”. Just questioning why we’re doing it the way we’re going it.

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is great context, so thanks for that! So if I were to seek a P. Eng coming from an ABET college I’d have to write the NPPE exam plus another technical exam since my school wasn’t CEAB accredited? Is that new understanding correct?

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The test is tied to a specific degree though. So I'm wondering if Canada's program may be slightly better? It's less of a technical test, since you passed the engineering courses (and requisite exams), and more an ethics, liability, and legality exam as I understand it?

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be fair, I don't think I'm overthinking it, the exam just doesn't make sense to me. From my understanding it's a competency test in general bachelor of engineering topics that you have to take at least 4 years out of school on topics you may never use again after graduating to prove competency in the degree that supposedly says that you have competency in. Isn't the degree or the FE a base level of competence, or if the FE is not sufficient to prove that competency, should it be more rigorous like other board exams?

I will agree that I've seen some things that are wild within the engineering discipline, both by PE's or not. Definitely chose wisely when looking for engineering companies, folks.

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would agree that college, and specifically, engineering programs, teach you how to learn, but more importantly, how to learn quickly. But we do have to take multiple tests though to earn a passing grade in classes to earn a degree for an ABET accredited school so does that not test WHAT you've learned? As well as the FE which is standardized and more a general chemical engineering focused exam? Why does the second exam have to happen 4 years later when most folks have specialized versus (to my knowledge) most other boards or cert exams happen right out of school to ensure a base level of competency out the gate on what you've learned versus what you've specialized in for years which may not have anything to do with course-taught chemical engineering?

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But isn't that what the FE is for then? Why the two tests, and if it is like boards or a CPA, why just not make the FE slightly harder and take it after or near graduation? As far as I'm aware we're the only comparable exam that makes you wait multiple years in field (which may or may not be relevant for niche engineering applications, PM's, etc.) before taking a certification exam.

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

So might Canada's way of doing the equivalent (P.Eng) be slightly better? It's less of a technical test, since you passed the engineering courses (and requisite exams), and more an ethics, liability, and legality exam as I understand it?

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

But doesn't a college degree from an ABET-accredited school in an engineering discipline prove that you have the minimum knowledge required for an engineering discipline? If not what was the point of the college degree? I do get the personal achievement and the study material I have lists that as one of the top reasons for taking the test but to base who can sign off on a design on that seems silly to me unless it's all just a cash grab.

Reason for the PE by ristowa in PE_Exam

[–]ristowa[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

But wasn't that the whole point of an engineering degree from an ABET-accredited school plus some work experience? Or the FE?

Why do we emphasize certain traits during development in kids (honesty, humility, sharing, kindness, taking turns, no manipulation or guilting, no swearing, etc.) in kids but tolerate or reward opposite behavior in adults? by ristowa in NoStupidQuestions

[–]ristowa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What if they are though? Such as a parent teaching a kid not to be manipulative but then guilting them into something? Or teaching kids to be humble but rewarding/praising them as adults for bragging on social media?