On Jun 26, 2006, at 5:57 PM, Gerhard Fiedler wrote:

> "The exact licensing procedure can vary from state to state,
>  but the general process is: 1. Graduate with a degree from
>  an accredited four-year university program in engineering.

I think you gloss over the rest of the requirements, which
I include below:

The exact licensing procedure can vary from state to state, but the 
general process is:
    1. Graduate with a degree from an accredited four-year university 
program in engineering.
    2. Complete a standard Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) written 
examination, which tests applicants on breadth of understanding of 
basic engineering principles, and optionally some elements of an 
engineering specialty. Completion of the first two steps typically 
qualifies for certification in the U.S. as an Engineer-In-Training 
(EIT).
    3. Accumulate at least four years of engineering experience under 
the supervision of a P.E.
    4. Complete a written Professional Engineering Examination, testing 
the applicant's knowledge and skills in a chosen engineering discipline 
(mechanical, electrical, civil, etc.), as well as engineering ethics.

Of these, I think (1) is the easiest to accomplish, and the
most likely to be flexible...

> I think I have said before that I never have been in a
> situation where something like this was important, and
> I probably could get my degree recognized somehow if
> it was... at least by paying a university for it :)
>
I have little doubt that your German Engineering degree would
be accepted as step 1 here (I could be completely wrong.)  That
means you just have to take those tests and get the four years
"journeyman" experience under an existing PE, which is likely
to be the tough part.  The "profession engineer" is sort of the
official union-style apprentice/etc track, that has been rejected
as inefficient by most of the high-tech industries.  I've never
seen a job that required "professional engineer" status, nor
offered professional engineer as a potential perk after the four
years experience had been garnered.  Such things might still happen
in SOME fields of engineering ("public works" like power station
and grid engineering?  Designing nuclear power plants?), but like
I said, I haven't seen in in the computer or electronics industry.
(Ok, I surfed over to jobs.com and typed "professional engineer."
The results pretty much match my expectations: professional civil
engineer, professional structural engineer, power systems engineer,
etc.  It's actually a sort of interesting list...)

BillW
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