The Path to Engineering
Short Answer: Becoming an engineer requires significant effort from getting admitted into a reputable engineering school to graduating and working in demanding roles
Image 1: Engineers of all kinds play vital roles in shaping and protecting our communities by ensuring the infrastructure and tools they use are robust and sustainable
Many people grow up and want to be engineers for a variety of reasons. Some like bridges. Others like to tinker with machines. Some just like to make sure systems are neat and orderly. Regardless of the reason, engineers of all kinds have vital roles to play in society throughout their careers.
How does someone become an engineer? Do they have to love math and science? It definitely helps having a knack for those things, but to truly become an engineer, two things must happen first: being admitted into a reputable—often ABET-Accredited—engineering program and then graduating from that program. Engineering programs mainly teach the same fundamentals for the first two years. After those fundamentals, coursework becomes more tailored towards each engineering major’s area(s) of focus. Some go on after graduation to get Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certificates and then get Professional Engineer (PE) licences after they’ve been in the workforce for a while.
Image 2: Engineers begin their careers by studying at reputable engineering colleges where they study engineering fundamentals before they graduate
If engineers wish to earn a PE license to either advance their careers or to meet industry requirements, engineers must first take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam in order to become an EIT upon graduation. Once EITs work under a licensed PE for approximately 4 years and properly document their experience, EITs can sit for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam to become licensed PEs. For fields such as civil engineering and agricultural engineering, becoming a licensed PE is critical when overseeing large projects that impact the public at large.
Image 3: Both the FE and PE exams are timed computer-based exams which test examinees on various subjects, including engineering fundamentals and major-specific themes (FE) to best practices and methods in the real world (PE)
All this effort that engineers undergo to become engineers is no small feat. To all the engineers out there creating a positive contribution to our societies that were celebrated this National Engineers Week: thank you. Life would be so much harder without your contributions. From the wastewater facilities we use, the roads we drive on, to the cars and trucks we drive, engineers like you make modern life possible
Bottom Line: Engineers—whether licensed or not—undergo years of training in school and on the job to make modern living easy, safe and reliable for ages to come.
Image 4: Engineers take on challenging projects, like engineering structures that either support highway traffic or other kinds of vital infrastructure
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