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In article <33EFA007.499@ll.mit.edu>, mmacdon@ll.mit.edu eloquently stated...
>
>Brian wrote:
>> 
>> Look, if you do not have PE after your title, you are not a "real"
>> engineer.  A BS alone in an engineering field does not qualify you to be
>> an engineer.
>
>Does this make me a "sissy" engineer? ;)
>
>I'll put a PE after my title when it makes some sense for me to do so. 
>When I took the FE exam, most of the people I saw were civil engineers
>who were there because the PE is an important credential in that field. 
>I half expect that if I were to take the PE exam in Electrical
>Engineering, this Microwave/Infrared guy would spend a lot of time
>boning up on the intricacies of Wye-connected and delta-connected power
>systems, since PE's in electrical engineering seem to be concentrated in
>the power systems field.  The PE may make sense for consultants, but
>even then education and experience are the best indicators of ability. 
>
>-- 
>Mike MacDonald, MIT Lincoln Laboratory          mmacdon@ll.mit.edu
>** The views expressed here are not those of Lincoln Laboratory. **

I concur that the P.E. is an ESSENTIAL credential in the consulting field.  
While the the civil engineer is heavily represented in the consulting 
engineering profession, there are also a great number of mechanical and 
electrical engineers.  Even in industry and education, obtaining professional 
registration in ones field makes good sense.  Particularly in education:  In 
college, invariably my best professors were P.E.'s with several years of life 
experience to relate to their students.  A pound of theory is fine, but I'll 
take an ounce of life experience in a heartbeat.  

As for education being one of the BEST indicators of ability,  do not delude 
yourself and stick to experience.  I have met numerous non-degreed technical 
personnel that far outshined their graduate-engineer supervisors (yes, one was 
even from MIT).

Perhaps registration is not a requirement for your continued professional 
growth.  However, the exams are not that tough and (in my opinion) anyone 
incapable of passing a P.E. exam has no business calling themselves an 
engineer.

M.L. Trimble, P.E.
Licensed to practice engineering in the states of Missouri and Illinois.
(Someday I'll get it right!)
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