Should you become a PE?

[@TroyMcmanigal-l9o]

Hello mark I absolutely love your videos. I too aspire to have my own engineering company. Right now I am in school for structural engineering, but I really wish outside of school I could run my own part type “engineering business” to best prepare myself for when I get my liscence. Did you have any previous business experience before you got your stamp? If so what were the restraints of what you could legally do as a business owner in your regarded field?

[@McGuireMechanism]

Great questions! Thank you for the kind comment, Troy. I had some business experience before starting my small engineering firm, though I wouldn't have called it an engineering firm or used protected terms like "engineering" in its title or services portfolio. Before obtaining your professional stamp, you can't sign off on drawings. For me, however, the value lies in the licensure, not the stamp itself. If I were starting an engineering business without a license, I would set up infrastructure: look into taxes, plan hiring processes and payroll reporting, get necessary insurance, acquire required software, and build a network of specialists (machinists, welders, material suppliers, experts.) You can hire a senior engineering consultant at $125 per hour or more, or you can network and take a friend (who happens to be an expert) to lunch for $25. Offer services like "structural design" or "mechanical repair" to stay legal-don't claim you're selling "engineering" services without a license. Once you have your stamp, you are already up and running, and it will suddenly become easier to land jobs.

[@jcunningham0525]

Thanks. I don't need a PE license at my job right now but would like to attain one to help me start a company in the future.

[@McGuireMechanism]

Very cool!

[@levi64679]

Are there firms that would hire a recent ME graduate to learn to become a structural engineer? It seems like the path to structural is typically through CE degrees, or a masters in structural.

[@McGuireMechanism]

Hi Levi, great question. Yes, but until they get to know you, your ME degree might make them wary (they might wonder if a CE-type path is a fallback for you as an ME,) but as you grow in your career your major starts to matter less. I got an ME degree, and in addition to machine design I am able to do very structural things, like teaching civil engineers at my local university and stamping construction plans on the side here and there. Anything is possible!

[@levi64679]

@@McGuireMechanism That makes sense. Did your experience working in Machine design count as PE worthy experience? (I know there's typically a 4 year requirement in the workforce). I currently work developing simple machines as an intern for a manufacturing company but I don't know when the projects would start to count as PE experience.

[@McGuireMechanism]

@@levi64679 Yes, but the typical 4 years of experience assumes you have already secured a BS degree, so an internship (prior to your BS degree) wouldn't count as time toward your qualifying experience. There are other paths, however - for example, in Oregon, without a degree you can still obtain a license with 12 years of qualifying experience. Your state board of examiners for engineering should have a breakdown of what is acceptable.

[@pricer39]

When you become a PE and you put your stamp on some engineering work, do you become liable? What if someone doesn't follow your stamped plan precisely? Thanks in advance!

[@McGuireMechanism]

Yes, engineers are liable for what they stamp. If someone doesn't follow your instructions, then that liability is no longer applicable.