THE PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER IN ILLINOIS

Who are Engineers?

What do Engineers Do?
Did you Know.....?
What is Professional Licensing?
Why take the FE/EI Exam?
What Advantages does a PE License Provide?
How do I become Licensed in Illinois?
What are the new exam requirements for PEs?

Who are Engineers?
For centuries, engineers have imagined, inspired, and invented better ways of living. Whether developing the Step Pyramid in 2550 B.C., or constructing our roads, bridges, and tunnels, or advancing technologies in energy, communications, medicine, and computers, engineering is everywhere.

What do Engineers Do?
From environment to infrastructure, from bioengineering to outer space, product design, transportation, heat conduction, computer technology, all depend on engineers. Engineers staff critical systems -- such as energy, transportation, information and medical technology. Engineers design products for work and play. Engineers help heat our homes and cool our refrigerators. They design roads and bridges and the cars that drive upon them. They make your mobile phone smaller and smaller and its sound clearer and clearer.

Did you know that…
…the snow board was invented by an engineer? With some engineering twists and turns along the way, the snow board has become a marvel of geometry, chemistry, and biomechanics. Since the snow board allows deft turns, ski manufacturers have quickly adopted some of the snow board innovations, enabling skiers to turn with less effort.

… .engineers design running shoes for protection, performance, and comfort? Engineers understand how much force travels from the ground through the shoe to the foot. Through the work of engineering, weight is distributed throughout the whole foot -- heel to toe.

… a civil engineer created the slippery part of the water slide? A civil engineer designed a pumping system to circulate just the right amount of water to the flume. Without the right flow of water, there is no ride. Additionally, civil engineers have designed the slide to withstand the weight of people, the water, and even the force of the wind blowing on it.

… the launch and return of spacecraft, from the Apollo to the Shuttle, is a monumental engineering triumph? The space program has greatly expanded the world's knowledge base. The technological advancement by engineers in energy, communications, materials, structures, and computers, have made space travel possible.

… the Ferris Wheel is considered one of the greatest engineering wonders in the world? The first Ferris Wheel was created by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania engineer, George W. Ferris, in 1893 for the Chicago World’s Fair. The wheel was supported by two 140-foot steel towers and connected by a 45-foot axle -- the largest single piece of forged steel ever made at that time.

Want to see more of what engineers do? Click here to follow the “Sightseer’s Guide to Engineering.”

What is Professional Licensing?
Professional licensing is governmental regulation of professional practice. The purpose of licensing is to safeguard the public by setting minimum standards of professional performance when professional services are needed.

Professional licensing raises the standards of the profession by limiting practice to those meeting objective standards through examinations.

Non-licensed practitioners are limited by law in the scope of work they are allowed to perform. Licensing laws vary from state to state and are exclusively under the control of the individual state legislature.

Why should young engineers take the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE) and become an Engineer Intern (EI)?

Your EI Status:

• Distinguishes you as positive, committed and success oriented.
• Boosts your resume – for young engineers short on experience, your credentials as an EI or PE will demonstrate your seriousness of purpose.
• Offers you networking opportunities by putting you in closer contact with licensed professional engineers.
• Provides you with certification that is transferable to other parts of the country.
• Gives you a psychological advantage with people respecting you as a professional.

What Advantages does a PE License Provide?
Employment – Licensed employees enhance the reputation of engineering firms and become symbols of competency, professionalism, experience, and character.

Promotability – Getting licensed demonstrates motivation, responsibility, and success orientation. The same qualities are demanded for positions requiring individual thought, discretion and responsibility.

Quality Assurance – As the demand for consumer protection continues to grow, so will the demand for licensing among the engineers designing the products and processes affecting the public.

Global Competitiveness – Engineering projects increasingly cross national borders. Most countries require some form of professional licensing and will expect the members of the international team to be licensed in their home countries.

Back to Basics – Industry increasingly demands licensing to better identify designers of both good and bad work in an effort to restore quality engineering and limit produce liability.

How to Become a New PE or EI in Illinois
To become a licensed engineer in the state of Illinois, you must take and pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam and the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam (PE).

Students who are in their senior year of an accredited four-year engineering program are approved to take the FE exam during their final year in school by filing the appropriate paperwork with the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. All others must apply to take the exam and receive approval. When you pass the FE exam, you achieve Engineer Intern (EI) status.

In order to take the PE exam, the state requires you to have work experience under the supervision of a licensed PE. You must have four years of engineering experience if you graduated from an accredited four-year engineering program or eight years experience if you graduated from an accredited four year program in an engineering-related science.

If you earned EI status in another state, and you apply to take the Principles and Practice exam, you will be asked to provide:

1. Evidence of your enrollment as an EI in that state, including the date you took the FE examination; and
2. A college certificate from an ABET approved engineering program or complete transcript if your degree is not from an ABET approved engineering program.

UPDATE!

If you earned your degree in a foreign country, you must also have your transcripts reviewed by an outside education evaluation service.  IDFPR materials and the PE Rules list the evaluating body as Engineering Credentials Evaluation International.  ECEI is no longer accepting applications for evaluation.  To get your foreign education evaluated, you must contact:

The Center for Professional Engineering Evaluation Services (CPEES) (website)

PO Box 720010

Miami, FL 33172

800-464-7650

305-348-5049 (fax)

centersupport@ncees.org

If you have a foreign-awarded non-engineering degree, you must contact AACRAO for credential evaluation.

The Illinois Department of Professional Regulation serves as the licensing body for professional engineers in Illinois, and the exam specifications are established by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

Dates, Deadlines & Forms

In Illinois, the FE and PE exams are offered in April and in October.  Please note the deadline to apply to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation take the Spring exam is November 15 of the preceding year, and the Fall exam deadline is May 15.  Click here to go to the IDFPR on-line application page. 

Once your education and experience (if relevant) submittals are approved by IDFPR and you have been authorized to sit for the exam, you must apply with Continental Testing Services to take the actual exam.  Click here to go to the CTS registration page.

Exam Review
The Illinois Society of Professional Engineers offers our Professional Engineer Review Series (PERS) each Spring and Fall. To learn more about PERS click here.

How to become Licensed in Illinois with a PE from Another State
Individuals holding a PE from another state may become licensed in Illinois through a process known as “licensure by endorsement.”

The application for endorsement will ask you to provide detailed information, including:

• Proof of your original licensure in another state and your current licensure from the state in which you are most active;
• Proof that you met requirements similar to the Illinois PE requirements at the time of your licensure;
• Any disciplinary action taken against your license;
• A complete work history, etc.

Click here to find the application to become licensed as a PE in Illinois through endorsement.