Illinois Licensing Guides for Immigrant Engineers

Eligibility For Licensing

OVERVIEW OF LICENSING CRITERIA

The licensing process has the following steps:

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSING MAP:

I. EVALUATE YOUR FOREIGN DEGREE WITH THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF EXAMINERS FOR ENGINEERING AND SURVEYING (NCEES)

If your university degree was in an engineering discipline, you must work with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) to have it evaluated. The cost is $400.

First, NCEES compiles information on your degree, including transcripts that must be sent directly from your university. If your materials are in a language other than English, you should check if your university will translate them and provide copies in English to NCEES. If this is not possible, you will need to have your own copy of your transcript translated and provide this to NCEES from another source. Verify with NCEES before to make sure what types of translation sources they will accept (e.g., university offices, consular offices, American Translator Association members).

Next, NCEES compares your educational materials course-by-course to standards used by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) to evaluate engineering programs. It is common for NCEES to identify foreign degrees as deficient in comparison to ABET standards. This is often because of international differences regarding when subjects are taught and the degree of specialization students are expected to have in university. For example:

• You may have finished advanced math courses in high school such as Differential Equations or Calculus I. Most US students only take these courses at the university level
• You may have taken very few humanities and social sciences courses once you began your engineering program. ABET accreditation requires 12 credit hours in such subjects to give students a well-rounded education

It is common for your NCEES degree evaluation to have several important differences from ABET standards. This can mean you will have to go back to school and take the types of classes your evaluation describes before you can move to other steps in the licensing process. You may even have to go back and take a full year of courses! This requirement is strict and there are very few exceptions. However, you may have a few other options that can help:

• If your country has a recognized college-preparatory system such as the US Advanced Placement courses, U.K.’s A-levels, or France’s Baccalaureate, you should consult with NCEES before submitting your transcripts. If you received college-level credit for them, you may be able to have them recorded in your university transcript
• If you completed a master’s degree, the Professional Engineering Board can look at your courses to see if any can satisfy deficiencies in your degree

II. MEET ANY COURSEWORK DEFICIENCIES IN YOUR DEGREE IDENTIFIED BY NCEES AND/OR THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION (IDFPR)

Unfortunately, many of you will need to take additional classes before you can continue licensing. Here are a few strategies to consider:

• Community colleges are often a good option. They are usually more affordable than universities, closer to home, and offer evening and weekend classes
• If you need math courses because your college transcripts only show advanced math such as Calculus II, keep things simple and save study time: take lower-level courses such as Trigonometry, Calculus I, or Differential Equations
• If you need to take social sciences or humanities courses, it may help your mindset to consider this a chance to get to know US culture and society better. You can pick courses and subjects that interest you, or ones you already feel familiar with, depending on the time you have to invest
• If you are studying and working at the same time, you may be able to do steps 2 and 3 together

III. SHOW FOUR YEARS OF QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE UNDER A LEGALLY PRACTICING ENGINEER

The Illinois regulations require any graduate of a non-ABET accredited school to have 4 years of experience under a legally practicing engineer in order to take the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE). This applies to all foreign graduates and also affects US graduates of non-accredited schools and graduates of related sciences.

As an immigrant professional who has worked in engineering in your home country, you will need to find out whether your professional experience counts as”qualifying experience” or whether you need to start again in the US workplace.

DOES YOUR PRIOR EXPERIENCE COUNT?

• You must be able to get documentation that shows the number of years you worked under the direct supervision of a legally practicing engineer and actually had certain engineering responsibilities. Do not stop at documenting four years if you have more; there are two four-year periods of experience that need proof throughout the licensing process. You may be able to get a full eight years of credit and actually be found eligible to take the PE exam immediately!
• You must be able to prove that you reported to a person who was legally practicing engineering at the time. This could include someone licensed in your country, or working in exempt positions; it could even include working under a US military engineer
• You cannot certify your own experience – someone has to state he or she was the engineer in charge
• Important: you can also get different amounts of experience credit for activities such as graduate study, participation in a co-op, or for teaching professional engineering courses. More details can be found through IDFPR

If you believe that you have some qualifying foreign experience, you will need to document this information using the VE-PNG (Verification of Employment/Experience) form that is a part of the application you will put together in Step 4. Copy as many forms as you need (if you changed jobs over the years) and send them to the supervising engineer(s). The forms ask the supervisor opinions about your performance. Be careful: a negative review can hurt your case. Use other copies of the VE-PNG for other types of experience activities and provide documents to support the information.

HOW DO I EARN QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE IN THE US?

If you do not have a full four years of qualifying experience, then you will need to earn the rest of the four years in a US workplace or through other activities like studying or teaching. Again, you will need to work under a legally practicing engineer (either a licensed or exempt engineer) and your work will have to include supervised engineering activities.

• Look for employment in a firm or other workplace with a professional engineer on staff and get permission for the engineer’s participation in your program
• You will have to document your work for the PE and receive his or her recommendation to meet IDFPR qualifying experience standards
• Your exact job title is not relevant; you just need to work under a legally practicing engineer with increasing responsibility
• If you change employers and/or supervising PEs over this four-year period, you must have all PEs submit documentation (VE-PNG forms) to account for the full amount of qualifying experience
• Once you have gathered all documentation, submit it together with the application in Step 4 to the IDFPR for approval

IV. APPLY FOR FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING EXAM (FE) AND ENROLLMENT AS AN ENGINEER INTERN (EI)

This is a 2-step process involving application to IDFPR as well as test registration with Continental Testing Service (CTS).

A. Application:

Your application package should include:

• Four-page IDFPR application for Examination for Enrollment as an Engineer Intern
• NCEES course-by-course evaluation
• Proof that you have passed English language competency exams if your engineering program was not conducted in English and you are not a native speaker of English. (minimum accepted scores: a TOEFL-iBT with 26 on speaking and total score of 88 OR the TOEFL paper-based 550 or computer-based 213 plus a Test of Spoken English score of 50)
• VE-PNG forms (Verification of Employment/Experience). Supervisors will put forms in sealed envelopes. You can also use VE-PNG forms for other experience credit such as graduate study, participation in a coop, or for teaching professional engineering courses
• The IDFPR filing deadline for an April test is November 15 and the filing deadline for an October test is May 15. The application fee is $20.

This application is valid for 3 years; if you have not passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam by that time, you will have to submit a new application and pay the processing fee again. If all of your documents are in order, you will be given a notice of permission to register for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam.

B. Register for FE Exam:

Once IDFPR has approved you to take the FE exam, you must register online with Continental Testing Service (CTS) for an exam site (there are typically 4 sites in Illinois available at each offering of the FE). The CTS registration deadlines for the April and October tests are typically 1 month before the exams. FE exam enrollment costs $168.00.

V. PASS THE FE AND BECOME AN ENGINEER INTERN (EI)

The fundamentals of engineering exam (FE) is a national test that most US engineering students from accredited programs take in their senior year or shortly after graduation. This test will be discussed in detail in the section Tests Required for Licensing. After passing the test you are designated an Engineering Intern (EI) by the state of Illinois.

VI. WORK FOR 4 YEARS UNDER A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER FOR QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE

At last, you have achieved your first legal designation in engineering in the state of Illinois: Engineering Intern (EI). At this point there is a second four-year experience requirement that applies to all EIs. The goal is to help you continue to develop your skills under the supervision of a legally licensed engineer. If you have additional qualifying experience that was not counted in Step 3, it will be used here towards the four year requirement. You will finish this step by collecting VE-PNG forms for any qualifying activity. These will be included in the application in Step 7.

VII. APPLY FOR EXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE AS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER (PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF ENGINEERING EXAM, PE)

This is another 2-step process, involving application to IDFPR and test registration with CTS.

A. Application:

If you need assistance with your application, contact the IDFPR at (708) 354-9911 ext. 124. When you have compiled all materials, mail them to the IDFPR.

Your application package should include:

• 4 page IDFPR application for Examination for Licensure as a Professional Engineer. Be sure to show that you are licensed as an Engineer Intern in Illinois in Part IV of the application or it will not be counted towards your licensure as a PE
• Official transcript from your university engineering program (not a degree evaluation, simply an official transcript)
• VE-PNG forms verifying 8 years of Employment/Experience

NOTES:

• The IDFPR filing deadline for an April test is November 15 and the filing deadline for an October test is May 15. There is a $100 application fee
• This application is valid for 3 years; if you have not passed the PE exam by that time, you will have to submit a new application and pay the processing fee again

If all of your documents are in order, you will be given a notice of permission to register for the PE exam.

B. Registration for PE Exam:

Once IDFPR has approved you to take the PE exam, you must register online with CTS for an exam site. The CTS registration deadlines for the April and October tests are typically 2 months before the exams. PE exam enrollment costs $281.00.

VIII. PASS THE PE EXAM AND RECEIVE LICENSURE AS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER (PE)

The PE exam will be discussed in detail in the next section. Once you have passed the exam, you will be granted licensure as a Professional Engineer in the state of Illinois. Your PE license must be renewed every 2 years. Please refer to the section Beyond Licensing for basic information on requirements to maintain licensure.