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I found this line to be particularly interesting: > In fact, like the majority of engineers nationwide, Wayne was not required to get a license since he worked

I found this line to be particularly interesting: > In fact, like the majority of engineers nationwide, Wayne was not required to get a license since he worked for a company under the state’s “industrial exception.” A half-minute search on Google didn't seem to produce anything of relevance, but I did come across numerous articles talking about licensing not being needed. Would be curious to see more hard data on the number of un-licensed engineers and if there is any correlation to issues / shoddy work or not.

timpattinson 5y ago
In my experience licensing of engineers is almost exclusive to civil engineering and some other subfields. The vast majority of mechanical, electrical and software engineers will never need to be licensed. It's also possible for unlicensed engineers to work under the supervision of a licensed engineer (PE), often the PE will be the one to stamp drawings etc.
- jpindar 5y ago
  >It's also possible for unlicensed engineers to work under the supervision of a licensed engineer (PE) AFAIK, it's required as part of the process of getting a PE.
  - PennRobotics 5y ago
    At least in Florida, there is an exception: (from FBPE 61G15, FL Admin Code) 7. Experience should be gained under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer or, if not, an explanation should be made showing why the experience should be considered acceptable.
brudgers 5y ago
I worked in a building department. My experience is there is a correlation between unsafe construction and unlicensed individuals. A large degree of the correlation is lack of experience, so there are corner cases where unlicensed individuals build something safe. But generally it won’t meet building code and the building code describes the very worst construction that is legal… …and even that is hard to get right because licensed professionals struggle with it all the time and that’s why I was reviewing plans.

timpattinson 5y ago

In my experience licensing of engineers is almost exclusive to civil engineering and some other subfields. The vast majority of mechanical, electrical and software engineers will never need to be licensed. It's also possible for unlicensed engineers to work under the supervision of a licensed engineer (PE), often the PE will be the one to stamp drawings etc.

jpindar 5y ago
>It's also possible for unlicensed engineers to work under the supervision of a licensed engineer (PE) AFAIK, it's required as part of the process of getting a PE.
- PennRobotics 5y ago
  At least in Florida, there is an exception: (from FBPE 61G15, FL Admin Code) 7. Experience should be gained under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer or, if not, an explanation should be made showing why the experience should be considered acceptable.

brudgers 5y ago

I worked in a building department. My experience is there is a correlation between unsafe construction and unlicensed individuals. A large degree of the correlation is lack of experience, so there are corner cases where unlicensed individuals build something safe. But generally it won’t meet building code and the building code describes the very worst construction that is legal… …and even that is hard to get right because licensed professionals struggle with it all the time and that’s why I was reviewing plans.