Everything You Need to Know About Professional Engineering License Renewal
A college education is a must. These days, it’s basically a prerequisite to have a degree in order to have a future in white-collar industries.
High school students are flocking to college in greater numbers than ever before as they realize the value of investing four years in a college degree in a technical discipline like engineering.
However, too many don’t realize that a college degree is only a first step. After college, one has to get relevant certifications in the industry to be employable, like the professional engineering (PE) license. Then, when the PE license renewal date comes around, one has to take care of that as well.
If you’ve been smart enough to see that you need a PE license and are now looking to renew it, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll explain how to renew a PE license.
Check Your State
First, remember that the professional engineering licensing is not federal. Instead, the process changes on a state-by-state basis. Each state has different requirements and processes for renewal, so you need to go according to the state that you work in.
Be careful of the distinction between the state that you work in and the state that you live in. For example, if you live in Alabama close to the border of Georgia, and you commute to Georgia to work. You need to have a PE license from Georgia and renew your license according to Georgia’s policies.
For the purposes of this post, we’ll go through the steps for a Minnesota PE license renewal. If you work and need to renew a PE license in a different state, then simply follow the same steps listed by the website for your state license governing body.
PE License Renewal in Minnesota
In Minnesota, professional engineer license renewal is not an overly complicated process. The first step is to complete all of the continuing education courses.
There are 24 hours of continuing education courses required, of which at least two hours must be in engineering ethics. There are a number of educational institutions that provide these courses, so take your pick. Most of them will have online options so you can forego any in-class work.
Everyone must renew their license on June 30th of every even-numbered year (so you’ll need to renew this year in 2020!).
Simply complete the renewal form and mail it in, along with the certificate of course completion from the continuing education institution and the $180 renewal fee to the Minnesota State Board.
Moving Forward as an Engineer
To move forward in your engineering career, it is absolutely crucial that you have your PE license renewed in a timely fashion. If you don’t, you may lose your license thus removing you from gainful employment, and you will have to remove it from your resume of qualifications until paperwork is processed once again.
