.jpg "Your Quick Guide to Continuing Education for Engineers")
There are close to 1,000,000 professional engineer licences in the U.S. in total. While this number doesn't take into account the inactive licences, it shows you just how much competition there is in this industry. So, then, how do you remain relevant to ensure you keep getting the best chances? Continuing education is the answer you are looking for. It comes with numerous benefits such as increased networking opportunities, knowledge and skills enhancement, guaranteed compliance, and others that promote professional development in your field.
Here's what you should know about leveraging CE to succeed as an engineer.
You will need approximately 10-18 professional development hours (PDH) in a majority of the states throughout the United States. Depending on where you live, these hours will have to focus on essential topics like state laws and/or regulations, ethics, and business management. In some cases, you may have to take additional courses or CE courses with topics related to your area of specialisation.
If, for instance, you are a civil engineer, you should take a CE course with topics that lean majorly toward civil engineering. Though you must stick to the requirements and any special guidelines for earning your CE hours, it's always a good idea to think of your CE course as a way to help you improve your skills.
For that reason, you should take premium PDH Engineering courses from renowned providers like RocketCert. That way, you are sure that each program you sign up for will not only help you earn the minimum CE hours required but also help you advance in your career.
Some state licensing boards allow professional engineers to carry over the extra CE hours they earn into the next renewal cycle. There's a caveat, however: you can only use a certain amount of the extra hours during the next renewal period.
Still, that doesn't mean the extra classes are in vain. While they may not count during the renewal, they always enhance your proficiency and will come in handy in future.
Earning continuing education hours is typically not a complicated process, though this will also vary from one state to the other. A majority of the engineering licensing boards in the United States, however, have to approve the course providers and credit hours. This makes it easier for you to determine if you are taking the right course and meeting the minimum hours required.
Keep in mind that not all states do this, so it's always a good idea to visit your state's licensing board website. That way, you won't waste your time by not taking a non-compliant course. And while taking a CE course is the easiest way to earn CE hours, you can also gain CE credits by:
You can make your work easier by taking an online course from an accredited provider since this is the most widely accepted form of continuing your education.
You may have heard that there are some cases in which you may be allowed to skip CE requirements, and that's true. These scenarios also vary from one state to the other, but the most common are:
In most cases of inactivity, your licence will expire, thus you will have to fill out a more detailed version of the renewal application or even be required to take the professional engineering exam as if you're applying for the first time.
Staying on top of your state's engineering renewal requirements is a good way to not only be competitive but also advance in your career. While the renewal process isn't that easy when you think about continuing your education, you can make this process easier than it typically is.
An effective way to do that is to take an expertly written or specially designed online CE program from a provider like RocketCert. When learning becomes easy and fun, you won't think of continuing education as a survival solution for staying, but as an essential tool for learning and growing in your profession.
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