{"id":173,"date":"2018-01-22T10:33:09","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T15:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/?p=173"},"modified":"2018-01-22T10:33:20","modified_gmt":"2018-01-22T15:33:20","slug":"pelicense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/2018\/01\/22\/pelicense\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memory of Bill Flood: Get Licensed!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Francis College of Engineering mourns the recent passing of Harold William \u201cBill\u201d Flood.\u00a0 After a long engineering career, he served as Professor in the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering from 1983-1995, including time as Chair.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

He was active in a n<\/span>umber of professional societies, most notably, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AiCHE).\u00a0 Furthermore, the Governor appointed him to the Massachusetts Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As you may have guessed, Bill was a strong proponent of licensure.\u00a0 He felt it was an important part of being an engineer, especially in a complicated world of ever tightening standards.\u00a0 According to the National Society of Professional Engineers (see https:\/\/www.nspe.org\/resources\/licensure\/why-get-licensed<\/a>), there are five reasons to get licensed:\u00a0 Prestige, Career Development, Money, Flexibility, and Authority<\/em>.\u00a0 To me, the first four reasons are linked, as PE’s are generally in higher demand for their documented abilities, and thus tend to earn more and have greater career flexibility.\u00a0 With this comes some measure of prestige.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But what sets a Professional Engineer (PE) apart, is the fifth reason: Authority.\u00a0 In explaining Authority, NSPE states that \u201cOnly PE’s can sign and seal engineering drawings; and only PE’s can be in responsible charge of a firm in private practice or serve as a fully qualified expert witness.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>This is a compelling reason for licensure for anyone wanting to lead a business, consulting or otherwise, someday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The licensing process requires four steps: (1) Graduate from an ABET-accredited engineering program; (2) Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam; (3) Work as an engineer for a required amount of time with proper supervision; and (4) Pass the Professional Engineering exam.\u00a0 See www.nspe.org<\/a> and www.ncees.org<\/a> for more information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does every engineering job require licensure?\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics <\/a>, the median number of years that a salaried worker spends with the same employer is 4.6 years (in 2016).\u00a0 This is much lower than in previous years.\u00a0 Thus, with mobility, and thus uncertainty, increasing with respect to future employment, it makes sense to seek out licensure now, so it does not inhibit job prospects later.\u00a0 Thus, I, just as Bill Flood would have, urge you to get licensed.<\/span><\/p>\n

I most recently saw Bill this past fall.\u00a0 While his mobility was limited, he was sharp as a tack.\u00a0 As with my previous visits, I enjoyed hearing about his work in the field and his time at Lowell.\u00a0 He will be missed.\u00a0 My condolences to his family, especially Jeanne, his wife of 71 years!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Francis College of Engineering mourns the recent passing of Harold William \u201cBill\u201d Flood.\u00a0 After a long engineering career, he served as Professor in the Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering from 1983-1995, including time as Chair.\u00a0 He was active … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions\/176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}