process for ohio p.e. registration?

Date 03-24-2005 18:26

I would like to become a registered professional welding engineer.

I have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in mechanical engineering, and I am registered as a professional engineer in Texas and Nevada. I qualified as a P.E. by taking the Principles and Practice exam (in Texas) in mechanical engineering.

I believe Ohio is the only state that grants P.E. licenses in welding. So, to research the requirements for becoming a welding P.E., I visted the Ohio P.E. board's website. Unfortunately, all my questions about the registration process were not answered there. When I phoned the board office with my questions, I was told my questions could only be answered after I had submitted an application (with a $25 non-refundable application fee).

Fair enough, if I want to be a welding P.E. I'll have to apply and spend the $25 some day, so why not now? But I'm still curious about the process. I'm sure that after applying, I'll have to take a welding enigineering exam that's only given in Ohio. The Ohio P.E. board website references the website of a centralized testing authority which provides Engineer in Training and Principles and Practice exams in all fields, nationwide. Sure enough, in the Ohio section, a welding exam is listed, but it is listed separately from the Principles and Practices exam, and the exam fee is only $90, less than half of the fee for the P&P exams in other fields.

Is there an Ohio welding P.E. out there who has been through the process and can explain it to me?

By RBeldyk (**)

Date 03-31-2005 15:37

Register as a Mechanical Engineer in Ohio, very quick if you have a NCEES Record, if not go to www.ncees.org to find out about this. If you fit the model engineer criteria, id est ABET school, written NCEES exams FE and Mechanical Engineering, Then the Ohio Board can issue you a license in 1 day or so.

Once you have this send a written request to the Ohio Board stating you wish to take the Ohio Welding Engineer Exam, and a $25 (could change) check at least ninety (90) days before the exam.

Ohio will only issue you one license certificate, so when you pass the Welding Engineer Exam, you only get a letter from them that you passed, unless you have the highest score, then the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers awards you a certificate at an awards ceremony in Columbus.

AWS develop and grades the examination, you might be able to get more details from them. The test is arduous, essay style about 35 questions total.

For references to have start with the list recommended for the CWEng certification. Know your references forwards and back for quick reference. Index them.

By MBSims

Date 04-01-2005 02:10

Do you have to already have passed the Mechanical Eng. PE exam to take the Welding Eng. exam? Why can't I take the FE exam in my home state, then request the Welding Eng. exam from Ohio? I would also like to find the written rules for the Ohio Welding Eng. PE exam, but they are not readily found on the State of Ohio website.

By RBeldyk (**)

Date 04-01-2005 15:20

I did not mean to imply that taking the Mechanical PE is a prerequisite, for it is not. Engr Fritsch is already a Licensed Mechanical Engineer. I was suggesting that if he were to obtain an NCEES record, as a PE, he can then apply to Ohio and obtain a PE license there quickly. Once he has obtain a Ohio PE license all he must do is send a written request to the board (along with any fee) to take the PE examine in welding engineering. Having an established NCEES record, one does not need to send transcripts, letters of references, et cetera, to the board in order to sit for the exam.

Most examinees take the only the Welding PE exam in their career. A few of us have taken or are planning on taking the PE exam in another discipline. I took the FE exam in 1982, the Mechanical PE exam in 1988 and the Welding PE exam in 2004.

Welding Engineering is a polymathy of multiple engineering and science disciplines, mechanical, electrical, chemical, metallurgical and materials engineering. Many come into this profession via alternative routes, rather then attending Ohio State University. Having a PE license in another discipline can never hurt one’s career, n’est-ce pas?

By edfritsch (*)

Date 04-01-2005 20:36

Polymathy?! Thanks again Rich for your earlier email reply directly to me on this subject. Your email left me wondering about when you took the Ohio welding exam relative to you first being licensed, but now you have explained that.

I have an NCEES record, which qualifies me to apply for a mechanical P.E. license in Ohio as a "model law" applicant, and that will greatly expedite the process of getting that first P.E. license in Ohio.

The road you followed to become a welding P.E. seems like the path I should follow also. I have one more question about that route though. Was there ever any question regarding the relevance or applicability of either your work experience as a mechanical engineer or the early career supervision you received from what I assume were non-welding P.E.s?

I have an associates degree in welding technology, practical work experience in the design of weldments and many continuing education classes in metallurgy, NDT and the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes, but I've never worked under the direct supervision of a welding P.E. I've always had a sinking feeling that that might be the last nearly insurmountable barrier to getting into the closed fraternity of welding P.E.'s. Is there something unique in your experience and/or supervision history that got you over that hump, or am I overly concerned about that issue?