P.Eng | Your licence to engineer

The following are the most Frequently Asked Questions we receive. If your question isn't here, please contact us for an answer, and to add it to the growing list to share with your colleagues.
1.	Can the experience I gained during my co-op or internship work placement be applied against the engineering work experience requirement to be licensed as a P.Eng.?
In most cases, yes. How much of your co-op or internship work placement experience can be applied depends on where you want to register as an engineer-in-training, as well as on the type of experience that you gained. Most provincial/territorial licensing bodies will count up to one year of co-op or internship work against the engineering work experience requirement to be licensed as a P.Eng. The work must fit the description of engineering experience found in the interpretive guide published by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers on behalf of the licensing bodies. For more information, check with your licensing body.
2.	Is the engineering experience I gain as an engineer-in-training transferable from province to province? Will my work experience in one province be recognized by the engineering licensing body in another province if I change jobs and where I live before completing the engineering experience requirement to be licensed as a P.Eng.?
All of the licensing bodies will evaluate your engineering experience against the "acceptable engineering experience" described in the interpretive guide published by the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers on their behalf. So, the short answer is, yes. However, your experience must be sufficiently documented to ensure that they can adequately assess it. Each provincial/territorial licensing body has its own engineer-in-training (EIT) (or work experience) program. The procedures for documenting the engineering work you do as an EIT may differ from province to province, depending on how the licensing body's EIT program is structured. Generally, your work must be supervised by a P.Eng. If that is not possible, most licensing bodies will, on a case by case basis, accept work experience that is verified by a mentor who is a P.Eng. All of the above occasionally makes it difficult to transfer work experience gained in one province or territory to another province or territory. The profession's licensing bodies are aware of this, and are working toward standardizing their EIT programs. They are also looking at program improvements that will enhance the non-technical skills of EITs. Those skills are currently in high demand, as industry is increasingly relying on multi-professional teams in the workplace.
3.	What must I do to successfully complete the engineering experience requirement to be licensed as a P.Eng.?
The first step is to register as an engineer-in-training or member-in training with the engineering licensing body in the province or territory where you are working. When you register, your licensing body will tell you every thing you need to know about documenting your engineering work, the types of work experience you need to have to become a P.Eng., and the level of P.Eng. supervision you require. Registering as an EIT is important. It ensures that you understand what is required of you to go the distance and become a P.Eng. In some provinces, including Manitoba, EIT registration is mandatory. If you want to work in one of those provinces, you must register with its licensing body for your engineering work experience to count against the experience requirement for licensure. Generally, you must have four years of progressively responsible engineering work experience to meet the experience requirements to be licensed as a P.Eng., at least one of which must be completed in Canada (some licensing bodies will accept North American experience) or in a Canadian context (working under a P.Eng. on a project being undertaken outside Canada, for example). In Québec, the experience requirement is two years. To find out more, contact the engineering licensing body in the province or territory where you are working.
4.	Do you need the P.Eng. when you're working in the IT sector or as an electrical engineer?
To practice engineering, call yourself an engineer or take responsibility for engineering work in Canada, you must be a P.Eng., no matter what discipline of engineering or sector of the economy you're working in. Legally, you are not an engineer or able to practice engineering until you have been licensed by the engineering licensing body in the province or territory where you work. It's that simple. The same requirements apply for engineers as apply for doctors, lawyers, dentists and other professionals. To practice as a professional and act as a professional in society, you must hold a professional license. For engineers, that licence is the P.Eng. To find out more about the requirements for P.Eng. licensure in the province or territory where you plan to work, contact your engineering licensing body.
5.	Isn't it true that I can work in engineering without getting the P.Eng.?
You can work in engineering without a licence provided you work under the supervision of a P.Eng. who takes responsibility for your work. But you cannot take public or private responsibility for your own work, or be in charge of the engineering work you do, until you have been licensed as a P.Eng. by the engineering licensing body in the province or territory where you work. You are not legally an engineer or a professional until you have the P.Eng.
6.	What if my employer tells me I don't need the P.Eng.? Some of my working friends don't have one, and they seem to be doing fine.
A number of employers are not fully aware of the provincial and territorial laws that restrict the practice of engineering and the use of the professional title engineer to people who have their P.Eng. licence. Some are under the mistaken impression that only engineers whose work is directly related to public safety need to be licensed. The engineering profession is taking action to inform employers of the applicable laws and what they mean. Most engineering licensing bodies have adopted a cooperative approach, rather than a confrontational one. By working with employers, rather than immediately initiating enforcement action, the profession believes a win-win result is possible that will benefit engineering students, engineering graduates and engineers, as well as industry and the profession. The onus to meet the legal requirements, however, still rests with you. Your employer cannot exempt you from the provincial/territorial laws of Canada. It is in your best interest to get your licence as soon as possible to maximize your flexibility and marketability for the future. Your employer today will not likely be your employer for life.
7.	Is it true that the P.Eng. makes it easier to work in another country?
Yes. Canada recently agreed to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Engineer Register, along with the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea. The signatory nations are currently developing national registers of engineers who meet the qualification requirements specified under the agreement. That will allow them to negotiate bilateral mutual recognition agreements on full professional mobility, which will allow the engineers on their respective national registers to work, with a minimum of prescreening, in the other participating countries. To be included on Canada's national register, you must be a P.Eng. Canada also has an agreement with France's Commission des titres d'ingénieur (CTI). This agreement gives full professional recognition to licensed Canadian engineers who have graduated from an undergraduate engineering program accredited by Engineers Canada's Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. This means they can work in France as "ingénieur diplomé."
8.	If I get the P.Eng., won't my liability increase? Couldn't I be sued if something I design or build fails?
Part of being a professional is being accountable to your profession and taking personal responsibility for work. From a legal perspective, however, you are potentially liable for the engineering work you do regardless of whether you are licenced or not. A court would take into account your engineering education and experience in rendering its decision. It could determine that you were sufficiently trained to undertake engineering work, and therefore liable for any damages that arise due to a failure in a structure or product you designed. Belonging to the profession as an engineer-in-training gives you the added security of having a P.Eng. take responsibility for your work. As a P.Eng., you can obtain excellent practice liability and secondary liability insurance coverage sponsored by the engineering profession. You'll also know that the profession is standing behind you, and that should your work fail and a complaint be brought against you, your actions will be assessed by fellow professional engineers.
9.	I'm not sure that what I plan to do when I graduate is engineering. Is there any point in me getting the P.Eng.?
There is a lot of confusion about what engineering work is. Some people mistakenly believe that only work that has a direct impact on public safety fits into the definition of engineering. Although the definition varies slightly from province to province, engineering encompasses much more than this. Engineering work includes both software development and the management of engineers, as well as genetic modification and many other types of work. So, even if you decide not to take an engineering design position when you graduate, chances are you will still be practising engineering. The best approach is to register as an engineer-in-training with the engineering licensing body in your province or territory when you graduate, and to get the P.Eng. as soon as possible. It really is a wise career investment.
10.	If the law says you need the P.Eng. to practice engineering, and there are people working out there who don't have it, why aren't the profession's licensing bodies doing more to enforce the law?
Engineering's licensing bodies are enforcing the law, both with companies and individuals. To date, they have primarily done so using a cooperative rather than a confrontational approach, by informing people about the law and encouraging compliance. When this approach does not work, the profession has frequently initiated legal action. However, with the rapid emergence of new engineering technologies and new engineering disciplines in recent years, a number of employers in less traditional sectors of the economy are not fully aware of the provincial and territorial laws that restrict the practice of engineering and the use of the professional title engineer to people who have their P.Eng. licence. In some cases, this has meant that employers are not requiring all engineering work to be completed under the supervision of a P.Eng., or engineering graduates to become engineers-in-training. The profession is taking steps to inform employers of the applicable laws.
11.	I'm an engineer when I graduate and receive the Iron Ring, right? Don't only professional engineers need to be licensed?
You're not an engineer or a true professional until you get the P.Eng. No matter how hard you worked to graduate, and no matter how dedicated you are to upholding the principles that the Iron Ring represents, you cannot legally practice engineering, call yourself an engineer, or take responsibility for engineering work without first becoming a P.Eng. It's that simple. It's also why more than 160,000 engineers have chosen to go the distance and get their P.Eng. licence.

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