Master’s or Equivalent: Professional Impacts
This is the fourth in a series of four articles prepared by a subcommittee of the NSPE Licensure and Qualifications for Practice Committee examining the various impacts of the additional engineering education initiative. This summary was drafted by Paul D. Schmidt, P.E. Comments are welcome.
How will the implementation of a “master’s or equivalent” pre-requisite for licensure impact the profession of engineering?
It is often asked whether the increased educational requirement will result in a shortage of engineers and licensed professional engineers. The additional requirements could discourage some students from entering engineering programs. This is a possibility in the short term, but in the long term it is believed the dynamics of supply and demand will cause adjustments in students’ career choices. This has occurred for other professions that have increased educational requirements. If there is a short-term decrease in the number of students entering engineering programs, the resultant shortage would likely cause more people to consider engineering. It is also anticipated that compensation for engineers would have to be adjusted long term to account for the increased cost and effort to become licensed.
Increasing the requirements to become licensed may result in a decrease in the number of licensed engineers compared to people with an engineering degree who do not become licensed. This could be true in situations where engineers are not required to be licensed but may choose to be licensed (e.g., under an industrial exemption and for engineers working directly for a licensed engineer). While these people may choose to get licensed for a variety of reasons under the current requirements, they may not when the educational requirements increase. In situations where the engineer in responsible charge is required to be licensed, there may be more situations where engineers who are not licensed work under the direction of a licensed engineer. This latter situation could affect the ability of licensed engineers to maintain “responsible charge” of a project.
Engineering is generally considered a well-regarded profession. While it is difficult to predict, many people believe that increased education requirements will raise the perceived stature of the profession of engineering and maintain it as one of the “learned professions.” It is possible an increased stature of licensed professional engineers will help counterbalance the more challenging requirements to become licensed (i.e., students considering engineering may be more likely to choose engineering due to a perceived higher stature).
The movement to require additional education for licensure in the U.S. is based on the anticipated need for engineers to have the necessary breadth and depth of education to meet the challenges a professional engineer will face in the future. It is intended to ensure that engineers are well equipped to perform their jobs well and be better engineers. By requiring additional education for licensure, the public can continue to rely on engineers to protect and improve the public health, safety, and welfare.
NSPE Licensure and Qualifications for Practice Committee, Master’s or Equivalent Subcommittee: Paul Schmidt, P.E.; Michael Gunsch, P.E.; Mark Davy, P.E.; Jon Nelson, P.E.; Bernard Berson, P.E.; Paul Taormina, P.E.; and Robert Stanley, P.E.