08 What are the biggest problems with the certification system?
Description
This article is from the PE and EIT Exams FAQ, by Ron Graham ecaxron@ariel.lerc.nasa.gov with numerous contributions by others.
08 What are the biggest problems with the certification system?
Loaded question. This is the one that brings up the thread in the
first place. The system itself has these observed problems:
o Certification as a process would be more popular if the
process were streamlined somewhat -- even for the test-
makers, there is a lot of work.
o An honorarium of no more than $20/hour for writing questions;
travel expenses only for (long) meetings to review scoring
standards and new questions, etc. Few working engineers are
willing to give up weekends for policy conferences. [Venable]
Of course, your mileage on this point will vary. [Lumos]
o What would be useful (and what isn't there) would be a voluntary
certification process conducted by an unpaid volunteer group (with
no ax to grind) of working engineers. [Bischof]
o The NSPE must recognize that there are many engineering
disciplines out there and that certifications should either
address common areas or be specialized. [Forrest]
The use of the title "engineer" has these problems:
o Many people call themselves "engineers" -- this can be a misuse of
the term. A blatant example is the "software engineer" that has
taken computer science courses and uses the title "engineer."
[Krauch]
o No test can measure whether someone will be a competent engineer.
This is why the experience and reference requirements are crucial
parts of professional certification. [Gross]
The testing process has these problems:
o A large percentage of test-takers fail. [Mullins] Numbers were not
verified in this portion of the discussion, and some thought it was
unreasonable that anyone should fail such a "simple" exam. The
passing rate on the FE for first time takers from ABET-accredited
programs is about 70%. The passing rate for all takers is about
50%. The rate varies slightly with each exam since the selection
of questions is different each time. [Venable]
o The EIT is not required for undergraduates, nor is there a waiver
on the PE exam for, say, a PhD with some work experience. [Krauch]
o The EIT is structured more toward Mechanical and Civil
than for, say, Geological and Chemical engineering. [Melrose]
There is a counter-argument that ME programs place a greater
emphasis on the EIT. [Venable]
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