Whether you’re in your first year of engineering classes, two years into your career, or have been a professional engineer for more than 25 years, you should be aware of how the requirements for structural engineers (SE) are changing. Due to the ever increasing complexity of codes and the analysis of structures, there is a desire to make sure that up and coming engineers are certified to prepare the structural analysis, engineering calculations, and design documents required for all facilities. The U.S. doesn’t hold a national standard for the practice of structural engineering, rather states mandate who can perform the work of a structural engineer and use the title.

I live and work in Illinois, one of only a handful of other states that require additional testing and licensing to practice as a licensed SE. About 23 states publicly recognize engineering by disciplines and maintain a database of all licensed engineers and their associated disciplines. Of those states, a small portion have title restrictions. A few of those states also have partial practice restriction, which requires an SE to practice structural engineering for designated essential facilities. There are only a few full practice restriction states, such as Hawaii and Illinois, which require all structural drawings to be sealed by an SE.

What to Do if You’re Interested in Becoming a Licensed SE

This can all be very confusing when fresh out of school and deciding whether you have to take the PE exam, SE exam, or both. Thankfully, knowing the licensure requirements for the state you plan to practice in should clear that up. Say you wanted to work as an SE in Illinois, here’s what the process would consist of:

• Have four years of education.
• Pass the FE exam.
• Four years of experience underneath a licensed SE.
• Pass the SEI and SEII exams.

The examination process for the SEI and SEII entails two eight-hour days of testing. Questions are multiple choice and written problem solving. The review process for the test takes much longer since each free response question is graded by two people, taking about a month or two before results are expected back.

There’s no best way to accomplish all of this, but I do have a few tips for young engineering professionals aiming to become an SE:

• During your freshmen year try to shape your schedule to match the discipline you want to work in.
• If you can, take the FE before you graduate.
• Take the SEI and SEII as early as you can. It only gets harder as you get older in life.
• Stay up to date with current trends within the discipline by reading articles or publications, like STRUCTURE Magazine. This will enable you to learn what other people are doing and what other questions other engineers may be having.

Making the Push for SE Licensure Requirements

There is currently a push for more states to adopt licensing laws to promote best practices and to overall improve public safety. Environmental factors, such as wind and seismic activity, have dramatically changed codes and created complex requirements for structural analysis. Over the past 15 years, I have seen codes add hundreds of pages and almost double in size. As analyses have become more detailed and topics have expanded, so to have the requirements for structures. Overall, there is high risk when designing structures, especially essential facilities such as hospitals and police stations, and it’s important that a certified professional with extensive structural experience oversees the design. One day, we may have a national licensure requirement for structural engineers, but until then states will continue to dictate what is required to seal structural plans. In ten years, I’d guess we could anticipate about 75 percent of states implementing stricter licensure requirements, especially as codes continue to become more complex and extensive.