18VAC10-20-240: Experience

A. Each applicant must document all of the applicant's engineering experience using a board-provided form. The information provided on the form must clearly describe the engineering work or research that the applicant personally performed; delineate the applicant's role in any group engineering activity; provide an overall description of the nature and scope of the applicant's work; and include a detailed description of the engineering work personally performed by the applicant. The experience must be obtained in an organization with an engineering practice and must be verified on the board's experience verification form by a licensed professional engineer in the organization's engineering practice.

B. In general, the required experience will be applied as follows:

Type of Experience

Qualifying

Nonqualifying

1. Design experience.

A demonstrated use of engineering computation and problem-solving skills.

Drafting of design by others.

2. Construction experience.

A demonstrated use of engineering computation and problem-solving skills.

The execution as a contractor of work designed by others, the supervision of construction, and similar nonengineering tasks.

3. Military experience.

Engineering of a character substantially equivalent to that required in the civilian sector for similar work.

Nonengineering military training and supervision.

4. Sales experience.

A demonstrated use of engineering computational and problem-solving skills.

The selection of data or equipment from a company catalogue, similar publication, or database.

5. Industrial experience.

Work directed toward the identification and solution of practice problems in the applicant's area of engineering specialization including engineering analysis of existing systems or the design of new ones.

The performance of maintenance of existing systems, replacement of parts or components, and other nonengineering tasks.

6. Graduate or doctoral degree.

Only one year of qualifying experience will be given for any combination of advanced degrees in an engineering program. In addition, if a degree is used to satisfy the education requirement, it cannot also be used toward satisfying the experience requirement.

Research conducted as part of a graduate or doctoral degree will not count as additional experience if credit for the degree is granted pursuant to 18VAC10-20-210.

7. Teaching.

For teaching experience to be considered qualifying by the board, the applicant must have taught in an engineering program at a university or college and must have been employed in the level of instructor or higher.

8. Co-op or internship.

Engineering experience gained during a co-op or internship may be deemed qualifying engineering experience to a maximum of one year of credit.

9. General.

Experience in claims consulting, drafting, estimating, and field surveying.

C. The board, in its sole discretion, may permit partial credit for approved qualifying engineering experience obtained prior to graduation from an engineering program. Partial credit will not exceed one-half of that required for any method of initial licensure.