POLITICAL PULSE

Decoupling in Georgia: Helping Aspiring Engineers Come Closer to Licensure

In 2005, the state of Nevada took an unprecedented step to help aspiring engineers become licensed professional engineers through a process called “decoupling”. Nevada’s Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors recognized that time can create a significant barrier to obtaining licensure. These engineers face unnecessary burdens when engineering graduates are forced to receive four years of professional experience before they are eligible to take their licensing exam. Nearly two decades later, roughly 32 other states have followed Nevada’s lead including Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee.

Simply put, decoupling is the separation of the order of professional experience and the Professional Engineer (PE) exam for licensure eligibility. In Georgia and in much of the nation, aspiring PEs must obtain their four-year degree from an accredited university, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam, accrue at least four years of engineering experience, and then pass the Professional Engineer exam, in that order.

Under a decoupled model, engineers can apply and take the PE exam right after they complete their four-year degree, or at any point during the timeframe they are acquiring their professional experience. In Nevada, the Board of Professional Engineers & Land Surveyors found there was a much higher passage rate for first time test takers after decoupling took effect. Surprisingly, their research showed that the ideal time to sit for the exam with the highest success rate was not immediately after graduation, but two years after receiving a degree.

Under a coupled model, the option of taking the exam when an engineerin-training feels it would be the best opportunity to do so simply does not exist. This inflexibility adds to the incredibly stressful pressure to sit for the exam as soon as possible after their professional experience is obtained, even if they do not feel prepared. The result of this, unfortunately, is often a failed first run at the exam, followed by another several months’ wait before they can sit for the exam again.

To be sure, decoupling does not devalue professional licensure, nor does it change any of the requirements for licensure. A degree, passage of the exam, and professional experience will continue to be required for licensure. It simply allows an individual to sit for the PE exam concurrently with the acquisition of professional experience. Most notably, however, is that decoupling can help with retention efforts of aspiring engineers who may leave the field before completing their professional experience, as they aren’t burdened with the sunken cost and time of the exam influencing their decision to continue to pursue PE licensure or move on to another career with fewer perceived barriers.

Decoupling in Georgia is nothing new.

Earlier this year, the Governor ratified Senate Bill 195 by Senator Larry Walker (R-Perry), which, among other things, decoupled the land surveying exam from professional surveying experience. Further, chiropractors, landscape architects, architects, geologists, and foresters have also decoupled their exam and experience in Georgia. The result of which has aided retention efforts and allows licensing applicants to take more control over their career progression than what was previously available to them.

The PE exam, much like the other professional exams for the aforementioned occupations are subject to, is no longer an experiencebased test. At one point, it was impossible to pass the PE exam without having professional experience to back up one’s knowledge base. However, the test has evolved into an academic assessment. This has led to higher failure rates as hopeful engineers have forgotten some of their education— and much of the test taking skills they honed during their time at school— while working to obtain their requisite four years of experience.

Recently, during a 2023 meeting of the Georgia Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (PELS) Board, executive director Darren Mickler and the members of the Board expressed support for Georgia’s movement towards decoupling. Director Mickler stated that the PELS Board must recognize out-of-state applicants who utilized the decoupling benefit to pass their exam in another state, but they are unable to afford that same treatment for Georgia engineers-intraining. Additionally, the board is beginning to see many applicants who are Georgia citizens apply for licensure in other states in order to utilize that state’s decoupled model, then apply for licensure by comity in their home state of Georgia. In all cases, these individuals are taking the same test, but the rate of passage is higher for those who apply for licensure in a decoupled state such as Alabama or Tennessee due to their ability to take control of their timeline for test prep and ultimate passage.

While not a silver bullet, decoupling has the potential to help retain and attract younger engineers into the industry and alleviate some of the short-term workforce issues employers are facing. In the long term, the industry will be much better served by reducing these types of unnecessary barriers that inhibit participation in the industry without compromising the health, safety, and welfare of the public that engineers in the built environment serve.