[BC] State licensing

[Phil Alexander]

On 22 May 2005 at 18:26, Mario Hieb, P.E. wrote:

> Actually, you can't practise "consulting engineering" in most states, 
> unless you have a P.E. license. That's why I got mine.

However, you can be a technical consultant on an FCC application or
a registered PE IIRC, but you have to choose which one you are.

> As far as needing 50 licenses, that would only be if you worked in every 
> state. Other states have comity programs that make working in other states 
> easier.
> 
> I can find a hundred flaws in professional engineering (or other 
> professions) statutes, but they seem to work pretty good for the 
> professional and the public.

Yes, in the Civil domain, they do, but in other areas of practice,
unless they are filing before governmental entities, a "stamp" is
seldom a requirement, and when it is, "stamps" IOW the holder thereof,
can be found and paid for review and stamping.

> Again, I don't think the P.E. license is the best one for broadcast 
> engineers. Something more like the old First Phone.

The FCC is out of that business, and if you delve into the intent of
SBE exams, the CBRE / CBTE are essentially aimed at the "First Phone"
level with experience factor added.

How many states have programs suitable for broadcast engineering?
I wonder how a freshly minted PE (EE with electronics option) would
do if handed the CBRE cold, told to sit in the corner with the NAB
Handbook, the rules and a calculator, and write the test in 3 hours?

While I see room for improvement in what the SBE does, I do believe
it represents a path toward the future for those of us in this 
profession. As I see it, the SBE is doing something, and I don't
see another organization that does much at all. There are times when
I question why the SBE is filing on a matter of broad interest when
it might be more appropriate for the AFCCE to get involved. IMHO, the
SBE does it because SOMEBODY has to do it, and the AFCCE seems IMHO 
to do little except in the AM directional realm where the interests
of its members tend to predominate. I don't think that makes it a
bad organization, but a broader outlook toward the future across all
aspects of broadcasting might be more befitting of such a group.

While the SBE may not be perfect, it is IMHO, far and away the best
we have available to us, and is the only one that seems to be doing
anything useful in the area of broadcast engineering in general.

Disclaimer: These opinions are strictly my own and do not represent
official opinion of either the SBE or Chapter 25 of which I am
Vice-Chairman.

Phil Alexander, CSRE, AMD
Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology 
(a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation) 
Ph. (317) 335-2065   FAX (317) 335-9037





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