[BC] State licensing

[Phil Alexander]

On 22 May 2005 at 18:14, Mario Hieb, P.E. wrote:

> Good points!
> 
> By the way, I don't think a P.E. would be the best license for most 
> broadcast engineers. Just license them as Broadcast Engineers, with 
> qualifications similar to the old First Phone.

IMHO that would be a step backward, and another fee to pay with nothing
of value unless the states can REQUIRE employment of license holders, and
I'm not sure even that would be a plus. You would have the same 6-day
wonders taking tests and getting paper with no idea of how to do the job.
This is exactly what put the FCC out of the testing business and made the
First Phone useless as a standard. We have been there and done that, and
we know it doesn't work.

> Also, a P.E. is heavy on theory, and IMHO, the best engineers have a good 
> balance between theory and practical experience.

Thus the advanced levels of the SBE exams require documented FIELD EXPERIENCE.

> Again, state licensing would have +'s and -'s, but it could give broadcast 
> engineers more control of their profession.

How so? Anyone working regionally, nationally, or working for a large 
group in several states would face a nightmare of contradictory regulations 
and multiple fees.

The final judgment in this business is not the paper you hold but how you
make it play for your customers, and your reputation for doing so. You can
have an entire vanity wall full of "tickets" back at the office and it does
nothing for you at 3 AM when the equipment turns "defiant."

Secondly, the Act of 1934 makes the FCC responsible and the FCC has issued
rules for broadcast stations that make the licensee the sole judge of 
qualifications, thus I fail to see where states fit into the mix in this.


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





-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.15 - Release Date: 5/22/05