What counts as PE experience, and what doesn't

The test behind every rule

The NCEES Model Rules, which state boards draw on, judge experience by what it shows, not by the job title. It must be progressive on engineering projects, growing in quality and responsibility (230.20 A.1). It must show a knowledge of engineering mathematics, physical and applied science, properties of materials and the fundamentals of engineering design (A.13), and the application of engineering principles to the practical solution of engineering problems (A.14).

The Texas board puts it more simply: it prefers each applicant to have some design or analysis experience. So the useful question about any job is not whether it was engineering-related, but where you used engineering judgment yourself, and who watched you do it.

Kind of work, one at a time

The NCEES Model Rules set the general test for each kind of work. Virginia's rule writes out both sides, what qualifies and what doesn't, so it is paraphrased below as an example of how a board draws the line. Pennsylvania's rule does the same for sales and construction (49 Pa. Code §37.31(a)(2)(i)). Other boards draw it in their own words.

• Design

  Counts: When you used engineering computation and problem solving yourself.

  Doesn't count: Drafting a design someone else did.

  Virginia 18VAC10-20-240 B.1

• Construction

  Counts: When it shows the application of engineering principles: engineering computation and problem solving on the job.

  Doesn't count: Building, as a contractor, work that others designed; supervising construction; similar tasks that aren't engineering.

  NCEES Model Rules 230.20 A.12; Virginia 240 B.2

• Sales

  Counts: When engineering principles were required and used to do it.

  Doesn't count: Choosing data or equipment from a company catalog or database.

  NCEES Model Rules 230.20 A.7; Virginia 240 B.4

• Industry and plant work

  Counts: Finding and solving practical problems in your field: engineering analysis of existing systems, or design of new ones.

  Doesn't count: Maintaining existing systems, replacing parts, and other tasks that aren't engineering.

  Virginia 240 B.5

• Teaching

  Counts: Engineering or engineering-related courses at junior, senior or graduate level, at a college or university with an engineering or engineering technology program the board approves. Virginia adds that you taught in an engineering program, employed as an instructor or higher.

  NCEES Model Rules 230.20 A.8; Virginia 240 B.7

• Research

  Counts: Engineering research and design by faculty in an approved program, and engineering research by industry or government employees.

  Doesn't count: In Texas, research or teaching assistance done to earn an advanced degree (the degree may earn credit of its own). Research done apart from a degree may count.

  NCEES Model Rules 230.20 A.9 and A.10; Texas board FAQ

• Military service

  Counts: Engineering of the same character as civilian work of the same kind.

  Doesn't count: Military training and supervision that isn't engineering.

  NCEES Model Rules 230.20 A.5; Virginia 240 B.3

• Drafting, estimating, field surveying, claims consulting

  Doesn't count: Virginia's rule lists experience in all four as nonqualifying.

  Virginia 240 B.9

Scheduling, RFIs and estimating

This is where most project engineers wonder. NCEES's suggested guidelines for boards, an appendix to the Model Rules marked for reference only, list planning, scheduling, cost estimating and contracting as part of managing engineering work. Virginia's rule, on the other hand, lists estimating as not qualifying and construction supervision as not engineering.

Neither document mentions RFIs, so what follows is our reading, not a rule. Coordination is most defensible when it carries engineering: a request for information you answered by checking the design, a schedule built on your own analysis of the work. It is weakest when it only moves paper between the people who did the engineering. Your board decides; if your role is mostly coordination, make sure your record shows the engineering decisions inside it.

Does it have to be under a PE?

The NCEES Model Rules say experience should be gained under a licensed PE, and if it isn't, you must explain why it should count. Work under an unlicensed technical supervisor may be considered if you submit that supervisor's credentials (230.20 A.6). Boards write their own rules on this. Of the boards we have researched, these say who must supervise or verify the work:

• California: only experience under the responsible charge of someone legally qualified in your branch: a licensed engineer, a federal-government employee, or, except for civil, an employee of a manufacturing, mining, utility, research-and-development or other industrial corporation, or a person holding a contractor's license (16 CCR 424(c)).
• Georgia: experience gained under the direct supervisory control of a U.S.-licensed PE.
• Illinois: experience under a licensed PE, or a person legally practicing engineering under Section 3 of the Act, who verifies it (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.230(a)(6)).
• North Carolina: at least half of the required experience under a licensed PE's responsible charge, or a written explanation of why the rest should count (21 NCAC 56 .0501(b)(1)).
• Ohio: experience under a U.S.-licensed PE, unless the work is in an exempt field such as the design of manufactured products, where the board can accept a qualified unlicensed supervisor employed by your firm (board PE Registration Guidelines; exempt fields per R.C. 4733.18).
• Pennsylvania: experience under a U.S.-licensed PE or an engineer with equivalent education and experience; for an unlicensed supervisor, expect to document their qualifications (49 Pa. Code §37.31(a)(2)).
• Texas: work in a category exempt from the licensing act may count without direct PE supervision, but a PE must still serve as your reference for it (board FAQ).
• Virginia: experience in an organization with an engineering practice, verified by a licensed PE in that practice (18VAC10-20-240 A).
• Washington: each job verified by the licensed PE who directly supervised it; the board may grant an exception for manufacturing or industrial, federal-government or military work (WAC 196-12-020).

Work before graduation: co-ops and internships

Under the NCEES Model Rules, only engineering work that follows graduation counts (230.20 A.2). Several boards make limited exceptions, mostly for co-ops, and each writes its own. Work that already earned you education credit can't count again as experience; the Texas board says so in as many words.

• California counts work only after graduation, except that an approved cooperative work-study engineering curriculum earns five years of education credit instead of four (16 CCR 424(b)).
• Florida may credit full-time work from the 2 years before you completed your engineering program at half its time, up to 12 months (Fla. Admin. Code r. 61G15-20.002(1)(b)).
• Illinois gives one year of credit for completing a university-certified co-op program shown on your transcript; an internship doesn't qualify (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1380.230(a)(4)).
• North Carolina credits up to one year of work done before graduation as part of an ABET-accredited program and shown on your transcript, such as a co-op (21 NCAC 56 .0501(b)(5)(A)).
• Ohio can count up to 2 years of work done after your second year of college (R.C. 4733.11(A)); the board's guidelines allow it mainly for co-op students who spent more than four years in college, and review other cases individually.
• Texas generally doesn't count work before your degree, but may accept work done after you completed junior- and senior-level engineering classes if you can document how you applied them (Board FAQ).
• Virginia may count up to one year of co-op or internship experience (18VAC10-20-240 B.8), and, at its sole discretion, may give partial credit for approved qualifying engineering work done before graduation, never more than half of the experience required for your route (18VAC10-20-240 C).

Graduate school and research

Under the NCEES Model Law, a master's in engineering lowers the requirement to 3 years after an ABET engineering bachelor's, and a doctorate in engineering to 2 years with a passed FE exam, or 4 if you chose not to take the FE (130.10). Three conditions apply: a degree used to meet the education requirement can't also count as experience, the degree must be relevant to your practice, and its credit can't be earned at the same time as work credit. Some doctorate holders may also sit for the PE without taking the FE (Model Rules 230.40 B.2.b).

Boards differ. Texas credits one year for each advanced engineering degree from an ABET-accredited program, and doesn't count research or teaching assistance done to earn the degree, though research done apart from a degree may count. Virginia gives one year at most for any combination of graduate degrees, and research done for a credited degree adds nothing to it. Each board's graduate-degree credit is in How to document your PE experience.

Experience outside the U.S.

The NCEES Model Rules leave it to each board: a board may decide that experience gained outside the United States meets its requirement (230.20 A.15). There is no general rule to rely on, so ask your board before you count it.

Can you take the PE before the experience is done?

NCEES designs the PE for engineers with at least four years of post-college experience, but when you may sit for it is up to your board. Some boards make you apply to them before you register for the exam; others let you register with NCEES directly once you meet their conditions. NCEES's PE exam page lists each board's procedure.

Texas is one example of exam-first: since May 1, 2016, a Texas engineer in training may register for the PE before earning the four years of experience. Either way, the license itself still needs the full experience.

Common questions

Does construction experience count toward a PE license?

It can, when it shows engineering. The NCEES Model Rules say construction experience must demonstrate the application of engineering principles, and Virginia's rule is blunter: engineering computation and problem solving on the job count, while building work others designed as a contractor, or supervising construction, does not.

Does scheduling, estimating or answering RFIs count as PE experience?

It depends on your board and on what the work showed. NCEES's suggested guidelines for boards list planning, scheduling and cost estimating under managing engineering work, but Virginia's rule lists estimating as not qualifying and construction supervision as not engineering. A fair reading of both: a request for information that you answered by checking the design shows engineering; one you only routed to the designer is coordination.

Does sales engineering count toward a PE?

Under the NCEES Model Rules, sales experience counts only when engineering principles were required and used. Virginia spells out the other side: choosing equipment from a catalog or database does not qualify.

Does teaching count as engineering experience?

Under the NCEES Model Rules, teaching engineering or engineering-related courses at the junior, senior or graduate level, in a program the board approves, can count. Virginia also requires that you were employed as an instructor or higher.

How many years of experience do you need for a PE with a PhD?

Under the NCEES Model Law, 2 years with a doctorate in engineering and a passed FE exam, or 4 if you chose not to take the FE. Boards differ: Texas credits one year per advanced degree, and Virginia one year for any combination of graduate degrees. In Texas, research or teaching assistance done to earn the degree doesn't count on its own; in Virginia, research done for a credited degree adds nothing to it.

Do internships or co-ops count toward a PE license?

Under the NCEES Model Rules, only work after graduation counts, but several boards make limited exceptions for co-ops and some internships. Virginia, for example, may count up to one year of co-op or internship work, and Illinois gives one year for a university-certified co-op program but none for an internship.

Do you have to work under a PE to get PE experience?

The NCEES Model Rules say experience should be gained under a licensed PE, and if it isn't, you must explain why it should count; work under an unlicensed technical supervisor may count if you submit that person's credentials. Several boards are stricter, with exceptions such as exempt industries or federal and military work.

Sources

• NCEES Model Rules, August 2025 (230.20, 230.40 and Appendix A)
• NCEES Model Law, August 2025 (130.10)
• NCEES, the PE exam page
• Virginia Administrative Code, 18VAC10-20-240
• Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, licensing FAQ

The five documents above were read on October 25, 2026. The supervision and before-graduation rules for the other boards come from each board's own statute, rules or published pages, checked on Sep 24, 2026. Boards change their rules; confirm with yours before you rely on any of it.

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