Professional Engineer Licenses are Symbol of Achievement for Employees

RICHLAND, Wash. – Two EM Office of River Protection (ORP) engineers recently earned their professional engineer (PE) licenses from the state of California.  

   Kelly Ebert and Anne McCartney of ORP’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant engineering division at the Hanford Site received the civil engineering PE license, which signifies both field experience and technical expertise in the profession.

   According to the National Society of Professional Engineers, PE licensure is the engineering profession's highest standard of competence, a symbol of achievement and assurance of quality.

   California’s licensing requirements include three major exams totaling 13 hours in length, letters of recommendation from other professional engineers, and a set period of relevant experience in the field, depending on the degree.

   Raman Venkata, an ORP structural safety system oversight engineer who was recently selected as an American Society of Civil Engineers fellow, earned the first of his two PE licenses in 1974. He said Ebert and McCartney should be very proud of their accomplishments.

   “When you have the PE stamp, it assures excellence in their craft and total integrity,” he said. “It personifies personal integrity to their profession, assures technical excellence, and when you stamp a particular document that you stand behind it.”  

   Ebert and McCartney worked together over the past year to prepare for the exams.

   “We kept each other on track and in line,” said Ebert. “We worked hard developing study guides, getting books tabbed and sharing information.”

   McCartney said she spent seven months preparing for the testing, studying about six to eight hours a week.   

   The two described passing the test as a major personal and professional accomplishment.

   “This gives you credibility [as an engineer] and opens up opportunities,” McCartney said about the licensing.  

   “These two have worked very hard,” said Venkata. He worked with Ebert and McCartney on their functional area qualification standard for ORP, which is set to be completed next month. The standard covered information necessary for their PE exams.

   “They were very diligent. The exams are tough,” he said.  

   “I’m glad I did it when I did it,” said Ebert, who is married with two young children. She said it was hard to tell the kids that she had to go to the library and study on the weekends.

   “It was definitely a big sacrifice on a personal level,” Ebert said.  

   “I’m very relieved,” said McCartney. “I now have a lot more free time.”