How do accreditation and licensure (ABET and PE) for engineers compare to bar exams and medical licensing?
Executive summary
ABET accreditation evaluates curricula and programs; graduating from an ABET-accredited engineering program is commonly a prerequisite for engineering licensure in many jurisdictions and supports eligibility for the FE exam and later the PE exam [1] [2]. Engineering licensure (FE → years of experience → PE) focuses on protecting public safety and is state‑regulated with variable rules; by contrast, law and medicine rely on state bar admission and medical licensure respectively, with separate national exam bodies and, for medicine, ubiquitous requirement to hold a license to practice [3] [4] [5].
1. Accreditation vs. professional licensure — two linked but distinct gates
ABET is a nongovernmental program‑accreditor that judges whether a college program meets defined curricular and outcome criteria; state licensing boards typically accept ABET accreditation when deciding whether an applicant’s degree satisfies the education prerequisite for licensure [1] [2]. Accreditation is about educational quality and program content; licensure is a legal permission to practice issued by government boards that enforces standards for public health, safety, and welfare [6] [2].
2. The engineer’s pathway: FE first, PE later — time and experience matter
Most U.S. engineers follow a multistep licensure path: graduate from an ABET‑accredited engineering program, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam to become an Engineer‑In‑Training, accumulate qualifying work experience (commonly about four years under a licensed PE), then pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam to obtain a PE license — all subject to state board rules [3] [7] [8]. NCEES prepares the standard exams used widely by state boards [8].
3. Law and medicine: single‑profession licensing that is functionally mandatory
Available sources show that medical licensure is required to practice medicine and is enforced at the state level, and board certification in a specialty is separate and voluntary though professionally essential for advancement [5] [9]. For lawyers, bar admission — administered or coordinated through bodies like NCBE in the U.S. — is the gating legal requirement to practice in a jurisdiction; bar exams and admission rules vary by state and are evolving [10] [11]. Both medicine and law have licensing systems that function as direct legal permission to practice; available sources do not mention engineers being universally prohibited from practicing without licensure in the same way [12].
4. Different burdens, different purposes: exams, experience, portability
Engineering licensure combines an educational accreditation prerequisite (ABET) with two major exams separated by supervised experience; the PE confers authority to sign and seal work affecting public safety [3] [13]. Law and medicine center on high‑stakes exams (bar, USMLE/FLEX/others) and character/fitness processes; medical licensure commonly requires completion of accredited residencies and ongoing CME for renewal [5] [9]. Portability differs: many modern bar scores (UBE) are designed to transfer across U.S. jurisdictions; engineers often use NCEES records and comity/reciprocity but must still satisfy varied state rules [10] [14].
5. Practical impact and incentives — why people pursue or skip licensure
Sources show licensing is viewed as public‑protection and career leverage: the PE is promoted as a mark of competence and legal authority to seal designs and offer services to the public [15] [16]. Yet employers often hire non‑licensed engineers for many roles, and industrial exemptions or corporate practices can mean many practicing engineers never obtain a PE [12]. In law and medicine, holding the license is typically nonnegotiable to practice and to avoid criminal or professional sanctions [5] [17].
6. Areas of divergence and debate — gatekeeping, scope, and professional identity
Engineering’s combination of program accreditation (ABET) plus optional or job‑dependent licensure produces debates about whether engineers should be licensed as universally as doctors or lawyers; critics point to industrial exemptions and the fact many engineers work unlicensed [12]. Conversely, advocates and licensing bodies argue licensure protects the public and is the profession’s highest standard [15] [2]. Law and medical licensing face their own controversies — exam format changes, alternative licensing pathways, and access to the professions are active policy debates [11].
7. What the sources don’t say and limitations
Available sources document U.S. and some international patterns but do not provide a single global comparison across every jurisdiction; differences between countries (e.g., Canada, India) are noted in fragments but not exhaustively covered here [18] [19]. They also do not quantify how many practicing engineers remain unlicensed nationwide, nor do they fully map the legal penalties for unlicensed practice in every state — available sources do not mention those specifics [12].
Final takeaway: ABET accreditation certifies an educational pipeline; PE licensure converts that education-plus‑experience into legal authority to practice engineering in public roles. Bar and medical licensing systems perform a similar gatekeeping role for law and medicine but operate with different exams, mandatory practice requirements, and more uniformly enforced prohibitions on unlicensed practice [1] [3] [5].