Greetings,

I am writing this post to share some valuable insights I have gathered from the Engineers and Geoscientists BC (EGBC) team. This information may be beneficial for those seeking to understand the intricacies of engineering licensure in British Columbia. I would also like to use this as an opportunity to respond Mark Tickner and Andy Millar whose contributions have prompted this update.

The EGBC team has been instrumental in clarifying my doubts. I reached out to their licensure team via email and also posted in the EGBC discussion group on LinkedIn. The response from the organization was swift, friendly and informative.

Here are the answers to some of the questions I initially had, supplemented with additional information:

1. Can one work as an engineer without EGBC licensure if supervised by a Professional Engineer (Peng)?

No, one cannot assume the title or role of an engineer without EGBC licensure. However, it is permissible to work in the engineering industry under the supervision of a licensed P.Eng. In such cases, one can hold positions such as technician, technologist, or PCB designer, but not PCB Design Engineer. These roles may not offer the same compensation or benefits as an engineering role but serve as a good entry point into an organization.

2. Can one apply for engineering roles while the licensing/registration process is underway?

This is a nuanced area. Technically, one can apply for an engineering role before obtaining licensure. The hiring organization will determine if licensure is required for the position. However, you cannot be identified as an engineer without licensure. In practice, a company may hire you as a technologist if your licensure application is in progress and you meet all the requirements. Upon licensure, you may receive a title change and additional responsibilities.

3. Can the application process for the EIT licensure begin before arriving in Canada?

Yes, one can apply for the Engineer in Training (EIT) or Professional Engineer (P.Eng) licensure from outside Canada, provided all requirements are met and the associated fees are paid.

4. Are there recommended groups or forums for networking with other engineers or recruitment agents in Vancouver or Canada?

Some recommended groups include the Society of Internationally Trained Engineers of British Columbia (SITE BC), Electrical Engineers Networking in Canada, Engineers and Geoscientists BC Discussion Group, and Linked:Vancouver. These platforms are excellent for networking and sharing experiences.

Additional information I have discovered is related to the recognition of my degree under the Washington Accord. My degree, BEng(Hons) Electrical & Electronic Engineering: Design for Manufacture, allows me to apply for the EIT license only. To be eligible for P.Eng, I must first license as EIT and then either gain the required amount of industry experience in a professional engineering setting under the supervision of a licensed P.Eng, or undertake a master's degree in engineering.

One question that arose during my research pertains to the appropriate phrasing on my resume. While I cannot identify myself as an engineer without a license, I am currently seeking clarification on how to denote my previous engineering roles on my resume. I will provide an update once I have more information.

I hope this post provides useful insights for those navigating the engineering licensure process in British Columbia. I will continue to share new information as I discover it, with the aim of assisting others in the future.

Spike Wilson said:

No, one cannot assume the title or role of an engineer without EGBC licensure.

It's not actually quite as black and white as that. I don't think you'd find any problem finding work in Vancouver (or elsewhere in Canada) as a PCB design engineer without PEng! CEng is quite a good comparison from my experience, the sort of work where you'd tend to find CEngs in the UK (senior signatories in power infrastructure, transport infrastructure, probably military engineering, public safety related systems) are where you'll find you may need PEng. For average electronics and software engineering it will be very surprising if anyone ever asks for it.

To give an idea of the level we're talking about, without a PEng I technically advise a Government agency (who are pretty hot on this stuff) on the correct engineering to implement a railway safely, and I independently assess other engineers work in this field. What I can't do is put the final signature on (e.g.) the authorisation or support to place the railway into service, we need a tame PEng for that. We're talking seriously senior level.

Just for fun I had a quick look at a site for engineering jobs in Vancouver, most didn't mention PEng at all, but I did find one Lead Engineer (so a senior engineering role including "Supervision and mentoring of junior and intermediate level engineers and designers") which specified "Preference will be given to P.Eng or P.L.Eng. registration". Which absolutely ties up with what we found and with what my Canadian colleagues and family have told me. (My brother was a very, very senior software systems engineer there for 30 plus years before he retired - he has a much bigger house and yacht than I do! - he was PEng for a while but gave it up many years ago as he realised he never needed it. I probably shouldn't say this, but he'd already given up his CEng MIEE long before that for similar reasons...)

So I'd suggest get out there and find out for yourself whether you really need it in the field and roles you want to go into. Or if you don't want to take that risk (which is fair enough), a good start would be to roam the job boards from over here and see what employers are actually asking for. Remember that the Engineers and Geoscientists BC does not necessarily represent the whole engineering industry over there, just as the PEIs don't represent the whole engineering industry over here. (I give the same answer, for the same reason, to students who believe they can't get a job over here without CEng - the PEIs and your universities aren't the ones that are offering the jobs, see what actual employers are asking for!)

What is FAR FAR more challenging is getting a work permit! I assume from your first post you have that sorted? If not I'd suggest it's MUCH more important to work out how to make that happen. And if you have managed to get one, without having an employer already to sponsor you, that would be interesting and useful experience to pass on. (I had the advantage that I had a government agency over there that really wanted me to do work for them, and my employer has a base over there so any work over there counts as an intra-company move, and even so it was a challenging experience - and still only authorises me to work for a single employer.)

Good luck,

Andy

P.S. Another thought overnight: it's worth remembering why PEng is a legal requirement for some roles in Canada. There's two reasons it exists, one is good old fashioned restrictive practices (I always find it interesting how both Canada and the US have this massive dichotomy between obsessive free marketism and really heavy unionisation!). But that doesn't make the Canadian states / territories write it into law, the reason they do that is public safety. So the effect is that the only time I've seen people get really concerned about PEng (quite reasonably) is when there's a public safety implication - i.e. back to my example you want to know that the final signatories to a new railway going into service (or a new power station, or a new medical system) are competent to take that authority.

Whereas, to take the other example, a PCB design engineer working for a competent company will have no direct impact on public safety; even if they are working on safety critical systems (which most aren't), the safety is managed by the whole safety design process from hazard identification through to verification and validation, and if it's safety critical that whole process (or crucial bits of it) will be signed off by the PEng. And if they're working for an incompetent company the company won't ask for PEng anyway.

But anyway, do let us know what you actually find out there.

Very good article here: https://nearyou.imeche.org/near-you/The-Americas/Canada/Canada---Central/the-engineering-profession-in-canada

A key paragraph in that article is "The main restrictions on unlicensed individuals are that they cannot use the title “Engineer” (or any derivative) and cannot offer engineering services to the public." But very few professional engineers offer engineering services to the public anyway, and it seems to be common practice to get around the first point by simply using the title "engineer" rather than "Engineer"! For our work we call ourselves "consultant" which is fine.

P.S. Another thought overnight: it's worth remembering why PEng is a legal requirement for some roles in Canada. There's two reasons it exists, one is good old fashioned restrictive practices (I always find it interesting how both Canada and the US have this massive dichotomy between obsessive free marketism and really heavy unionisation!). But that doesn't make the Canadian states / territories write it into law, the reason they do that is public safety. So the effect is that the only time I've seen people get really concerned about PEng (quite reasonably) is when there's a public safety implication - i.e. back to my example you want to know that the final signatories to a new railway going into service (or a new power station, or a new medical system) are competent to take that authority.

Whereas, to take the other example, a PCB design engineer working for a competent company will have no direct impact on public safety; even if they are working on safety critical systems (which most aren't), the safety is managed by the whole safety design process from hazard identification through to verification and validation, and if it's safety critical that whole process (or crucial bits of it) will be signed off by the PEng. And if they're working for an incompetent company the company won't ask for PEng anyway.

But anyway, do let us know what you actually find out there.

Very good article here: https://nearyou.imeche.org/near-you/The-Americas/Canada/Canada---Central/the-engineering-profession-in-canada

A key paragraph in that article is "The main restrictions on unlicensed individuals are that they cannot use the title “Engineer” (or any derivative) and cannot offer engineering services to the public." But very few professional engineers offer engineering services to the public anyway, and it seems to be common practice to get around the first point by simply using the title "engineer" rather than "Engineer"! For our work we call ourselves "consultant" which is fine.