Need some advice on getting started

[Evrenmk]

Hello, I need some general help from Engineers in the United States.

I graduated from an Engineering University in Istanbul, Turkey and did a few internships while there. After that I basically did some unrelated jobs before moving to New York. My goal was to study finance and find work as an engineer or perhaps another internship in finance. I had some money saved up and also a citizenship, so I thought I'd take my chances in the big apple.

Well, long story short, I'm having trouble actually getting on my feet in the engineering world. I won't bore you with my story, but I'm simply in need of some counseling.

I'm taking some courses in Baruch College for finance, but they couldn't really answer my questions concerning Engineering regulations in the US.

My main worry is that I'm sending out these resumes in vain. Do I need an NCEES license on top of my degree if a company is to hire me? What else would I need?

Please excuse me if these seem trivial or if I'm breaking any rules. Thank you!

[Georgefam]

The problem stems from the classification of "engineer" in countries other than the U.S. In many countries, an engineer is a person with general knowledge in various fields, basically a maintenance tech. In the U.S. an engineer will have extensive knowledge in one particular field, such as Structural, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical. This person has knowledge to design items within their field that meet state and federal specifications including limiting failure of components and the entire project. If you want to be an engineer, you will need to pick a specific field, go to school to get a degree in that specific field. That usually takes from 2 to 6 years, depending on previous college experience.

[Evrenmk]

Thank you for replying!

Okay, I guess I kind of messed up while writing my post. I meant that I actually have a degree in Mechanical Engineering from a four year university. I've actually interned at Ford and Mercedes-Benz in Istanbul as a Mechanical Engineer trainee. And to my best of knowledge, my degree should be accredited in the United States. However the lack of responses

My question is, even with the degree am I supposed to gather further licensing to actually work here as a Mechanical Engineer?

[Timelord]

Can you legally work in the US? What do you tell your prospective employers about your immigration status? If you have not been addressing this in a cover letter, it could explain the lack of responses. At this point in your career employers want you to be able to stick around a while. Have you acquired a EIT (Engineer In Training) license in any state yet. Professional Engineers in the US are licensed by the individual states and generally require about 4-8 years as an EIT to acquire a PE license. Licenses are not a requirement for a lot of general engineering occupations, but are required in lots of specific fields.

Timelord

[Evrenmk]

Thanks Timelord!

I'm actually a citizen, I was born and raised in the US, but have studied abroad. Maybe I should make it more stick out more in my cover letters. So you're saying that I'll need to get licensed by the state (in this case, New York). Would this be what I'm looking for? And you're saying this is mandatory and my accredited degree would not be sufficient?

Again, thank you for the reply!

[JAlberts]

While taking an EIT exam can help get you started toward an PE (Professional Engineer) licence, it is not required to be employed by the majpority of manufacturing company starting and staff engineering positiions. So the lack of the exam or licencing should not be an impediment in your quest to acquire one of these positions. I might suggest that you try working with an employment agency if your personal search is not working. These agencies work with companies to assist them in filling their job openings. Many times, even a temporary position found through these agencies can result in a following offer of a position.