On October 27, 2017, IES partner, Justice Edge, PE, spoke with Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) President, Rick Guerra, at the state conference of the Structural Engineers Association of Texas (SEAoT) in Corpus Christi. Mr. Edge advised Mr. Guerra of the current state of licensure examination for structural engineers involving a single, two-day examination that has a 25% pass rate. It is the only engineering licensing examination that takes two days and is not entirely multiple choice.

Mr. Edge advised of the prevalence for young structural engineers to fear their ability to pass the two-day structural exam and opt for the one-day civil exam instead. For those engineers that never continue on to take the two-day structural exam, Mr. Edge posed the question of their competence to sign and seal the structural drawings for significant building projects. Mr. Edge advised of his personal opinion that the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE) policy of allowing an engineer to practice in the engineering discipline for which that engineer believes himself/herself competent is flawed. Mr. Edge advised of his opinion that a structural engineer lacking the confidence to take and pass the two-day structural exam should not be able to reassess his/her competence without taking the appropriate exam. It is for this reason that Mr. Edge advised Mr. Guerra that TSPE and SEAoT need to work together to establish practice limitations so that engineers designing the structure of critical facilities have had their competence established by appropriate examination. Mr. Guerra agreed that it is in the interest of both organizations and the public that engineers practice in the area of their competence and agreed to work with SEAoT on how this can be assured.