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Engineers Australia Membership Folly
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coppice:

--- Quote from: EEVblog on March 06, 2020, 01:46:06 am ---
--- Quote from: johankj on March 05, 2020, 11:50:57 am ---Now that I'm reading this post, I'm getting more apprehensive. I need to be assessed to the level of an engineer to quality for a visa. My BEng is a three-year degree (are there even 4-year bachelor degrees in Europe?). In Norway at least, there is no distinction between a BEng and a bachelor, and they are all 3-year degrees.

--- End quote ---

In that case I greatly doubt they will assess you as being a Professional Engineer status, that requires a 4 year degree, and even that they are picky about as Phil has found out.

--- End quote ---
The 4 year degree differentiation is bogus. Most countries with 4 year bachelor degrees have a year less of high school than countries with 3 year bachelor degrees. HK went through a transition from 3 to 4 year degrees a few years ago, dropping a year of high school, and building more capacity at its universities. The result is they have simply moved the last year of high school to a different place.
johankj:

--- Quote from: EEVblog on March 06, 2020, 01:46:06 am ---
--- Quote from: johankj on March 05, 2020, 11:50:57 am ---Now that I'm reading this post, I'm getting more apprehensive. I need to be assessed to the level of an engineer to quality for a visa. My BEng is a three-year degree (are there even 4-year bachelor degrees in Europe?). In Norway at least, there is no distinction between a BEng and a bachelor, and they are all 3-year degrees.

--- End quote ---

In that case I greatly doubt they will assess you as being a Professional Engineer status, that requires a 4 year degree, and even that they are picky about as Phil has found out.

--- End quote ---

My worry exactly, and although I don't have a Ph.d. like Phil, it's a similar case, and I fear the outcome would be the same. My academic summary (in order):

* 3-year BEng
* 2-year undergraduate mathematics and physics (not a degree program)
* 1-year teacher training
* 2-year MSc
* A couple of master-level units at the local university that I found interesting
...and I've worked as an engineer for the past 15 years.

But, I think they will conclude like you say, that I don't meet their requirements for a Professional Engineer status.
Someone:

--- Quote from: johankj on March 06, 2020, 07:49:59 am ---
--- Quote from: Someone on March 05, 2020, 10:14:09 pm ---
--- Quote from: johankj on March 05, 2020, 11:50:57 am ---Sorry for bending everyone's ear  :-[ The whole thing just seems like money-grabbing bullshit, instead of quid-pro-quo arrangement.
--- End quote ---
Yes, it is a money grab for the "authorised" bodies who confirm your skills/experience and radically different to the previous skilled worker visa process. But at the same time Australia is currently flooded with foreign engineers (and trades) pushing advertised wages down. Employers advertise for a certain period to prove there were no qualified applicants at the salary they want to pay. Tightening up the visa entry requirements is good, but ignores the real problems.
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That's a shame. My Australian colleague told me that foreign unskilled labor was being exploited in this way, but I didn't expect it to extend to skilled labor. I definitively don't want to contribute in a wage race to the bottom, competing with locals and a million third world engineers.
--- End quote ---
Its the wage race that is the bad thing. I've worked with engineers that came here on these skilled visas who were excellent, but they were surprised at the cost of living relative to the wages they were getting.

There shouldn't be barriers like you are seeing for recognition of your applicability to the work since the employer is surely the best judge. Its a restriction of trade (unless you are needing a professional licence/registration in which case it makes sense).

Given your background... consider applying to come over as a teacher? Different assessment body, also heavily unionised so the pay is less variable.
Helix70:
You do not need to be a member of Engineers Australia to be a Professional Engineer in Australia. Engineers Australia membership entitles you to nothing when it comes to being allowed to provide engineering services in Australia.

Each state has its own requirements. For example, in Queensland, if you wish to provide engineering services to any Queensland based company or individual, or you yourself are based in Queensland, you are required to be registered as an RPEQ as per the Professional Engineers Act 2002, or be directly supervised by an RPEQ who takes full responsibilty for your services.

For RPEQ eligibilty, you require a 4 year Bachelor degree from an institution recognised by the Washigton Accord, of which Australia is a member.

Other states of Australia have other requirements, although Victoria have indicated that they are going use a similar system to Queensland from July 2021, called the Professional Engineers Registration Act 2019. New South Wales is currently being lobbied by Engineers Australia for a similar scheme also.

I believe it is only a matter of time before the other states do the same.

These requirements are not just about knowledge or competency, they also bind the registered engineer to a code of ethics and legally binding requirements for continuous professional development.

Having recently completed my registration as an RPEQ, it isn't really all that difficult. Once you are past the first 4 stages of grief and reach "Acceptance", and you can demonstrate 150 hours of professional development over the last 3 years (if you can't show this, are you really an engineer? The bar isn't really that high for what qualifies), the process only takes a month or so.
johankj:

--- Quote from: Someone on March 06, 2020, 10:24:10 am ---Given your background... consider applying to come over as a teacher? Different assessment body, also heavily unionised so the pay is less variable.

--- End quote ---
That's a good idea! I've had a glance at the assessment process, and it doesn't look nearly as complex and random as the Engineers Australia one.
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