Almost 98,000 Pennsylvanians were employed in architecture and engineering professions last year.
You need to renew your Pennsylvania Professional Engineer license. Have you completed your continuing education yet? Would you like to know how to find continuing education for Pennsylvania engineers?
Find out more about the continuing education requirements for engineers in Pennsylvania. You’ll learn how to find education options so you can renew your license with no trouble.
What Are the Continuing Education Requirements for Pennsylvania Engineers?
The Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists regulates licensed engineers. You need 24 professional development hours (PDH) to renew your license in Pennsylvania.
If you earn more than 24 PDH during a renewal period, you can carry up to 12 hours over to the next renewal period.
The deadline for license renewals is September 30 of odd-numbered years.
What Counts as Continuing Education for Engineers in Pennsylvania?
The Registration Board in Pennsylvania doesn’t preapprove any continuing education courses or providers. However, the registration law describes the activities that count as professional development hours. Continuing education must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge gained before your initial licensure
- Develop new or relevant skills and knowledge
Courses covering laws and ethics that relate to engineers are acceptable. Courses on office management or practice building don’t count as PDH.
The Registration Board accepts many types of activities for continuing education. Your education options include:
- College courses
- Continuing education courses
- Televised, recorded, or online short courses or tutorials
- Employer-sponsored courses
- Seminars or workshops
- Professional or technical presentations at meetings, conventions, or conferences
- Teaching, presenting, or instructing a course, seminar, or workshop
- Presenting at a meeting, convention, or conference
- Authoring a paper, article, or book
- Obtaining a patent
The content for any of these options must be relevant to professional practice.
Finding Engineering Continuing Education in Pennsylvania
The Registration Board allows many types of engineering continuing education. Finding these opportunities can still sometimes take a bit of effort.
College or University Courses
First, you can browse college or university course catalogs for engineering courses. You’ll find classes that can improve your current skills and/or develop new skills. However, fitting a college course into your schedule can be a challenge.
Professional Organizations
Professional engineering societies may offer free or discounted courses to their members. Professional organizations include:
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
- Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE)
- National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
You can also find opportunities to teach courses through these engineering societies. Education options are typically listed on each society’s website.
Employer-Sponsored Courses and Conferences
You may be able to benefit from employer-sponsored courses.
Your employer may support you in attending a conference, convention, meeting, or workshop. These options are often more easily accessible now. Many such gatherings happen remotely instead of in person.
Professional engineering organizations often list these types of events on their websites. You can also sign up for email alerts.
Online Courses
Some of the most convenient Pennsylvania continuing education options are online courses. The Registration Board doesn’t restrict the number of PDH units from online courses.
A quick internet search will show you many online course providers. It’s important to verify that the courses meet the requirements for Pennsylvania.
Online courses are often an efficient option. You can find packages that meet your entire PDH requirement.
How Do I Convert Course Credit to PDH Units?
You’ll need to calculate how many PDH units a continuing education activity is worth. The registration law gives a conversion formula:
- 1 college semester hour = 45 PDH units
- 1 college quarter hour = 30 PDH units
- 1 hour in activities like seminars or technical presentations at meetings = 1 PDH unit
- Employer-sponsored courses = 1 PDH unit
- Each publication or patent = 10 PDH units
Teaching a course, workshop, or seminar is worth double the normal number of PDH units. Full-time faculty don’t get credit for teaching courses that are part of their job, though.
Online course providers will tell you how many PDH units their courses are worth.
Keeping Track of Your PDH
You must keep a log of your continuing education activities. You also need records to prove your attendance. The log should include the following information:
- Type of activity
- Sponsoring organization
- Location and duration of the activity
- Name of the instructor or speaker
- Number of PDH credits earned
The Registration Board provides a downloadable log on their website. You can also create your own document with the necessary information.
Acceptable attendance verification records include completion certificates and college or university transcripts. Letters from the activity sponsor are another option.
The Registration Board won’t accept payment receipts or registration confirmation notices. Sign-in sheets or activity brochures are also unacceptable.
You need to keep your PDH records for five years. You only need to send them to the Registration Board in the event of an audit, though. You’ll receive an audit notice telling you to submit your log and proof of attendance records.
Finding the Best Online Course Provider for Pennsylvania Engineering Continuing Education
You need to fulfill the continuing education requirement for Pennsylvania engineers. You want to use the best online course provider.
You want interesting classes that the Registration Board will accept. You want a variety of options at a competitive price.
PDH-Pro gives you all this and more. We offer live and self-directed technical courses. We also provide live and on-demand webinars. Our subject matter experts ensure you get relevant, useful information.
We guarantee that our courses meet the standards for Pennsylvania.
You can choose individual courses or get an even better value by choosing a package. Check out our course offerings and register today!