Hone

Lessons · Engineering · the degree, and the accreditation that changes the years

The degree, and the accreditation that quietly changes how many years you owe

The usual route starts with an accredited engineering degree. What matters is the accreditation the programme holds rather than the reputation of the school, and the kind of accreditation changes how much experience a board will require: an engineering technology or related science degree generally carries a longer experience requirement than an engineering one.

Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.

In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a licensed engineer. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.

What it is for

This is the decision made at eighteen that costs years at thirty, and it is made without anybody mentioning it. Two programmes can have nearly the same name, teach nearly the same subjects and carry different accreditations, and the difference does not appear until a board is counting years. By then the degree cannot be changed and the only remedy is more time. It is also the reason that asking 'is this a good school' is the wrong question: the board is not assessing the school's reputation, it is checking a specific accreditation.

How to think about it

Check the specific accreditation a programme holds before enrolling, in writing, and check what your own board requires under each. If you already hold a degree, find out which category it falls into now rather than at application, so the number of years you owe is a known quantity you can plan around. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different state or a different year.

Worked example

Accreditation, not reputation
The board checks a specific accreditation rather than assessing a school.
Two similar names can carry different ones
Engineering and engineering technology are not the same accreditation.
And the difference is years of experience
The board asks longer of the technology and related science route.
The decision is made before you know it matters
Which is why it is worth checking at enrolment rather than at application.
The remedy afterwards is time
A degree already held cannot be re-accredited.

Your turn

Name what a board actually checks about a degree.

A board checks the programme's , not the school's reputation

The trap

Choosing a programme on the school's name and never reading its accreditation. The two categories differ in the years of experience a board will later ask for, and by then the degree is fixed. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different state or a different year.

Next in Engineering

Every Engineering lesson on one page

Practise the degree, and the accreditation that changes the years on HoneA question on it now, a real problem where there is one, and it is remembered for review. Free, no email needed.