Scholarship Essay

Topic 1: Licensure

I believe engineers working in the industry should not be exempt from license. The work of an engineer is very critical and should be precise. The requirements for the license are very strict; therefore, the engineer learns well from the testing phase. Take civil engineers for example, because they are involved in construction of infrastructure. If a civil engineer is licensed, their work will be sturdier, and they would have more experience (ASCE, pp. 01). The requirements of the license require an engineer to have four years of experience. This experience means that the engineer would know the fundamentals well and will have been able to learn from their mistakes. Their work would be better after completing the requirements for the license.

There has been a lot of influx of engineers from different countries; therefore, it is all the more important that they obtain a license to work in the industry. They are coming from different settings and their academic background may vary from the American colleges and universities. Even the conditions that they work in are different from the conditions in America. There are varying weather conditions to consider like the seasons of winter and summer when temperatures are in extreme. There is heavy snow in many places, but some people come from countries where there is no snow.

There is no room for mistakes in the profession of engineering as it commonly affects people directly. If a civil engineer does not construct a building in the proper way and misses some essential step or material, there is a danger of the building collapsing. There are chances of the building deteriorating in bad weather like heavy snow. The process of licensure is not static, and it changes constantly in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of people. The changes have to be made due to the changing nature of the environment that has been built. According to NCEES (2011, pp. 01), “every year, NCEES leadership assigns committees and task forces to research various issues affecting licensure and to propose changes to NCEES policy when necessary. Then, once a year, the voting members of NCEES—state licensure boards—gather to make policy decisions”.

Since doctors, dentists and other professional require a license, and then even engineers working in the industry in America should be equipped with a license. The standard should be the same for all professionals, and there should not be any discrimination. The practice of doctors, dentists and other professionals is also as demanding and serious as that of engineers.

Even for biomedical engineers, the stance is the same. A biomedical engineer has to apply concepts of engineering in medicine. The work directly affects people, mostly patients that need help. A biomedical engineer can help in advances of medicine and propose new methods of treatment. This field is beneficial for innovation in medicine and in discovery of other ways of improving health. This crucial work should be done by licensed professionals, so that people feel that the work of biomedical ...