The Fundamentals of Engineering Ethics

Many engineers find it surprising to find the topic of Ethics to be on the FE exam. After all, it’s probably unlikely you took an Engineering Ethics class in your undergraduate curriculum.

So why is there Ethics on the FE Exam?

Engineers like other highly educated and highly skilled professions, have standard obligations to the public, their clients, and their employers. A professional engineer’s work can have radical effects on public works as they sign and seal the engineering documents for studies, estimates, and design calculations. Thus for the safety of the public as well as the integrity of the profession, engineers should foster good ethical conduct in the course of business. Just like you wouldn’t want your doctor to behave unethically when treating your illness, you wouldn’t want the engineer to unethically design the high rise building you work in.

OK, so what do I need to know for the ethics portion on the FE exam?

The ethics questions are definitely parts where you can score points on, however DO NOT take them lightly as if they’re a given. These questions will be much wordier than any of the other problems on the test and if you don’t pay attention you may miss something. Read Carefully.

Here are a few key ethics issues to know:

• Engineers can only practice engineering in their area of competency (i.e. a Civil Engineer should not be doing electrical circuit designs, a chemical engineer should not be doing foundation designs, etc). This is especially important when sealing design documents. A PE license does not allow you do to whatever you want.
• Engineering competency is demonstrated by things like:
  • Formal education
  • Engineering practice under a licensed Professional Engineer
  • Passing NCEES exams

  Things like self-study or “I watched another engineer do it” are not counted.

• An engineer should not misrepresent their competency, expertise, or company. Performing actions or making promises in order to get a contract is not ethical behavior.
• A PE cannot sign or seal official design work that was not performed by them or performed under their personal supervision.
• Engineers cannot plagiarize designs, permits, and other official documents.
• Engineers are responsible for knowing all codes and regulations that apply to their work. Ignorance is not an excuse.

While these items sound simple, it is not always clear cut. Again, the best advice for these problems is to read carefully and use some common sense. Keep the engineering ethics issues mentioned here in mind and you should breeze through these questions.

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