Professional Engineering (P.E.) Examination Increase Chance of PhD Admission?

[nuclear_engineer]

I graduated with my BS (Nuclear Engineering) in 2008, then racked up 3 years of industry experience in addition to a Master's degree.

Now I qualify to take the PE Nuclear Engineering Exam.

My question is will obtaining a PE license boost my chances of getting into a Nuclear Engineering PhD program?

I figure if I have to study for the candidacy exam, I might as well take the PE which covers more or less the same material (but less theoretical, of course).

Thanks!

[whit]

I graduated with my BS (Nuclear Engineering) in 2008, then racked up 3 years of industry experience in addition to a Master's degree.

Now I qualify to take the PE Nuclear Engineering Exam.

My question is will obtaining a PE license boost my chances of getting into a Nuclear Engineering PhD program?

I figure if I have to study for the candidacy exam, I might as well take the PE which covers more or less the same material (but less theoretical, of course).

Thanks!

I'm sure it can't hurt. I am a licensed Structural Engineer and have applied to programs for this fall. Preparing for the SE1 and SE2 which have tremendously low pass rates (as does the Nuclear) reported by NCEES, was challenging but I feel it has made me a better engineer. In my opinion, real life industry experience should be looked upon favorably, and is incredibly important to professional fields, like engineering.

Here's to hoping that it helps!