Having been through hell and having spoken to many others sailing in the same boat, here's a word of sincere advice for Newcomers applying for registration as a Professional Engineer to the Professional Engineers Association of Ontario (PEO). Here goes:
- Before you decide to apply to PEO, STOP and research the Registration Process for P.Eng. designation in all the other provinces of Canada to enable you to make a decision as to which province has a process that suits you. It is immaterial as to which Province you live in. You can apply for registration to any provincial association regardless of which province you live in
- If you make the mistake of applying to PEO, you will end up burning your pocket; they will assign numerous technical exams, even though you may have studied all those courses in you degree, or even if you degree is covered under a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) between Engineers Canada and the Accrediting Agency in the country where you earned your degree. PEO is the only regulatory authority in Canada which does not accept any MRA
- If you have North American Work Experience (e.g., US Work Experience in Engineering), there are at least 3 Provinces which will consider that in lieu of Canadian Work Experience. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan
- A word of Caution: If you have a US Degree, DO NOT apply to PEO. There are many people in PEO who simply HATE USA and would go to any extent to humiliate anybody or anything even remotely connected to the US...My Real Life Experience
- You will find that all the associations other than the PEO are very open and extremely courteous and helpful. Compare this to PEO: EXTEMELY RUDE, NASTY and DISCOURTEOUS and NEVER HELPFUL, except to people of their own countries of origin or nationalities
- If you make the mistake of applying to PEO and they assign you exams; and subsequently you apply to any other association, the latter will always make a decision based on the PEO assessment. So think well before you apply to PEO
- Once you are registered as a P.Eng. in any one of the Provinces, you can always get P.Eng. in all the other Provinces