<p>how important is the PE?</p>
<p>See this</a> thread. For civil engineers, it's very important. For most other engineers, it's not. </p>
<p>Most EEs work for private-sector companies that design of manufacture portable, mass-produced items. If your engineering work is done internally at a company of this kind, then it will probably be exempt from licensing requirements.</p>
<p>Only a small fraction of EEs (less than 10%) hold PE licenses. You might need one as a power engineer designing customized electrical systems for buildings or other permanent infrastructure, or if you wanted to provide independent consulting services or expert witness testimony. </p>
<p>Some EEs go through the licensing process, even though they don't need a license professionally, just as a matter of pride, so they have a legal claim to the title of "electrical engineer". In my state (California) you are not legally an "electrical engineer" unless you are licensed as one (although you could use the title internally within a private company as described above).</p>
<p>It all depends on what you want to do after school. Taking the FE is a waste of time and money if you're not planning on working in a field where it's beneficial (see Corbett's post). It's $200, and 8 hours on a Saturday, so don't take it just for the heck of it, lol (I know 1 or 2 who did). Doing it for pride... ehh... I wouldn't suggest it. You're only disallowed from calling yourself an electrical engineer (for example) when you're promoting your services. Nobody's going to come and fine/arrest you if you call yourself an engineer among acquaintances.</p>