The professional practice of engineering
A university degree is not enough to sign: you need the license from the council or association of the jurisdiction where you work.
01From the degree to the signature
Graduating is not enough to sign. Between the university degree and the first signed drawing there are two steps regulated by law:
- The qualifying degree (título habilitante), issued by a university with an accredited program, which defines what the graduate is qualified to do.
- The professional license (matrícula) from the professional council or association of the jurisdiction where the engineer will work, which authorizes practice and subjects the professional to the oversight of that body.
Signing as an engineer without a license is the illegal practice of the profession, and a document signed that way has no value before the bodies that require it.
02Degree scope and reserved activities
The Ley de Educación Superior (Higher Education Law, Law 24,521) includes in its Article 43 the programs whose practice may put the public interest at risk —people’s health, safety and property—, and among them is Electronic Engineering. For those programs the Ministry of Education sets the minimum content, the number of hours, the intensity of practical training and the reserved activities, and CONEAU (the national university evaluation and accreditation agency) periodically accredits each program.
| Degree scope (alcances) | Reserved activities | |
|---|---|---|
| What they are | Everything the graduate is qualified to do | What only a holder of that degree may do, because it affects the public interest |
| Who sets them | Each university, in the curriculum | The Ministry of Education, with the advice of the Council of Universities (Resolution 1254/2018) |
| Exclusivity | No: other degrees may share them | Yes, although they may be shared with other degrees listed in the same article |
The reserved activities of Electronic Engineering revolve around designing, calculating and planning electronic, telecommunications and control systems and equipment; directing and overseeing their construction, installation and maintenance; certifying their operation and safety; and planning and directing everything related to health and safety in their activity.
03The license and the professional councils
Because the provinces retained oversight of the professions, the license is local. In national jurisdiction —the City of Buenos Aires for matters that depend on the Nation and for activities of federal scope— Decree-Law 6070/58, ratified by Law 14,467, applies; it created the professional engineering councils. For electronic engineers, the national body is COPITEC, the Professional Council of Telecommunications, Electronics and Computer Engineering. Each province has its own law and its own association or council; for example, in the province of Buenos Aires, Law 10,416 created the Colegio de Ingenieros (Association of Engineers).
| Function of the council or association | In practice |
|---|---|
| Granting and overseeing the license | Verifying the degree and registering the professional |
| Registering professional commissions | Recording which work each professional signs and for whom |
| Safeguarding ethics | A disciplinary tribunal that applies the code of ethics |
| Defending the practice of the profession | Reporting illegal practice and advising licensed members |
Anyone who works in several provinces needs to register in each one, although some have reciprocity agreements that simplify the process.
04Ways of practicing
- Independent practice: the professional contracts directly with their clients, sets or agrees on their fees, invoices and takes responsibility for their work.
- As an employee: working for a company or the State. The professional remains professionally responsible for what they sign, even if the company assigned them the task.
- As a technical representative: a company that carries out reserved work needs a licensed professional who answers technically for it; this is common among installation contractors and in public works.
05Fees
For decades engineering fees were set by mandatory fee schedules. Since the deregulation of 1991 they are freely agreed between the professional and the client, and the councils’ fee schedules remained as a reference. They are still important in two situations: when the price was not agreed, because the judge uses them to set it; and for expert witnesses’ fees in a trial.
Agreeing the fee in writing, together with the scope of the work, avoids most of the conflicts with clients.
06Where it shows up in electronics
| Work | Why it requires a licensed professional |
|---|---|
| Design of a broadcasting station | ENACOM (the national communications regulator) requires the signature of a qualified professional |
| Telecommunications installation in a building | Building codes require the design and supervision of a professional |
| Certificate of operation of a fire detection system | It is signed by a professional who takes on the responsibility |
| Technical report for an insurer | It has value only if signed by someone qualified |
07Activities
Find out which body licenses electronic engineers in the province where you live, which law created it, what requirements it sets and how much the annual license fee is.
Find the annex of the ministerial resolution that sets the reserved activities of Electronic Engineering and compare it with the degree scope in your faculty’s curriculum.
Find on the professional council’s website the form for registering a professional commission or tasks and fill it out for a fictitious job.
08Common mistakes
- Signing without a license in that jurisdiction. It is illegal practice and the document is worthless.
- Confusing degree scope with reserved activities. Being qualified is not the same as having exclusivity.
- Believing that an employee is not answerable for what they sign. Professional liability is personal.
- Lending your signature. Signing work that was neither done nor supervised by you is a serious ethical breach and shifts all the responsibility onto whoever signs.
09Self-assessment
What two requirements are needed to practice as an engineer?
The qualifying degree and the license in the jurisdiction where you work.
Which article of Law 24,521 includes Electronic Engineering among the programs of public interest?
Article 43.
Which body licenses electronic engineers in national jurisdiction?
COPITEC, created under Decree-Law 6070/58.
What is a technical representative?
The licensed professional who answers technically for the reserved work that a company carries out.
10Further reading
- Decree-Law 6070/58 and Law 14,467. Ejercicio de la agrimensura, la arquitectura y la ingeniería. InfoLEG (in Spanish). The national rule that organizes the license and the professional councils.
- Ley de Educación Superior (Higher Education Law) 24,521. Artículo 43 y sus resoluciones reglamentarias. InfoLEG (in Spanish). The regime for programs of public interest and their reserved activities.
- COPITEC and the association or council of each province. Sitio institucional. Official information from each body (in Spanish). License requirements, registration of professional commissions, code of ethics and reference fee schedules.