EIT Ethics and Professional Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An EIT working for a consulting firm is instructed by their employer to certify calculations they believe are incorrect. The EIT should:
- Certify the calculations since the PE of record bears ultimate responsibility
- Refuse to certify and bring concerns to a supervisor or the PE of record (Correct answer)
- Certify but add a personal disclaimer to the document
- Certify only if directed in writing by management
Correct answer: Refuse to certify and bring concerns to a supervisor or the PE of record
Engineers at all levels, including EITs, have an ethical duty not to certify work they believe is incorrect, regardless of employer direction.
Question 2: A state engineering board finds that a PE practiced engineering in a field where they were not competent. This most likely violates which NSPE canon?
- Engineers shall act as faithful agents of their clients
- Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence (Correct answer)
- Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts
- Engineers shall conduct themselves honorably
Correct answer: Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence
Practicing outside one's area of competence violates the canon requiring engineers to work only within their areas of demonstrated capability.
Question 3: Which of the following is NOT a typical ground for revoking a professional engineering license?
- Fraud in obtaining the license
- Negligence resulting in public harm
- Practicing engineering in another state without licensure
- Changing employers without notifying the licensing board (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Changing employers without notifying the licensing board
Changing employers is a normal professional activity that does not require notification to the licensing board and is not grounds for license revocation.
Question 4: An engineer learns their company is illegally dumping chemical waste. If internal reporting fails to resolve the issue, the engineer's next ethical step is to:
- Resign from the company immediately without further action
- Report the violation to the appropriate regulatory authority (Correct answer)
- Document the dumping but take no external action to protect confidentiality
- Notify the client rather than regulators
Correct answer: Report the violation to the appropriate regulatory authority
When internal channels fail to address illegal activity that threatens the public or environment, engineers are obligated to report to external regulatory authorities.
Question 5: The primary purpose of mandatory continuing education requirements for licensed PEs is to:
- Generate revenue for state licensing boards
- Ensure engineers maintain current competency throughout their careers (Correct answer)
- Satisfy insurance carrier requirements
- Create networking opportunities for professionals
Correct answer: Ensure engineers maintain current competency throughout their careers
Continuing education requirements exist to ensure that licensed engineers stay current with evolving technology, codes, and practices to protect public safety.
Question 6: An engineer working on a public bridge project discovers a design flaw that could be dangerous but is not visible to inspectors. The project is nearly complete and correction would be costly. The engineer should:
- Disclose the flaw only if an inspector specifically asks about that detail
- Immediately disclose the flaw to the responsible authority regardless of cost (Correct answer)
- Disclose only after the project officially closes out
- Calculate the statistical risk and disclose only if it exceeds 1 in 10,000
Correct answer: Immediately disclose the flaw to the responsible authority regardless of cost
Engineers must disclose known safety hazards immediately; cost and project stage are not factors that permit withholding safety information.
Question 7: A conflict of interest in engineering most commonly arises when:
- An engineer works on projects in multiple disciplines
- An engineer's personal or financial interests could impair their professional judgment (Correct answer)
- An engineer changes firms during a project
- Two engineers on the same project disagree on a design approach
Correct answer: An engineer's personal or financial interests could impair their professional judgment
A conflict of interest occurs when personal or financial stakes could impair the engineer's ability to provide objective, unbiased professional judgment.
EIT Ethics and Professional Practice 3
An EIT working for a consulting firm is instructed by their employer to certify calculations they believe are incorrect.
The EIT should: