Texas Pro Engineer Growth 1940-2014

A detail examination of the 05-May-2014 version of the Texas professional engineer (PE) roster has been performed.  Of significance is both the growth in the number of PEs -- and the RATIO of Texas population to PEs.

Texas PE Count Binned by 1st Year of Registration

Most of the PE counts before 1950 or so are unreliable -- there were plenty of engineers that were not "registered" -- and "official" "registration" came in stages to Texas -- and some engineers that came from outside Texas -- registered under other state systems.  Yet after about 1950, there is a steady growth that tracks the growth of population.

The turbulence of 1993-1998 is not clear to this author -- maybe a new legislative "registration" requirement -- and some "fallout" from the 1986-1988 oil & gas bust -- coupled with the Savings & Loan induced real estate "crisis" and Resolution Trust Corporation activities of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Exponential Growth?

From about 1953 to 1980, the growth in PEs indicated an exponential trend -- and backing out to the 1953 to 2010 scale -- a slightly less robust overall exponential trend.

Annual PE Growth Rates in Texas

Comparative tests with 11% and 8% annual PE growth were very favorable, as seen in semi-log chart above.