Thank you so much for writing about the Professional Operator certification (TPO, September 2023, Let’s Be Clear, “Where Are All the POs?”). I was one of the first Class 4 operators in the program, and I was excited to finally have some comfort in knowing that I wouldn’t be limited forever to my home state of Ohio. The promise of easy reciprocity sounded great, and I appreciated the consistency and authenticity of the test.
I am not an engineer, and I don’t aspire to become one. One of the greatest pieces of advice I got when I came up through the ranks was: Find something you’re good at and be the best at it; don’t try to fit a mold you don’t belong in.
Specifically, they were encouraging me to recognize that being an operator is as good as being a P.E./engineer — just different. I have since moved into my dream job at Jacobs. I travel the world doing startups, troubleshooting, design review and staff augmentation for wastewater treatment plants as an operator. The challenges and solutions I use are certainly represented in the certification process through the PO program.
However, I haven’t been able to receive any direct reciprocity due to my PO4 certification. I have been able to get it, but I have to provide the same mountain of paperwork to each state and sometimes still have to go back and take some version of the exam.
My guess is that the (understandable) desire to hold operators to a higher standard in each state leaves us with minimal consistency and focuses on the bureaucracy that has been used in the past as a justification for the future.
My hope is that by continuing to include PO on my business cards, wearing my PO pins at conferences and talking about the program, more people will become comfortable with the idea that this is the certification of the future, and that it provides measurable demonstrations of qualifications, no matter which state you live in.
Sincerely,
Christen Wood, PO4 Operations Specialist, Jacobs
