u/Prize_Independence99

IN EGYPT I’m looking at an engineering program outside the US that holds direct ABET accreditation (not a US campus — a fully local university accredited by ABET internationally). Before committing, I wanted to sanity-check what this credential actually gets me, because I dug into the details and it’s more nuanced than I expected.
What I found so far:
ABET accredits programs in around 42 countries outside the US, using the same review process as domestic programs — so it’s not a “lesser” accreditation on paper. But ABET is also a founding member of the Washington Accord, the big international mutual-recognition agreement for engineering degrees (covers the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and ~20 other countries).
Here’s the part that surprised me: the Washington Accord explicitly only recognizes engineering programs accredited within each signatory’s own home jurisdiction. So even though ABET itself is a signatory, a program it accredits outside the US doesn’t get automatic Washington Accord coverage. Basically: same accreditor, same rigor, but zero treaty-level recognition abroad just because the campus isn’t on US soil.
From what I can tell, the concrete benefit of a foreign ABET degree seems to mostly be:
Skipping the credential evaluation step for US engineering licensing exams (confirmed this directly with the US licensing body’s own FAQ)

Maybe being a recognized name on a resume for multinational HR departments

But it doesn’t seem to unlock any automatic recognition in the UK, Canada, Australia, Gulf countries, or Europe — you’d still go through each country’s individual foreign-credential evaluation like anyone else.
Questions for people with real experience:
Is my understanding above accurate, or am I missing some nuance?

Has anyone actually used a foreign ABET-accredited degree to get licensed or hired in the US, Canada, UK, Gulf, or Europe? What was that actually like?

Does holding ABET (even without Accord coverage) meaningfully help when going through an individual country’s credential evaluation process, or does it not matter once it’s not “automatic”?

Outside the US, do employers/HR even recognize “ABET” as a name, or is it a total non-factor once you leave North America?

Practically speaking, is there a real difference between a foreign ABET degree and a strong non-ABET foreign degree once you’re job-hunting internationally, or does it mostly wash out?

I’m looking at an engineering program outside the US that holds direct ABET accreditation (not a US campus — a fully local university accredited by ABET internationally). Before committing, I wanted to sanity-check what this credential actually gets me, because I dug into the details and it’s more nuanced than I expected.
What I found so far:
ABET accredits programs in around 42 countries outside the US, using the same review process as domestic programs — so it’s not a “lesser” accreditation on paper. But ABET is also a founding member of the Washington Accord, the big international mutual-recognition agreement for engineering degrees (covers the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and ~20 other countries).
Here’s the part that surprised me: the Washington Accord explicitly only recognizes engineering programs accredited within each signatory’s own home jurisdiction. So even though ABET itself is a signatory, a program it accredits outside the US doesn’t get automatic Washington Accord coverage. Basically: same accreditor, same rigor, but zero treaty-level recognition abroad just because the campus isn’t on US soil.
From what I can tell, the concrete benefit of a foreign ABET degree seems to mostly be:
Skipping the credential evaluation step for US engineering licensing exams (confirmed this directly with the US licensing body’s own FAQ)

Maybe being a recognized name on a resume for multinational HR departments

But it doesn’t seem to unlock any automatic recognition in the UK, Canada, Australia, Gulf countries, or Europe — you’d still go through each country’s individual foreign-credential evaluation like anyone else.
Questions for people with real experience:
-Is my understanding above accurate, or am I missing some nuance?

Has anyone actually used a foreign ABET-accredited degree to get licensed or hired in the US, Canada, UK, Gulf, or Europe? What was that actually like?

Does holding ABET (even without Accord coverage) meaningfully help when going through an individual country’s credential evaluation process, or does it not matter once it’s not “automatic”?

Outside the US, do employers/HR even recognize “ABET” as a name, or is it a total non-factor once you leave North America?

Practically speaking, is there a real difference between a foreign ABET degree and a strong non-ABET foreign degree once you’re job-hunting internationally, or does it mostly wash out?

Hey everyone, I'm choosing between two universities for my Electrical/Communications Engineering degree and trying to figure out how much weight to put on accreditation vs. other factors. Would love real-world perspectives, especially from people who've worked internationally.I LIVE IN EGYPT

The situation:

University A:

• One of a small handful of universities in my country with this specific engineering accreditation.
• Has a stronger reputation specifically in engineering, even though its overall/general university ranking is lower than University B.
• Has a UK dual-degree option available (extra cost), though the partner university itself isn't highly ranked globally.
• Good internship opportunities.
• A previously-held UK professional body accreditation (IET) appears to have lapsed years ago based on official records — so that part isn't currently valid.

University B:

• Not ABET accredited, but does have national institutional accreditation (a big deal locally — very few private universities in my country have this).
• Ranks noticeably higher overall/generally across multiple global systems (QS, Times Higher Education, Webometrics, US News), though not specifically known for engineering.
• Has

only a partnership and

• a co-signed with a mid-tier US university
• Good internship opportunities with some name-brand multinational companies.
• Better campus life/facilities overall.

My actual questions:

1. For Electrical/Communications Engineering specifically, does ABET accreditation genuinely matter for getting hired at multinational companies, or is it more of a checkbox that's rarely actually enforced?
2. Does ABET help at all if I want to work in Europe or the Middle East, or is its value basically limited to the US (PE licensing, NCEES etc.)?
3. Does a school's specific engineering reputation matter more than its general university ranking when it comes to hiring/grad school for engineers?
4. Is a strong internship pipeline more valuable in practice than accreditation prestige most recruiters may not even recognize?
5. and in genral should i choose a or b

Hey everyone, I'm choosing between two universities for my Electrical/Communications Engineering degree and trying to figure out how much weight to put on accreditation vs. other factors. Would love real-world perspectives, especially from people who've worked internationally.I LIVE IN EGYPT

The situation:

University A:

• One of a small handful of universities in my country with this specific engineering accreditation.
• Has a stronger reputation specifically in engineering, even though its overall/general university ranking is lower than University B.
• Has a UK dual-degree option available (extra cost), though the partner university itself isn't highly ranked globally.
• Good internship opportunities.
• A previously-held UK professional body accreditation (IET) appears to have lapsed years ago based on official records — so that part isn't currently valid.

University B:

• Not ABET accredited, but does have national institutional accreditation (a big deal locally — very few private universities in my country have this).
• Ranks noticeably higher overall/generally across multiple global systems (QS, Times Higher Education, Webometrics, US News), though not specifically known for engineering.
• Has

only a partnership and

• a co-signed with a mid-tier US university
• Good internship opportunities with some name-brand multinational companies.
• Better campus life/facilities overall.

My actual questions:

1. For Electrical/Communications Engineering specifically, does ABET accreditation genuinely matter for getting hired at multinational companies, or is it more of a checkbox that's rarely actually enforced?
2. Does ABET help at all if I want to work in Europe or the Middle East, or is its value basically limited to the US (PE licensing, NCEES etc.)?
3. Does a school's specific engineering reputation matter more than its general university ranking when it comes to hiring/grad school for engineers?
4. Is a strong internship pipeline more valuable in practice than accreditation prestige most recruiters may not even recognize?

Hey everyone, I'm choosing between two universities for my Electrical/Communications Engineering degree and trying to figure out how much weight to put on accreditation vs. other factors. Would love real-world perspectives, especially from people who've worked internationally.

The situation:

University A:

• One of a small handful of universities in my country with this specific engineering accreditation

ABET and hold a strong accreditation through out the middle east its older since 1970

• Has a stronger reputation specifically in engineering, even though its overall/general university ranking is lower than University B.
• Has a UK dual-degree option available (extra cost), though the partner university itself isn't highly ranked globally.
• Good internship opportunities.
• A previously-held UK professional body accreditation (IET) appears to have lapsed years ago based on official records — so that part isn't currently valid.

A 1 hour ride maybe a bit more

University B:

• Not ABET accredited, but does have national institutional accreditation (a big deal locally — very few private universities in my country have this).

since 2006

• Ranks noticeably higher overall/generally across multiple global systems (QS, Times Higher Education, Webometrics, US News), though not specifically known for engineering.
• Has

just

accredited in egypt and some other countries in middle east.

• a co-signed degree with a mid-tier US university and accredited in egypt
• Good internship opportunities with some name-brand multinational companies.
• Better campus life/facilities overall.

Closer to my house

My actual questions:

1. For Electrical/Communications Engineering specifically, does ABET accreditation genuinely matter for getting hired at multinational companies, or is it more of a checkbox that's rarely actually enforced?
2. Does ABET help at all if I want to work in Europe or the Middle East, or is its value basically limited to the US (PE licensing, NCEES etc.)?
3. Does a school's specific engineering reputation matter more than its general university ranking when it comes to hiring/grad school for engineers?
4. Is a strong internship pipeline more valuable in practice than accreditation prestige most recruiters may not even recognize?

5.what do u think should i choose in genral

(I live in egypt)