http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Engineer-Status/
Sign! Get everyone in your office to sign, too. Everyone should sign, dammit! Everyone in the world!
It's a long time since anyone mistook me for a car mechanic, but that's probably just because I look too sickly.
29 comments:
Professional status, hmmm.
I was always under the impression that professional status meant that the occupation was self-regulating (e.g. the Law Society is made up of lawyers). Are engineers self-regulating?
Just out of interest, are you chartered? I'm not, and the IET (formally IEE) made the rules about chartership more demanding a wee while back - boo!
The Royal Society of Chemistry can confer the status of Chartered Chemist upon its members. The problem is that there's no real market from employers for it - you tend to go on qualifications or experience rather than a somewhat artificial professional status. The RSC is desperate to make it mean something in the same was as Chartered Accountant, but I don't know how they can do it.
I wonder if it's the same for engineers, but made complicated by the wide variety of engineering disciplines.
Hazel CChem MRSC
I'm not British, but good luck.
What's next, a tax on professions? Hmmm.
This is in effect in certain places in the U.S. Back in the day I took a job as a "Field Service Engineer" but we subsequently had to change our titles to "Field Service Technician" for this very reason. In my opinion the Engineer/Technician tag didn't make anyone smarter (or dumber, for that matter). I'd be inclinded to go on qualifications and experience.
Originally an engineer was someone who tended an engine. I'd suggest you come up with a name that means what it says. Elitist nonsense.
Not at the moment. I actually (ahem) owe the IMechE money, so I'm not super keen on getting in touch with them again, but I'm starting to think it might be a good idea. Rather foolishly, I was persuaded that it was unnecessary when I started in on my profession, something which I now regret.
Hmph. Well, I certainly won't fix your boiler now, so don't even ask.
Sadly, I think the time to make up some other name for my profession died with Queen Victoria. A shame, because I rather like Neal Stephenson's suggestion of 'Artifex'. That would be a great thing to put on a business card.
As the petition says, 'engineer' is now listed by banks as a non/semi-skilled profession. That affects my ability to get credit of any sort. So hell, yeah, I'm all in favour of this, and if that's elitist, then boo hoo.
Fascist.
At one point, I was considering describing myself as "Data Engineer", since that described what I did best of all, but that looked too much like what I was adept at was cooking the books.
I think the engineers in this country have a rather elitist view of themselfves. As students they are in the most difficult majors around the country, (except for quantum physics perhaps) they were in demand until a couple years ago. But certification exams are highly recommended for the high paying jobs. My son did not take the exam but he defines his skills as engineering on his resume. He got lots of work in 3-D Art related to mech eng. and if I may brag a bit, he's pretty darned good at what he does.
If it's the EIT you're referring to, He should've taken the exam. It wasn't _that_ bad. My school recommended that everyone take it and we had 2 weeks of formal review and prep sessions for it. However, I've found none that have asked me whether I'd actually completed it.
We are elitist a bit because we are internalist, comparitive, and competitive. We like to know things, and know that we know things. We also tend to underplay the importance of social skills.
I find that even if you are an engineer's engineer, that the term is pretty flexible anyway. My automotive engineering job mostly revolves around meetings, issues, design and test oversight, and project management. I do everything from organizing vehicle builds to strategizing on how to save money on parts design to chasing financial account numbers around these days.
I'd consider the designers / CAD jockey's etc. more closely related to what I thought engineering would be like. We have design engineers, test engineers, validation engineers, software engineers, calibration engineers, noise/vibration/harshness engineers, manufacturing engineers, packaging engineers, chemical engineers, etc. and that's all under the automotive biz market.
Engineers are still somewhat in demand, but the fields are so grotesquely specialized that transfer becomes more difficult.
Definitely IET.
{Boredom Alert}
There was once the IEE (Institute of Electrical Engineers), which was a British based world organisation that represented (surprise, surprise) us engineers of an electrical persuasion. This shouldn't be confused with the now much larger IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers) that began in the US and is a far bigger institution with greater scope and worldwide influence. Must be that extra 'E'.
Anyway, the IEE was responsible for the Charter status in the UK (under the auspicises of the Engineering Council). However, the IEE entered negotiations with some other UK institutions of a technological nature to merge. They did so and now they're the IET...
{Stand Down Boredom Alert}
anyone out there know what goes on with architectural engineers? my no. 3 son is leaning in the direction of architecture. I'm afraid there are mostly out- of-work architects, or HVAC seems to be the only area of need.
Engineers and doctors are the most prized professionals in India. If you're an engineer or a doctor, then you get huge dowry. Some prefer engineers to doctors. Don't know why.
Well, moom - there's your answer! Go to India and get married!
If you pick the right religion you can even have a handful of wives.
Well there's piping design in everything from wellfields to nuclear plants.
Specialties like stresscrete, composites, foamed metals.
Careers the like of code compliance, beautification, retrofitting and upgrading of existing structures.
Everywhere you go in the world, from Africa to the United States, including all countries and continents between, your doctor will be from India. Don't know why.
Except in the military medical system. I have mostly American men. In the hospital I had women from Haiti, an intern and nurses checking up on me.
thanks for that halfsure sounds incredibly boring...
NP. Be advised that everywhere, lawyers are having fun.
Indian doctors are a product of their good education system.
The word engineer is derived from the Latin 'ingeniosus', meaning skilled. Absolutely nothing to do with engines.
I admire your diligence in pointing that out, both incorrectly and 16 months late.
Engineer, as a word in English, has been around since 1325, I believe, when it was coined to denote one who constructed, operated or tended an engine (usually a military device, known then as an engine, as were most machines).
That word was derived from an earlier French word, engignëor (Modern French ingénieur) , in turn derived from the Latin ingeniare or ingenium... meaning ( nature, innate quality; natural disposition; trick, clever device), derived in turn from the Indo-European root genə.
That root (genə) also gives us words like Genesis, Kin, King, Genus, Genera, Gonad, Gonorrhoea and a slew of other words relevant to the procreative process.
I'd be inclined to accept the OED over spiritus-temporis.com, when it comes to etymology.
Right. So, although the term engineer may have come about during the middle ages for somebody who constructed 'military engines', it has nothing to do with engines in the modern sense. The word 'engineer' to describe 'inventor, designer' is apparently recorded from c1420.
The point is that the profession of engineer is very well established, and the word has only relatively recently started being tacked on to all manner of job titles. It makes sense to me that the term engineer is protected by legislation in the UK as are other professional titles such as architect, solicitor, doctor etc. This would bring us in line with a good many other countries, and ensure that those who do business with engineers know that they are dealing with suitably trained, experienced and competent professionals.
There's probably a point to the argument but engineer is still used on ships to signify the operator of the engines. In the metal fabrication business it refers to a metal artificer (someone who does the actual building).
I think the current solution (which sets out whether the appellation is applicable to a mechanical, electrical, electronic, aeronautical, maritime, aerospace, civil, automotive or some other sort of engineer) is probably the best solution for an occupation with a very broad definition.
I'm not even going to deal with silly neologistic usages such as "domestic engineer". It's up there with "Barrack room lawyer" and "spin doctor", in my jaundiced view.
In Europe, the term Engineer was still respected. I'm not so sure it is (or ever was, much) in the UK - I mean, the last "proper" Engineer who I can recall (and whom I'd have any respect for) was named Isambard.
I refer to myself as a Software Mechanic, but few people smile at that.
Perhaps you could refer to yourself as a "Panic Mechanic". That would get a few smiles of recognition from the older generation, at least.
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