Why being an Engineer means nothing in this country

After reading the entire thread up to now it seems either people support what I am saying or people are calling me an ignorant and bigoted snob who thinks he's knows a thing or two because he’s a graduate.

Although, the opening post of mine may have come down harsh, I still stand by my words. But at the same time I respect all the plumbers, electricians, mechanics because without them the designs will not have been deployed into households. Fair do's.

But all those people arguing otherwise, do you not think a Sky Installation man calling himself an engineer is a bit far fetched? I could just leave it at that and have the last laugh when it comes down to me describing to the Sky man how the satellite transmits and receives data which I would have learnt from Engineering. But, then, when will this stop if people who are unhappy don't act?

Would you honestly call Isambard Kingdom Brunel a technician? No, he was an Engineer. Just like many other people who are working toward that status.
 
Seeing as this is a thread about engineering, anyone heard any good/bad information on strathclyde or glasgow university for mechanical engineering? I've applied to do masters at both and had an unconditional from glasgow and should get one from strathclyde too, both are accredited and seem pretty good from what I've read though is either got more pros/cons?
 
-Ad- said:
Hehe Bell :D:D:D

My point is just the overuse of installers and technicians being called engineers, and now even less skilled people chiefing the name. There are plenty of very skilled and experienced engineers out there that don't have a degree but have worked in the industry for years, have some qualifications, but learned an awful lot about their area through experience. Kudos to them, I'm just a snotty grad as some people would say :D
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:)

Tbh I never cared about the title only what I'm being paid. For the money they pay me they can call me the lord air marshall of puke and poo for all I care.

The wages you get paid will determine how important you are in your field. That's all I care about really in relation to title.
 
Technicians of all sorts are improtant jobs.....but you aren't engineers. It really is like calling a medical doctor a nurse.

I did mechanical engineering for a year before changing to manufacturing. When I told people what I did many said "Oh cool, we need car mechanics".

No-one knows what we really are.............that is what is frustrating. None of this I > U.

I have heard bin men called refuse technicians often, once I even heard them called refuse engineers!
The teso in-store technician is referred to by some as the in-store engineer....wtf?!
 
Aero said:
/rant

Quite possibily imho the most moronic post in this thread. What does this add to the thread? Its just a personal jibe. I also work in highways and am titled as an engineer. Doesn't mean to say I go and fix pot holes all day. There so much more work involved. You probably have no idea of the effort and work that goes into making this countrys roads safe and idiot proof for people like you.

I also believe that this country is loosing its identity by the throwing out of titles to improve the way people view themselves. Keep the standard job titles if people don't like their job then its reason for them to better themselves to get a different job. This country gives up far to easily in my opinion.

/rant

Aero
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Lol the point I was trying to make with that post was that people's perceptions of what engineers do for a living does matter. My reply (which is, as you point out, moronic) was in response to someone claiming to be a consultant highways engineer (or something). This should be regarded as a high-value profession, yet thanks to the way engineering is devalued in this country, the vast majority of the population will probably think that filling in pot-holes is exactly what this guy does.

This happens in other aspects of engineering too - mechanical engineers asked to repair cars for example.
 
Ricochet J said:
After reading the entire thread up to now it seems either people support what I am saying or people are calling me an ignorant and bigoted snob who thinks he's knows a thing or two because he’s a graduate.

Although, the opening post of mine may have come down harsh, I still stand by my words. But at the same time I respect all the plumbers, electricians, mechanics because without them the designs will not have been deployed into households. Fair do's.

But all those people arguing otherwise, do you not think a Sky Installation man calling himself an engineer is a bit far fetched? I could just leave it at that and have the last laugh when it comes down to me describing to the Sky man how the satellite transmits and receives data which I would have learnt from Engineering. But, then, when will this stop if people who are unhappy don't act?

Would you honestly call Isambard Kingdom Brunel a technician? No, he was an Engineer. Just like many other people who are working toward that status.
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But you are not doing a degree to become an "engineer" your doing a degree in engineering to become a "something"-engineer so surely that is the term that you would want protecting?

As i said before surely an engineer is not a title but just the name used to describe a member of staff who is trained in their field of expertise?
 
Kappa said:
Im going to go ahead and say that Uni isnt hard work. It shouldnt be, if you love it then its not hard. If you find it hard, quit being a ponce because its really not. :p
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One can get so caught up with achieving marks that it can be challenging to sit back and enjoy the course you are doing. Sadly it's all about getting marks and passing exams, and you try to leisurely absorb the subject matter when it is possible.
 
WillyNelson said:
Do you mean people who arent qualified medical doctors claiming to be (which is illegal) or are you differentiating between a medical doctor and a doctor of chemistry or theology?
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Whilst the title Dr is assigned to doctors by the GMC, it isn't strictly accurate, and is a historic hang-up. They're physicians not teachers which is what doctor means from the Latin. Their profession is doctor, not their title. Alas.

D.P. said:
This annoys me as well. I much prefer to call them medical practitioners to distinguish the much more demanding Doctorates.
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Exactly.
 
Thing is, iirc, the OP doesn't actually have his degree yet. One could argue that these so called 'engineers' he slates so much are more qualified than he is. ;)
 
Hatter The Mad said:
"Engineer" isn't a protected title. It is equivalent to "technician". It doesn't mean that a nuclear plant technician is equivalent to a technician at PC Store's repair shop, though.
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God i hope not, especially going by how much the purple shirt brigade know about their subject :D
 
I dont know where people got the idea from that in ordered to become a chartered engineer you just need to tick a few boxes and cough up some cash. It take a lot of hard work and experience to become a chartered member of an organisation such as the IChemE.
I used to care about this subject too, but after 4.5 years of working since graduation, it doesnt matter what you are called. I work with some people who have just graduated with Phd's who are older than me and I still get to tell them what to do. Its all about experience, skill, personality and team work that gets you places, not a title.
 
Lets be clear if you went to a hospital and the person treating you called themselves a doctor but had never done a degree in medicine and was in fact a nurse it would matter.

But somehow the same doesn't apply for engineering.

Job title inflation undermines the genuine value of skilled labour. The technician class in this country has been thoroughly undermined by everyone calling themselves an engineer. I work with many highly skilled highly experienced technicians without whom I couldn't do my job but they wouldn't call themselves engineers. They understand and appreciate the differences even if the rest of this ignorant country doesn't.

Titles matter, and where possible they should be accurate.

When I get my next promotion and my job title changes people in my industry will have clear understanding of my experience, responsibility and skill and they will expect a certain level of ability from me and treat me appropriately.

Someone planning and overseeing large complex tasks involving indepth technical knowledge, deep general understanding and significant responsibilty shouldn't share titles with people that fit and repair standard components using standard techniques. It misleads people, or rather it should if people weren't ignorant of what an engineer is.
 
This thread makes me :(
Out of interest, how sucsessful/easy is it to get into the financial sector with an engineering degree, am doing aerospace systems, but not enjoying it.
Looking at getting a first class BEng, judging by the work I do, I'd say its quite likely, systems, group project/management, mathematics modelling, all seem relevant.
Plus I do most of girlfriend's Accounting and Finance degree work for her :p
Anyone experience in this?
 
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