6 ms·

What's the definition for engineer? Anything that isn't software; ie electrical, mechanical, nuclear? Or does it just mean you passed the FE exam?

mmxmb 7y ago
I believe you need to get a Professional Engineer license in the province where you practice.
beagle3 7y ago
Professional licensing along the lines of architects amd doctors - i.e. board exams and long multiyear supervised internship by a senior licensed engineer. At least that's how it looked last time I checked.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
hashbig 7y ago
Usually it means you graduated with an accredited Engineering degree from university, and you are licensed by the regulatory body in your province to practice engineering. The laws differ from one province to another regarding what constitutes an Engineer.
etimberg 7y ago
Need a degree from an accredited school in engineering + pass the engineering licensing requirements. In Ontario, where I live, that means passing an ethics exam + some years of work that is overseen by someone with a P.Eng. The challenge in software is usually the last part.
- slimsag 7y ago
  Would this mean an engineer in the US who moves to Canada would not be able to practice without getting work accreditation and a license?
  - t- 7y ago
    If you work in tech writing software or building hardware this has no impact on you at all. You can still do the exact same stuff, you just can't have 'Engineer' in your title. This stuff only really comes into play for say civil engineers signing off on the final design of a project or a chemical engineer doing the same for some plant.
  - damian_brody 7y ago
    Yes, that's correct. Although is fairly easy to get accredited if you are a member in order of the state association of engineers.
    - TaylorAlexander 7y ago
      Well glad I live in California! I’m a college drop out and all self taught. Not a member of any associations. Happily doing lots of great engineering here in the states!
      - jedmeyers 7y ago
        But that’s not REAL engineering! You are only moving numbers around.
      - OJFord 7y ago
        I don't know the details for Canada specifically, but I doubt not having a degree precludes you from registration - generally having one just expedites it. I'd encourage you not to discount professional bodies as irrelevant, or incapable of becoming more relevant, our industry could benefit from it in many ways - perhaps most frequently on-topic on HN is the ethical and whistle-blowing aspect. Also plenty of professional development and networking, and that only improves as more people that get involved from different (or rather one's own specific) areas.
        ckcheng 7y ago
        Not having a degree precludes registration... in fact, the degree must be from an engineering society accredited program, to ensure you get enough hours in front of a P.Eng prof or lecturer, among other things, I think. One Canadian university's Comp Sci dept. started offering Software Engineering program one time and it ended up in a lawsuit the outcome of which is... complicated. Canada is, I feel, very... lot of red tape. The traditional term "engineer" isn't even a very good description of software dev anyway. Software dev people should just make a new word up and abandon "Engineer".
- mosdl 7y ago
  How did the first engineer get accredited then? :)
  - afiori 7y ago
    He likely founded the association that sold accreditations.
- MR4D 7y ago
  Oddly, this doesn’t apply for the railroad. [0] [0] - https://www.canadianbusiness.com/lists-and-rankings/best-jobs/locomotive-engineer/ https://www.canadianbusiness.com/lists-and-rankings/best-job...
  - johnwalkr 7y ago
    It does apply to the railroad in general but there are a few job titles grandfathered in that don't require a P. Eng. such as locomotive engineer (the other common one is power engineer) because those job titles were used before the engineering regulations existed and the job descriptions don't match the modern definition of engineering in Canada. For engineering disciplines in the railroad industry such as structural, mechanical and electrical, a P. Eng. is indeed required.
allo37 7y ago
I'm not 100% sure about the rest of Canada, but in Quebec: If you pay a yearly fee to be a member of the professional order of engineers, you can call yourself an engineer. Sure, you have to have minimum a bachelor's from an accredited Canadian university, pass an ethics exam, and have supervised experience (or prove that you obtained the equivalent) to join in the first place, but if you don't pay the yearly fee you can only call yourself a "holder of an engineering degree".
heavyset_go 7y ago
A license, which sometimes requires a degree from an accredited engineering department.

mmxmb 7y ago

I believe you need to get a Professional Engineer license in the province where you practice.

beagle3 7y ago

Professional licensing along the lines of architects amd doctors - i.e. board exams and long multiyear supervised internship by a senior licensed engineer. At least that's how it looked last time I checked.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

hashbig 7y ago

Usually it means you graduated with an accredited Engineering degree from university, and you are licensed by the regulatory body in your province to practice engineering. The laws differ from one province to another regarding what constitutes an Engineer.

etimberg 7y ago

Need a degree from an accredited school in engineering + pass the engineering licensing requirements. In Ontario, where I live, that means passing an ethics exam + some years of work that is overseen by someone with a P.Eng. The challenge in software is usually the last part.

slimsag 7y ago
Would this mean an engineer in the US who moves to Canada would not be able to practice without getting work accreditation and a license?
- t- 7y ago
  If you work in tech writing software or building hardware this has no impact on you at all. You can still do the exact same stuff, you just can't have 'Engineer' in your title. This stuff only really comes into play for say civil engineers signing off on the final design of a project or a chemical engineer doing the same for some plant.
- damian_brody 7y ago
  Yes, that's correct. Although is fairly easy to get accredited if you are a member in order of the state association of engineers.
  - TaylorAlexander 7y ago
    Well glad I live in California! I’m a college drop out and all self taught. Not a member of any associations. Happily doing lots of great engineering here in the states!
    - jedmeyers 7y ago
      But that’s not REAL engineering! You are only moving numbers around.
    - OJFord 7y ago
      I don't know the details for Canada specifically, but I doubt not having a degree precludes you from registration - generally having one just expedites it. I'd encourage you not to discount professional bodies as irrelevant, or incapable of becoming more relevant, our industry could benefit from it in many ways - perhaps most frequently on-topic on HN is the ethical and whistle-blowing aspect. Also plenty of professional development and networking, and that only improves as more people that get involved from different (or rather one's own specific) areas.
      - ckcheng 7y ago
        Not having a degree precludes registration... in fact, the degree must be from an engineering society accredited program, to ensure you get enough hours in front of a P.Eng prof or lecturer, among other things, I think. One Canadian university's Comp Sci dept. started offering Software Engineering program one time and it ended up in a lawsuit the outcome of which is... complicated. Canada is, I feel, very... lot of red tape. The traditional term "engineer" isn't even a very good description of software dev anyway. Software dev people should just make a new word up and abandon "Engineer".
mosdl 7y ago
How did the first engineer get accredited then? :)
- afiori 7y ago
  He likely founded the association that sold accreditations.
MR4D 7y ago
Oddly, this doesn’t apply for the railroad. [0] [0] - https://www.canadianbusiness.com/lists-and-rankings/best-jobs/locomotive-engineer/ https://www.canadianbusiness.com/lists-and-rankings/best-job...
- johnwalkr 7y ago
  It does apply to the railroad in general but there are a few job titles grandfathered in that don't require a P. Eng. such as locomotive engineer (the other common one is power engineer) because those job titles were used before the engineering regulations existed and the job descriptions don't match the modern definition of engineering in Canada. For engineering disciplines in the railroad industry such as structural, mechanical and electrical, a P. Eng. is indeed required.

allo37 7y ago

I'm not 100% sure about the rest of Canada, but in Quebec: If you pay a yearly fee to be a member of the professional order of engineers, you can call yourself an engineer. Sure, you have to have minimum a bachelor's from an accredited Canadian university, pass an ethics exam, and have supervised experience (or prove that you obtained the equivalent) to join in the first place, but if you don't pay the yearly fee you can only call yourself a "holder of an engineering degree".

heavyset_go 7y ago

A license, which sometimes requires a degree from an accredited engineering department.