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> As a Canadian engineer, I've always found what exactly a UK engineer is somewhat murky. Growing up, if someone told me their father was an engineer I would ne
by ardy42 6y ago
> As a Canadian engineer, I've always found what exactly a UK engineer is somewhat murky. Growing up, if someone told me their father was an engineer I would never think working class. I've lived in Germany too and having an engineering degree was a big deal there, so I know it isn't a European thing, well at least pre-Brexit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer#UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer#UK:
> In the UK, "engineering" has more recently been erroneously styled as an industrial sector consisting of employers and employees loosely termed "engineers" who include tradespeople. However, knowledgeable practitioners reserve the term "engineer" to describe a university-educated professional of ingenuity represented by the Chartered (or Incorporated) Engineer qualifications.[23] A large proportion of the UK public incorrectly thinks of "engineers" as skilled tradespeople or even semi-skilled tradespeople with a high school education. Also, many UK skilled and semi-skilled tradespeople falsely style themselves as "engineers". This has created confusion in the eyes of some members of the public in understanding what professional engineers actually do, from fixing car engines, television sets and refrigerators (technicians, handymen) to designing and managing the development of aircraft, spacecraft, power stations, infrastructure and other complex technological systems (engineers).[citation needed]
It kinda sounds like "engineer" in UK usage encompasses might roles that I'd call "technicians" as an American.
- mc32 6y agoThere was a time in the US when blue collar jobs tried to spruce things up a bit by adding the term engineer somewhere. Garbage worker became sanitation engineer (not the people engineering separation of recyclables, etc., but your neighborhood garbage truck driver, got example).
- worik 6y agoHurumph How many people here call themselves "software engineers" when they never went to engineering school?
- sjburt 6y agoSanitation engineer was always a joke, I think. But engineer also referred to train operators and the third crew position on an airliner is typically a "flight engineer" so there is something there.