4 ms·

Don't engineers have engineering degrees or else have some other sort of credentials?

by tengbretson 5y ago

thrwyoilarticle 5y ago
I do have an electronic engineering degree.
Mikeb85 5y ago
They're supposed to. Do all 'software engineers' have professional engineer credentials? Probably not.
ku-man 5y ago
That was the case until the 2000's. Nowadays, if you can tweak a wordpress website you are an "engineer"
atoav 5y ago
I have a MA of fine Arts. And a certification to do work on the German electrical grid. I also am the best programmer in the whole IT department and the only one who has no CS background.
- swader999 5y ago
  That's more common than you think. A respectable company Thoughtworks hired this way and boot camped and mentored people well the first couple years of their careers. I always like looking at the code and working with projects from their teams. Communication, working nicely with others, humility and the soft skills help you build a network so that when you need help you don't spin your wheels. The bigO crowd will disagree but even the hard core comp sci types will go much further with real soft skills.
- ku-man 5y ago
  So, you consider yourself an engineer then. How are your partial differential equations modeling skills? did you enjoy your strength of materials course?
Epenthesis 5y ago
It is a protected title in Canada, requiring a license, but not in the United States. In the US, the title "Professional Engineer" is roughly equivalent and similarly requires a license.
- fsckboy 5y ago
  adding to what you said, in the US the requirements of a professional engineering license varies by state; but there has also been recent litigation and a court has ruled that having a degree from an engineering school in an engineering discipline entitles one to use the term https://reason.com/2019/01/02/judge-confirms-that-oregon-engineer-has/ https://reason.com/2019/01/02/judge-confirms-that-oregon-eng... the reason for the requirement and confusion is essentially building codes and other government regulations: if you want to build or repair a building, you need to hire people to certify the work as meeting building codes; those people need licenses. But at the same time, a company can hire a bunch of fresh engineering graduates to work a such a project and not every one of them needs a license. Unfortunately, we just have the one word engineer that applies to both. "Licensed engineer" would be a clearer distinction than "Professional engineer"
k__ 5y ago
I do, but I had the impression that those are a bit expensive in other countries.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
swader999 5y ago
The thinking in Canada is that engineer brings with it liability for the work so programmers don't use it here. It offends engineers if you use that word in your title. The only exception I've seen is electrical engineers that of course have a fair bit of coding. But I don't think I've seen them really use it much in their programming job descriptions even though they wear the engineering ring.

Don't engineers have engineering degrees or else have some other sort of credentials?

thrwyoilarticle 5y ago

I do have an electronic engineering degree.

Mikeb85 5y ago

They're supposed to. Do all 'software engineers' have professional engineer credentials? Probably not.

ku-man 5y ago

That was the case until the 2000's. Nowadays, if you can tweak a wordpress website you are an "engineer"

atoav 5y ago

I have a MA of fine Arts. And a certification to do work on the German electrical grid. I also am the best programmer in the whole IT department and the only one who has no CS background.

swader999 5y ago
That's more common than you think. A respectable company Thoughtworks hired this way and boot camped and mentored people well the first couple years of their careers. I always like looking at the code and working with projects from their teams. Communication, working nicely with others, humility and the soft skills help you build a network so that when you need help you don't spin your wheels. The bigO crowd will disagree but even the hard core comp sci types will go much further with real soft skills.
ku-man 5y ago
So, you consider yourself an engineer then. How are your partial differential equations modeling skills? did you enjoy your strength of materials course?

Epenthesis 5y ago

It is a protected title in Canada, requiring a license, but not in the United States. In the US, the title "Professional Engineer" is roughly equivalent and similarly requires a license.

fsckboy 5y ago
adding to what you said, in the US the requirements of a professional engineering license varies by state; but there has also been recent litigation and a court has ruled that having a degree from an engineering school in an engineering discipline entitles one to use the term https://reason.com/2019/01/02/judge-confirms-that-oregon-engineer-has/ https://reason.com/2019/01/02/judge-confirms-that-oregon-eng... the reason for the requirement and confusion is essentially building codes and other government regulations: if you want to build or repair a building, you need to hire people to certify the work as meeting building codes; those people need licenses. But at the same time, a company can hire a bunch of fresh engineering graduates to work a such a project and not every one of them needs a license. Unfortunately, we just have the one word engineer that applies to both. "Licensed engineer" would be a clearer distinction than "Professional engineer"

k__ 5y ago

I do, but I had the impression that those are a bit expensive in other countries.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

swader999 5y ago

The thinking in Canada is that engineer brings with it liability for the work so programmers don't use it here. It offends engineers if you use that word in your title. The only exception I've seen is electrical engineers that of course have a fair bit of coding. But I don't think I've seen them really use it much in their programming job descriptions even though they wear the engineering ring.