Realised something. Engineering anyone?

[Duality]

Seems we're a good deal of engineers here. Coincidence? 

 

I'm personally an Industrial Engineer working in the quality assurance field right now getting my Quality Assurance Engineering degree trough work (yay free studies!)

[I-Jo]

It is a nerd forum.  

 

but that being said- my sportbike forum is full of engineering types too.  We like our toys

[bigm141414]

Nah engineering and the sciences tend to collect a lot of nerd types. But luckily we have a very diverse community 

 

 

Myself, I am an Electrical Engineer by training working in IC Validation (fancy way of saying I get to try and blow up microchips for a living). Also going for a Systems Engineering masters as well. 

[Duality]

Nah engineering and the sciences tend to collect a lot of nerd types. But luckily we have a very diverse community 

 

 

Myself, I am an Electrical Engineer by training working in IC Validation (fancy way of saying I get to try and blow up microchips for a living). Also going for a Systems Engineering masters as well. 

sounds exiting ! I want to blow up things!

[Grizzy]

Heh, computer science here, but not quite on the engineering side. I can still geek out pretty hard though.

[JonDixonYT]

Civil Engineering degree but I do geotechnical engineering in real life, mostly in permafrost regions.  Sometimes, when trying to impress, I call myself a permafrost engineer, but I also play with unfrozen dirt.

[AnotherEpigone]

Computer Engineer here, working as a software developer. I feel just being in this profession qualifies you as a nerd.

[Tech_Hunter]

I am in IT staffing, and the more I speak to developers and analysts, the more I want to go back to school for some sort of computer science.  When I was in high school, the only class was basic.....and I did well.

 

I also spent hours doing basic programs on a TI-99/4A system for a poker game and "Mr. Bojangles" in the 80s....I LOVED doing that.  I just hated turning it off.

 

I think that makes me borderline geeky.

 

Not an engineer though.  I have several in my family, but that level of smart passed over me, sadly.

[Cruella T'Kill]

I'm a mechanical engineer and work in industrial construction.  It's actually fairly enjoyable because all projects are different, so it's like a new job every 6-18 months!

[Max Power]

I'm a geologist, we're sort of the antithesis of engineers.

[Waldo]

I"m a Civil Engineer technically, though in practice I'm more of a general/aviation engineer.

 

Biological (physiologial) engineer as a hobby, specializing in biomathematics.

[JonDixonYT]

I'm a geologist, we're sort of the antithesis of engineers.

You should see some of the looks I get from geologists when I say, "I only drill 10 feet into rock then stop.  If its rock its good enough to build on."

 

This of course only really applies buried rock that isn't complete garbage.

[KingZora]

I am a Software Engineer... which is sort of a soft science, but I still consider myself an engineer.  Though I have a lot of friends in hard science engineering fields that like to disagree.

[bigm141414]

I am a Software Engineer... which is sort of a soft science, but I still consider myself an engineer.  Though I have a lot of friends in hard science engineering fields that like to disagree.

 

 

As a hard science engineer, I consider software engineers actual engineers, I can't understand half the stuff y'all talk about and can probably only do a quarter of the stuff I do understand. 

[JonDixonYT]

I am a Software Engineer... which is sort of a soft science, but I still consider myself an engineer.  Though I have a lot of friends in hard science engineering fields that like to disagree.

I think the resistance is the old guard doing their best to keep the club as exclusive as possible ("soon we'll be licensing domestic engineers!").  I also think that if you are doing all the things that and engineer does (duty of care, ethics etc.) then I'm alright with it.

 

I do wonder who signs the designs for software, and who signed off on the design for Windows XP and if that person still has a license. 

[bigm141414]

I think the resistance is the old guard doing their best to keep the club as exclusive as possible ("soon we'll be licensing domestic engineers!").  I also think that if you are doing all the things that and engineer does (duty of care, ethics etc.) then I'm alright with it.

 

I do wonder who signs the designs for software, and who signed off on the design for Windows XP and if that person still has a license. 

 

 

There are places where you don't have to be licenced to use the engineer title. Texas for instance does not require licensing (PE/EIT) to be considered an engineer in anything outside of construction/civil engineering. Which is a shame because trying to get your PE in a non civil type job sucks. My company employees 15,000 people and yet only 12 of them are PEs. So much for having someone vouch for my work. 

[KingZora]

I think the resistance is the old guard doing their best to keep the club as exclusive as possible ("soon we'll be licensing domestic engineers!").  I also think that if you are doing all the things that and engineer does (duty of care, ethics etc.) then I'm alright with it.

 

I do wonder who signs the designs for software, and who signed off on the design for Windows XP and if that person still has a license. 

There is no licensing process for software engineers...   

[Waldo]

There are places where you don't have to be licenced to use the engineer title. Texas for instance does not require licensing (PE/EIT) to be considered an engineer in anything outside of construction/civil engineering. Which is a shame because trying to get your PE in a non civil type job sucks. My company employees 15,000 people and yet only 12 of them are PEs. So much for having someone vouch for my work. 

 

Same problem I have.  Though in my job a stamp is useless and almost counterproductive (I would absolutely never stamp a set of drawings and accept the liability if I didn't have to).  Still it is nice to go get the PE.  But I've only ever worked under a PE for a short time and never really had a PE check my work.  Really just need to wait out the 15 years (I believe) of job experience (4 more to go) before I go and test for it.  Have an EIT though.

 

Though aviation is kind of its own world only vaguely related to the rest of the construction world.  We have our own set of codes and design criteria, and really the state level (those who liscense engineers) have nothing to do with it.

[JonDixonYT]

There are places where you don't have to be licenced to use the engineer title. Texas for instance does not require licensing (PE/EIT) to be considered an engineer in anything outside of construction/civil engineering. Which is a shame because trying to get your PE in a non civil type job sucks. My company employees 15,000 people and yet only 12 of them are PEs. So much for having someone vouch for my work. 

 

 

There is no licensing process for software engineers...   

 

 

Same problem I have.  Though in my job a stamp is useless and almost counterproductive (I would absolutely never stamp a set of drawings and accept the liability if I didn't have to).  Still it is nice to go get the PE.  But I've only ever worked under a PE for a short time and never really had a PE check my work.  Really just need to wait out the 15 years (I believe) of job experience (4 more to go) before I go and test for it.  Have an EIT though.

 

Though aviation is kind of its own world only vaguely related to the rest of the construction world.  We have our own set of codes and design criteria, and really the state level (those who liscense engineers) have nothing to do with it.

Canada is more strict regarding use of the title, which I am ok with, to be honest.  If you aren't registered (either as an MIT (member in training for all those geohallucinogenists) or as a professional) then you can't use the title.  The idea behind it is that the public is supposed to be able to trust a person that calls them self an engineer, so by requiring that they are licensed, we can check to see if they have the required training and it also allows us to discipline those engineers that break the code of ethics or bylaws, etc.  Its not a perfect system (just look at all the business happening in Montreal) but I think it'd be tough to find one that was.

[Waldo]

Canada is more strict regarding use of the title, which I am ok with, to be honest.  If you aren't registered (either as an MIT (member in training for all those geohallucinogenists) or as a professional) then you can't use the title.  The idea behind it is that the public is supposed to be able to trust a person that calls them self an engineer, so by requiring that they are licensed, we can check to see if they have the required training and it also allows us to discipline those engineers that break the code of ethics or bylaws, etc.  Its not a perfect system (just look at all the business happening in Montreal) but I think it'd be tough to find one that was.

In my case it really is a federal-state issue. The codes and standards I follow do not exist at the state level whatsoever. In the US the federal gov't has no hand in Engineer liscensing. The Army guys are starting to require PE's (they do a lot of work off base and off federal lands), but they have enough of them, especially in mgmt, that you can actually get one if you work for the Army. Not the case with us; they couldn't require PE's as noone can get one since there aren't enough to meet the work under a PE rule. The feds accept the risk instead of the engineers (hence no need for a stamp).

Were they to require liscensing it would also mean paying for a liscense and continuing education; that sort of frivolous spending has long ago been cut from the fed budget (hell we're lucky we have phones and power at this point). To have a federal level do their own liscensing would absolutely not be possible in the US political climate, that would not play well on Faux and the Right would never allow it.

[JonDixonYT]

In my case it really is a federal-state issue. The codes and standards I follow do not exist at the state level whatsoever. In the US the federal gov't has no hand in Engineer liscensing. The Army guys are starting to require PE's (they do a lot of work off base and off federal lands), but they have enough of them, especially in mgmt, that you can actually get one if you work for the Army. Not the case with us; they couldn't require PE's as noone can get one since there aren't enough to meet the work under a PE rule. The feds accept the risk instead of the engineers (hence no need for a stamp). Were they to require liscensing it would also mean paying for a liscence and continuing education; that sort of frivolous spending has long ago been cut from the fed budget. To have a federal level liscencing would absolutely not be possible in the US political climate, that would not play well on Faux and the Right would never allow it, they currently control the House and thus the budget (or lack thereof).

Yeah, we are controlled at the provincial/territorial level here as well - each province/territory has an Engineer's Act which has all the rules and such surrounding Engineering and who can and cannot call themselves an Engineer, gives the Association of Professional Engineers/Geoscientists the power to self-regulate, etc.  Its ultimately a matter of semantics (unless there is a requirement for stamps, normally dictated by the gov, municipal, provincial/territorial or federal).

 

But if the Feds are fine to accept the liability, then that is fine.  That is really what you ultimately pay a P. Eng. to do, accept that liability. I know that here, as soon as you are licensed, then whether you stamp something or not, you can be found/held liable just by having your name on it.

[Waldo]

 

Yeah, we are controlled at the provincial/territorial level here as well - each province/territory has an Engineer's Act which has all the rules and such surrounding Engineering and who can and cannot call themselves an Engineer, gives the Association of Professional Engineers/Geoscientists the power to self-regulate, etc.  Its ultimately a matter of semantics (unless there is a requirement for stamps, normally dictated by the gov, municipal, provincial/territorial or federal).

 

But if the Feds are fine to accept the liability, then that is fine.  That is really what you ultimately pay a P. Eng. to do, accept that liability. I know that here, as soon as you are licensed, then whether you stamp something or not, you can be found/held liable just by having your name on it.

That's really what the stamp is all about, who gets sued in court if things go wrong. If you aren't using your stamp, it is merely a ceremonial title.

Would be nice to have the framed piece of paper though.

Is Canadian airspace/aiport design maintained at the provincial/territorial level? Would be odd to not govern it strictly under a federal umbrella.

I wonder if NASA has the same issue in the US; work that is irrelevent to States or having a stamp, requiring engineering, and unique enough that straight out of college engineers are preferred to established engineers since each requires just as much training; fresh out of college comes with less baggage.

[JonDixonYT]

 

That's really what the stamp is all about, who gets sued in court if things go wrong. If you aren't using your stamp, it is merely a ceremonial title.

Would be nice to have the framed piece of paper though.

Is Canadian airspace/aiport design maintained at the provincial/territorial level? Would be odd to not govern it strictly under a federal umbrella.

I've only ever been on the periphery of airport design, but my understanding is that the are specifications/design codes that are perpared by the Feds that the P. Eng. who completes the design follows.  That P. Eng. must be registered in whichever province the airport/facility is in.

 

So, for example, if I were to complete a foundation design for a hanger, it would have to meet the national standards set out by the regulators and I would have to be a registered professional engineer in which ever jurisdiction the hanger is to be constructed.

 

We actually have a mobility agreement between all the jurisdictions though, so if you are licensed in one province, you can get a license in any province, you just have to apply and pay your dues.  My feeling is that its a precursor towards a national license, although I'm not convinced that is a great plan, to be honest.  We are in the process now of putting out a frame work to bring some consistency into the language of the Act of each jurisdiction.  Its a huge undertaking, and we only have 12 jurisdictions.  I can't imagine what would happen if you tried that in the states. 

[Gainsdalf the Whey]

Mechanical engineer here working in project management for communications equipment. Boo, hiss, boring EE stuff that I understand nothing about and just shuffle papers, do the management side.  I miss being technical... My last job I actually got to design mechanical components, prepare engineering drawings, and do fun 3D modeling and sim. Too bad North Jersey is a suburb of NYC and 3 times the price for the same exact house compared to where I am now in DE.

[Cruella T'Kill]

I got my PEng quite quickly after I graduated.  I was lucky that I had work experience from an internship that counted and my job right out of uni was under the supervision of another PEng.  Plus all my dues and costs were covered by my company, so it seemed silly not to do it.  Never really found a need for it in my line of work though, it was just something fancy that meant they had to pay me more  I haven't really found the need to make the transfer when I started working here in Australia either.  My stamp is gathering dust in a box somewhere now....

 

Mechanical engineer here working in project management for communications equipment. Boo, hiss, boring EE stuff that I understand nothing about and just shuffle papers, do the management side.  I miss being technical... My last job I actually got to design mechanical components, prepare engineering drawings, and do fun 3D modeling and sim. Too bad North Jersey is a suburb of NYC and 3 times the price for the same exact house compared to where I am now in DE.

 

I get to play with AutoCAD so much these days!  Definitely preferable to paper pushing and babysitting.....