Engineer

[sphinxbait]

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been in touch with a lot of professional computer people. From coders to sysadmins. A common thread that seems to come up is a bit of drama around the title of "Engineer

Comments

[shockwave77598]

What is the difference between a doctor and an engineer?

A doctor's mistake can only kill one person.

At the same time though, I don't have my PE, much as I want to get it. I may pursue it again in the future, but I don't need it for my job and it's too difficult to get it once you are established in life. If I can impart no other bit of hard-won wisdom to you, it would be to take the FE exam as soon after school as you can. The knowledge will be fresh in your mind, and you won't have RL preventing you from preparing for it. Cost and schedule be damned - make it happen.

[acidchylde]

I wholeheartedly agree with this. For me, it's 'architect'. I get so tired of false hits in job searches for network architect or software architect. And the list keeps growing - computer, database, systems.

[atikawolfe]

You're forgetting one thing, though. In the I.T. world, it's System "Engineers" that actually build the machines that System "Administrators", well, ADMINISTER. That's one major distinction between and MCSE and an MCSA.

[sphinxbait]

I will admit, I am not entirely familiar with the entire breadth of IT jobs. So, it was a bit of a poor example to pick on them.

I would hope though that IT engineers have far more qualifications/rigorous training than other IT guys.

I was more trying to point out that electrical engineer != electrician. Computer engineer != code monkey (generally). The engineering title usually denotes a far deeper experience/understanding of the material than a "technician" job would.

[crankycoyote]

Both of which are a joke relative to what I'd consider to be real engineering - they're vendor-specific certifications that don't, in my experience, mean much more than being skilled with a particular set of Microsoft tools and knowing how to do things the Microsoft Way. In fact, I'd venture to say that adding an "Engineer" tag on to that certification is precisely the kind of cheapening of the meaning of engineering that he was talking about.

[crankycoyote]

I think the thing you touch on too lightly is the importance of having a generally accepted code of ethics as part of being a professional. In my mind, this is what you need to be a professional (this includes engineers, doctors, lawyers, architects, etc

[laken_steeljaw]

My original job title was ACSE- Associate Customer Service Engineer. My company recently changed it to AFLT (Associate First Line Technician) which is a much better fit. I always thought using "Engineer" was a cheap shot, and degraded folk in serious schooling such as yourself. After all, I sport a high school diploma and a year of art school, I REALLY don't think I deserve the title Engineer.

[sphinxbait]

Again, the "engineer" argument isn't so much "I did more than you"... "I was trained more" Would be a more appropriate argument.

Really think that plenty of cert programs are worth their weight, but I can't think of a certification (without some schooling degree behind it) worthy of being called "engineer".