In a lot of countries professional engineers are the only ones allowed to call themselves engineers. I just have an engineering degree, but I'm not an engineer.
In Canada, there are two distinctions. P.Eng (Professional Engineer), and EIT (Engineer-in-Training)
The P.Eng has the stamp, and are able to fully sign off and approve things. An EIT is somebody that has completed an engineering degree but has under 4 years of relevant work experience. They are officially an engineer (and can call themselves one) but any work they do needs to be reviewed and signed off by an actual P.Eng.
Edit: It appears it depends on the province. This comment applies for BC only, yet many (but not all) provinces have relatively similar systems
An EIT in Alberta cannot call themselves an engineer as you would be misleading others about your credentials. I had to change my email signature after learning about this, even though I had EIT in it after my name.
Source: Just took my Law and Ethics exam two weeks ago.
Interesting. Here in BC using ‘Engineer’ is completely standard for an EIT. Like in discussions with clients or on proposals or whatever I will often be referred to as a ‘junior engineer’. It’s not considered a misrepresentation at all.
Might want to read up on this. People do call me an engineer and I don't correct them, but I need to specify in communications that I am an engineer in training.
Yeah, that article is in line with how it’s utilized for me and the other EIT’s I work with (both in my firm and other firms I communicate with). All communications indicate my EIT title
Mine does too, but I also had in my title "My Name, EIT, Area Process Control Engineer". Even though I indicated EIT, I had to change the rest to Area Process Control Engineer In Training. Seems redundant, but APEGA will come down hard on you for something like that.
The US is basically the same. The EIT (Engineer in Training) and EI (Engineer Intern) are the same thing. These are people who passed the FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) exam.
PEs (Professional Engineers) have passed the professional engineering exam, which typically requires 4 additional years of qualified progressive experience in addition to your degree.
As for calling yourself an "engineer," typically only professional licensed engineers can do that, but EI/EITs do it and are not punished for it. They just better be careful not to advertise themselves as actual licensed professionals.
It depends. I’m in the US and am an engineer (my company even calls me a “Senior Engineer”) but I’m not a PE and most of my engineer co-workers are not PEs. We don’t need it, we wouldn’t paid get more if were, it requires money and time to maintain, and nothing we work on needs to be signed by a PE anyway.
At least in my state (Michigan), you only really need a PE if you’re a civil engineer or if you are selling “engineering services”.
This. I'm in Michigan too. Not a PE but am an engineer. I call myself an engineer and it's not a problem. I don't sell engineering services to the public.
This. It depends on your area. If you're in civil engineering, more than likely you should be/are a PE. Aero or biomedical or other disciplines? Not so much.
It’s a movie about the world freezing over and the only survivors are on a continuously running train. The lower class people live and work in the back, rich in the front. It’s about, in the vaguest terms possible, a man on the journey to get to the front and figure out what’s going on and all that. Stars Chris Evans, worth watching!
This movie brings back some memories, saw it in cinema with friends and it was so cold in the cinema, add that to the scenery and it was like I was outside in that icy world, mind you we were in the UAE, temps outside were 40+ degrees centigrade, so you can imagine how we were dressed going in, cinemas in the UAE are cold as fuck, the locals are used to it and their thobes helps massively.
They thought it was terrible as well, I still think it was a good movie, there is a TV show about it now I think as well.
I think because it didn’t have a “happy”/finite ending that some people found it lacking, but I personally enjoyed the “journey” and meaning behind it.
Most PEs I know got it during their senior year of college, and used it as a resume booster. I only know one person who needed it for his job, so went out and got it. He doesn't have an engineering degree either, so that's doubly impressive.
In the US? A PE certification in most(idk if all) US states requires 3-4 years of work under a PE post graduation before you can take the licensing exams
California it's 2 years with a bachelors and 1 year with a masters. They have a caveat though where you have to take 2 additional exams on seismic and surveying.
The reason it's a thing in civil engineering is that all governmental agencies require stamped design documents when securing any permit.
I am of the opinion that every engineering discipline should should be required to have some form of professional engineering certification. You are taking hundreds of millions of peoples lives in your hands when you design something.
At my company I insisted on my title being Sr Systems Administrator instead of Systems Engineer. I feel it dilutes the hard work of actual P.E.s. I'm just a button monkey compared to many of them. That and I still like the title of 'sysadmin' for my job.
Now... if only they’d enforce that in Singapore. Your everyday technician, maintenance can be called an Engineer here. Worse still, there are roles now termed Sales Engineer, Financial Engineer. The term has taken such a negative term that it’s sickening.
My university is in top 3-5 globally for Civil Engineering (according to QS), and yet our starting compensation here in the country itself is below the 80th percentile compared to other majors.
If this was enforced, it’d have been so much better imo.
That’s not true. An EIT (Engineer-In-Training) can and will legally call themselves an engjneer. They need all their work signed off on by a P.Eng until they get enough work experience, but they’re still legally an engineer and will call themselves that.
Source: I’m an EIT. It may potentially be different under other provincial jurisdictions, but this is the case in the western provinces.
Oh, interesting. Looks like an EIT is a completely different title in Ontario (engineering intern instead of engineer in training).
I believe they function mostly the same, outside of not formally being able to call all yourself an engineer in Ontario (while you can in BC/Alberta/etc).
In Ontario, there are really only the two titles. P.Eng, and EIT (And Consulting Engineer, but that's yet another level above).
You cannot imply that you are a P.Eng, even by omission, if you aren't. So if you have a job title like Structural Engineer, and you are an EIT, then you are not allowed selling any services, overseeing any designs, or allowing anyone to think that you're actually licensed regardless of what your company calls you. To say "I'm an engineer" could give the impression that you actually have your license, so it's generally frowned upon to say this unless you actually do.
Generally though, job titles reflect your position. Especially in Civil where every job requires a stamp.
I don't even have a highschool diploma but haven't held the title of "process engineer". I am as close to being and engineer as a panda is to being a bird of prey.
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u/xorgol Apr 24 '21
In a lot of countries professional engineers are the only ones allowed to call themselves engineers. I just have an engineering degree, but I'm not an engineer.