Attention engineers...What type are you and why?

[Ken Leung]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Phil,
Just because you do engineering work does not make you an engineer, Calling yourself an engineer gives others the wrong impression of your capabilities.

Indulge me for a second as I draw the example of becoming a doctor.

Becoming a doctor take many years. It is a long, arduous, expensive process that can only be accomplished with great dedication. Without going into full details let's take a look at the major obstacles:

1. High School -> college applications
2. College, pre-Med major -> Med school application/interview, MCAT
3. Medical school -> USMLE (part 1 taken in the 2nd year, part 2 taken in the 4th year)
4. Residency (internship) -> USMLE (part 3 taken in the first year of residency)
5. Medical License approved by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

Boy, just looking at the list give me a chill on my back. Also makes me pray my kids won't want to be a doctor...

It takes years of dedication for someone to become a doctor, in addition to the numerous tests and application processes. If some students come up to me and say, "I know how to cure a cold, I am a doctor now!", I would say, "Sorry kid, you have a long way to go."

Granted, human lives are at stake if you become a doctor, but isn't it the same for engineers? Depending on what our professions are, we may be responsible in building an apartment building, a car, a bridge, a satellite, a tank, or a computer. Many of our accomplishments involve protecting/improving human lives just like doctors. If we screw up, lives can be at stake.

I've always believed to gain a title, you have to earn it. Being an engineer tell us and the rest of the world that you've gone through the hardship to become one. It shows your dedication and expertise in the field you are in.

Does becoming an engineer means you know all there is to know about being one? No. Learning is a life long journey. There is never a point where you say, "I know enough. I don't need to learn anymore." There are times when you will be the first person to encounter a problem never faced by any human beings before. Do you call yourself an engineer after you know everything about that problem?

Becoming an engineer is a process. In the continuum between wanting to be one and finally becoming one is a point when we gain the title. A point that cannot be solely defined by how much you know, how smart you are, or how much experience you have.

Perhaps it can only be defined by the following incident:

During your engineering school, a spark suddenly lit off in your head, and you gain an epiphany of the grant scheme of engineering, it might be an equation or a philosophy, that enables you to solve any problems you may encounter in the future. Maybe that’s when people gain the invisible light bulb on top of their head. Or maybe that’s when your glasses reach a certain thickness .

Or maybe the truth is, during engineering school, you’ve memorized enough equation, finished enough labs, passed enough tests, read enough books, and understood enough theories when you finally:

1. Understood what it takes to become an engineer,
2. Learn enough from school to start your own journey of learning and enlightenment,
3. Gained enough tools under your belt to get you started in the industry of your choice.

In order words, maybe you become an engineer when you no longer have to be babysitted any more…


Or maybe there is a Wiseman on top of a mountain, and every year you climb the mountain and ask him, “Am I an engineer yet?” and he says “No.” and you go back to school and visit him every year until he finally says “Yes.” Fortunately, there are a lot of "Wiseman" in this forum already, so there's no need to climb any mountains anymore.