XPost: comp.sys.cbm   
   From: wood@itd.nrl.navy.mil   
      
   In article <1ggf6muv8h01c$.fmwafi9evqer.dlg@40tude.net>, Brandon Staggs   
    wrote:   
      
   > "J.B. Wood" wrote on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:32:06 -0400:   
   >   
   > > Hello, and my opinion of Wikipedia aside for the moment, I'm not   
   > > questioning Ms. Ellsworth's knowledge or skills and I don't know if she   
   > > ever has referred to herself as an engineer.  That title, however, is   
   > > reserved for those who have earned it IMHO and understand the underlying   
   > > theory and applied mathematics.  If non-degreed she is at best a very   
   > > skilled electronics technician, but not an engineer.  Sincerely,   
   >   
   > Not everybody needs schooling to master a trade.  And not every region   
   > protects the term "engineer" as only applying to people who are   
   > "papered."   
      
   It's not a question of protecting anything.  It's a matter of what the   
   title "engineer" means.  To go a little further, in the U.S. the title   
   "professional engineer" additionally means an engineer who has passed a   
   rigorous exam to become registered.  Most states require this of civil   
   engineers who design public use structures such as bridges.  It's akin to   
   an attorney (with that "paper" law degree) passing the bar exam.  Calling   
   someone, or referring to yourself as, an engineer (or for that matter a   
   lawyer or an MD) who has not "done the time" is equivalent to someone in   
   the armed forces wearing ribbons on their dress uniform that they have not   
   earned.  In some cases it is illegal.   
      
   Does that mean I want an EE wiring my new house?  Probably not.  OTOH I   
   would most likely not hire an electrician to design a new high-efficiency   
   light bulb.  Of course without EEs and applied mathematicians plying their   
   craft over the decades there would be no need for electricians.   
      
   To quote Marilyn vos Savant, "The occupational group most responsible for   
   modern society is engineers who should win a 'most underappreciated   
   award'.  They have designed our entire infrastructure."   
      
      
                                                         Sincerely,   
      
   John Wood (Code 5550)        e-mail: wood@itd.nrl.navy.mil   
   Naval Research Laboratory   
   4555 Overlook Avenue, SW   
   Washington, DC 20375-5337   
      
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