Calling all "engineers"....

[soon2bmomof3]

Are you really an engineer?

We received an email from our boss today. Texas Board of Professional Engineers does not like people calling themselves "engineer" if they have not passed the Professional Engineering Exam, even if you went to school and have a degree in whatever engineering program and have passed the EIT exam.

I have not taken the PE and hadn't planned on it. I feel like I've been demoted

[chiver78]

just makes them feel more important. I guess that "Professional" in front of the word engineer does nothing for them.

I work with a couple guys like that. sorry dude, I'd prefer not to have to review other people's work and then put my own ass on the line for it. I'd much rather just do the work myself.

[Deleted]

That's a pile of crap. They don't own the word and employers of engineers are sophisticated enough to know to ask if you're a PE when that's important.

I'm not an engineer but I'm the daughter of one (non-PE), the sister of one (PE) and went to a university with a very good engineering school (Cincinnati) so I felt qualified to give my 2 cents.

Now, the employee in my high school who maintained the building and mopped the floors when somebody threw up and had the title "Low pressure engineer" (referring to the boiler system)- if they wanted to go after him, I wouldn't complain.

[wodehouse]

Yes, in many cases you can use your "Design Engineer", "Sr. Design Engineer", etc, job title on your business card even if you are not a licensed P.E.

See www.tbpe.state.tx.us/eng_req.htm, § 1001.301. License Required, exemption "f":

(f) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter, a regular employee of a business entity who is engaged in engineering activities but is exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter under Sections 1001.057 or 1001.058 is not prohibited from using the term “engineer” on a business card, cover letter, or other form of correspondence that is made available to the public if the person does not:

(1) offer to the public to perform engineering services; or

(2) use the title in any context outside the scope of the exemption in a manner that represents an ability or willingness to perform engineering services or make an engineering judgment requiring a licensed professional engineer.

(g) Subsection (f) does not authorize a person to use a term listed in Subsections (b)(2)-(6) or a variation or abbreviation of one of those terms.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

We received an email from our boss today. Texas Board of Professional Engineers does not like people calling themselves "engineer" if they have not passed the Professional Engineering Exam, even if you went to school and have a degree in whatever engineering program and have passed the EIT exam.

Interesting. The big thing in the IT field is that everyone is called some sort of engineer.
Software engineer
QA engineer
Operations enginneer.

This is huge in India. Personally I think it is laughable.

[tcu2003]

I'm one, and can really call myself one in Texas. My first job post-college/grad school was in Texas, and we weren't allowed to put engineer on our business cards unless we had passed the P.E. My business card actually said "engineering intern," and I had the E.I.T. initials after my name since I'd pass the FE. That was fun going out in the field and having techs think you were only an intern...

At my current company (not in Texas, but still consulting), you also can't put engineer on your business card/email signature unless you're a PE, but they don't make you use intern. Instead, it's mechanical designer, electrical designer, etc.

[wodehouse]

By the way, that "engineer" who ran the boiler at the school probably was (or should have been) a state or province licensed stationary engineer with some rating for power boilers, etc; I'm only peripherally familiar with these licences. Usually these people are not college-graduate engineers but are mechanics/machinists/boilermakers/plumbers/etc who have taken the right courses, passed the right exams, etc, in order to get a state license. These boilers can be deadly if improperly maintained and explode as a result.

[Deleted]

Feb 1, 2011 16:33:13 GMT -5 wodehouse said:

By the way, that "engineer" who ran the boiler at the school probably was (or should have been) a state or province licensed stationary engineer with some rating for power boilers, etc; <snip> These boilers can be deadly if improperly maintained and explode as a result.

Thanks for the clarification. I graduated 40 years ago and the building is still standing so I guess he and the Assistant Low Pressure Engineer did a good job.

[jax]

I was about to post the same. I've worked at companies where my job title was "Software Engineer". Only I'm not really an engineer - my current employer uses the terms "developer", "analyst" and "architect" to denote the different levels of programmers, although we do have some real engineers.

Feb 1, 2011 16:29:37 GMT -5 Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ said:

We received an email from our boss today. Texas Board of Professional Engineers does not like people calling themselves "engineer" if they have not passed the Professional Engineering Exam, even if you went to school and have a degree in whatever engineering program and have passed the EIT exam.

Interesting. The big thing in the IT field is that everyone is called some sort of engineer.
Software engineer
QA engineer
Operations enginneer.

This is huge in India. Personally I think it is laughable.

[slowlybutsurely]

I am a mechanical engineer. It seems to me that only the civil engineers or engineers who work for the state are the ones who take the EIT or PE exam.

[soon2bmomof3]

I am a mechanical engineer. It seems to me that only the civil engineers or engineers who work for the state are the ones who take the EIT or PE exam.

Nope, we do not work for the government (well, the unit in Houston doesn't, we do have units elsewhere that do). We are a large group of about 3,000 engineers of all kinds (civil, mechanical, chemical, industrial, etc). I think most of us have passed the FE (EIT) exam, but I don't know how many have their PE licenses. We work in the Oil and Gas industry.

[wodehouse]

Generally, only engineers who are offering their engineering services to the "public" (their public, which might be "the" public, as for an engineer who provides a structural or civil design for a custom home, or it might be other companies...like in Texas it could be oil and gas companies) are required to be licensed by the state (same as others who offer services to the public: physicians, nurses, barbers, hairdressers etc). Engineers who work for a manufacturer, say, designing machines, appliances, etc, or who keep the plant running, likely would not require a PE registration, and are much less likely to do so.

Who knew there'd be so many engineers on here?

[Regis]

I had the title "Design Engineer" prior to passing the PE. I have the PE because civil engineering plans need to be signed and sealed. I wasn't any smarter or better the day after I passed the test than the day before I passed it.

I hope I've learned a few things since then, though! ;D

[steff]

My son is planning to study agricultural engineering....and was looking into attending Texas A&M (we live in Georgia).... I keep learning a lot about the whole "engineer" thing lately....

[phil5185]

I am a mechanical engineer. It seems to me that only the civil engineers or engineers who work for the state are the ones who take the EIT or PE exam.

That was my observation when I took the PE test - there were only 4 or 5 fellow MEs, 5 or 6 EEs, and maybe a 100 Civil Es. In the company that I worked for - about 2500 engineers (ME & EE) - there were only 5 or 6 PEs. Never had the occasion to use my PE stamp professionally. Mostly the PEs were known in HR so when a new E wanted a sponsor to take the PE exam, he would be sent to one of us.
Later, when the company was looking for a new Chief ME, the PE tag was helpful.

[soon2bmomof3]

My son is planning to study agricultural engineering....and was looking into attending Texas A&M (we live in Georgia).... I keep learning a lot about the whole "engineer" thing lately....

Not another Aggie, NOOOOOOOO!!!

Kidding aside, A&M is a great school for agricultural engineering. Good luck to him!

[Tred]

I'm a mechanical engineer, and I've only heard of this twice: here today, and once a couple years ago, talking to a licensed PE. I guess they take it pretty personally

Several of my friends are engineers at large, high-end engineering outfits, such as defense, aerospace, medical.... and none of them are PE's. None of them feel any pressure to become one, either.

In companies like those it's probably not that big a deal unless you eventually hope to be the last word on what happens in your department. I earned my degrees from state-accredited engineering schools, so I don't feel too bad having "Mechanical Engineer" on my business card and resume.

[973beachbum]

We received an email from our boss today. Texas Board of Professional Engineers does not like people calling themselves "engineer" if they have not passed the Professional Engineering Exam, even if you went to school and have a degree in whatever engineering program and have passed the EIT exam.

Not to be a smart ass but what are you supposed to say you are? I can think of a few ones but I am sure the boss wouldn't like them like very much either. How about Pain In The Ass, Chief Cook and Bottle Washer?

Seriously DH is an environmental engineer. All the companies he has worked for were mostly Civil engineering companies that did municipal and state work. The job titles for the gov's were things like "resident engineer" or "supervising engineer". If the person doing that job was listed as anything other than an engineer they wouldn't get paid. I guess they could fire all the FE's and hire all PE's but man would that be expensive.

The way he has always done it is to say the name and add the initials at the end that are appropriate, such as CE, ME, MSCE, PP, PE etc.

[illinicheme]

I'm a chemical engineer. Getting a PE is not common in chemical engineering. Therefore, yes, I'm absolutely an engineer.

[spartan7886]

I work as an engineer in the oil and gas field in Houston. My official title uses the word engineer. Getting your PE has never been a big deal for us (I know all of two in my field out of probably close to 100 in the US), but it sure became one with the new regulations that came out last summer. I passed the FE, but even that is rare around here right now. I still need two more years of experience before I can take the PE. I have taken issue before with people who use the phrase professional engineer to indicate an engineer working in private industry, but I never assume someone is a PE unless they have the letters after their name.

[TD2K]

I'm a chemical engineer, 30 years of experience and I've never gotten my PE. Unlike civil and other engineering fields, chemicals don't usually have to stamp drawings or calculations so there isn't the pressure to get it or at least, not in the oil and gas field. Obviously if you want to work directly with the public you have to have your PE but I've never had that urge.

[973beachbum]

If anyone needs something to call someone besides engineer I'm in! Just saying.

[tiredturkey]

My son is planning to study agricultural engineering....and was looking into attending Texas A&M (we live in Georgia).... I keep learning a lot about the whole "engineer" thing lately....

Hope he can bleed maroon. I'm married to an Aggie civil engineer (yes, he's a P.E., formerly licensed in Texas and California, retired after 36 years) and thank God he's not one of the rabid legions who rank their loyalties in the following order: (1) Texas A&M (2) Texas A&M Football and (3) God.

Seriously, it's a good school and I'm grateful for the education they gave my husband. And after years of trying to educate him to put the seat down I know they had an uphill battle on their hands.

[chiver78]

Feb 1, 2011 18:54:35 GMT -5 TD2K said:

I'm a chemical engineer, 30 years of experience and I've never gotten my PE. Unlike civil and other engineering fields, chemicals don't usually have to stamp drawings or calculations so there isn't the pressure to get it or at least, not in the oil and gas field. Obviously if you want to work directly with the public you have to have your PE but I've never had that urge.

eh, not always. one of the consulting firms my company uses has chemE's doing their water system designs. some of the drawings do need to be stamped, and there are a couple PEs in the chemE ranks. personally, I wandered over to the automation world after getting my chemE BS. I don't think I'll ever need to get that PE.

[MN-Investor]

IMHO, engineers are like accountants. If you're trained as one, and working as one, you can certainly call yourself an accountant or an engineer. It's just that you have to pass a certain exam and other requirements to be a Certified Public Accountant. I would think that the Professional Engineer designation is similar.

I remember back in the '90s when the professional engineering group raised a stink over the term software engineer. All of us in IT thought was a stupid complaint.

[tcu2003]

@slowlybutsurely Depends what field you work. I'm an ME in building design, and it's highly encouraged to get your PE. Significantly higher pay follows, and if you want to be promoted, you pretty much have to have it. My employer can charge more to clients for my time, so I consequently get paid more than someone who doesn' t have it.

steff Not sure if your son is dying to leave the state or not, but Georgia Tech has a phenomenal engineering program. I know the chair of the ME department there - they have really great faculty, well-known, good programs, you name it. If he decides to stay in-state, he's got a great option.

[Deleted]

"I wandered over to the automation world after getting my chemE BS. I don't think I'll ever need to get that PE."

Not True. I do Automation work and have a PE (very useful in the consulting field) and required by many clients that require work on systems with hazardous chemicals (even though I don't have to stamp anything).

Over 1/2 the states recognize the Controls PE test that you can take to get your PE.

Overall, I don't care what people call themselves for a title. I do have a serious problem if people use the PE after their name. As with any profession, you can have an education in it, but the letters after your name mean you are licensed and use of those without the license would be fraud.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

All of us in IT thought was a stupid complaint.

I am in IT and I think adding "engineer" to an IT title is laughable. Quite frankly it is boarders on ridiculing the engineering profession that requires years of college and professional exams.
Engineers are held to high standard. IT is held to nothing.
There is nothing in IT that remotely resembles professionalism.

[dcmetrocrab]

I am a mechanical engineer. It seems to me that only the civil engineers or engineers who work for the state are the ones who take the EIT or PE exam.

I recall the stink about "software engineering" being used in IT too. I don't really care about "engineer" as a title, I think it's one of those unfortunate semantic plays where a word that used to concretely mean one thing became more of a generic term as IT became an industry. At every R&D tech facility I've worked at, we've always had an "engineering" department where everyone was an engineer, but no one had a PE. "Engineer" just doesnt' mean the same thing anymore. Now if someone had PE after their title when they hadn't passed the exam, that's a different story.

[schildi]

I am an electrical engineer with two masters degrees in the field, and I have never heard of a "PE" test until today. Seriously.