Controversies over the term Engineer

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Controversies over the term 'engineer' stem from the traditional uses in design and analysis, as compared to newly emerging uses of the term. Several nations are currently dealing with the definition of the term in both the Legal arena and between professional bodies.

Contents

[edit] Canada

The use of the term "engineer" has been an ongoing issue between professional bodies, the IT industry and the security industry, where companies or associations may issue certifications or titles with the word "engineer" as part of that title (such as Security engineer or Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer). Several licensing bodies for professional engineering contend that only licensed professional engineers are legally allowed to use the title "Engineer". The IT industry, on the other hand, counters that

  1. These title holders never presented themselves as "Professional Engineers",
  2. Provincial laws, other than in Quebec, regulate only the use of term "Professional Engineer", and not any title with the word "Engineer" in it (In Quebec, the term "Engineer" is protected by both the Engineers Act[1] and by section 32 of the Professional Code[2]), and
  3. The IT industry has used the term "engineer" since the dawn of the computing industry in the 60s[3]

Court rulings regarding the usage of the term "engineer" have been mixed. For example, after complaints from the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, a court in Quebec fined Microsoft Canada $1,000 for misusing the "engineer" title by referring to MCSE graduates as "engineers".[4] Conversely, an Alberta court dismissed the lawsuit filed by The Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA) against Raymond Merhej for using the title "System Engineer", claiming that "The Respondent's situation is such that it cannot be contended that the public is likely to be deceived, confused or jeopardized by his use of the term…"[5][6] APEGGA also lost the appeal to this decision.[7]

Canadian Information Processing Society has attempted to strike a balance between the professional engineering licensing bodies and the IT industry over the use of the term "engineer" in the software industry, but so far no major agreements or decisions have been announced.

[edit] United Kingdom

In general, there is no restriction on the right to practice as an engineer in the UK. There are a few fields of practice, generally safety related, which are reserved by statute to licensed persons.[8]

The UK has Professional Engineering titles registered via the Engineering Council UK (ECUK): Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and Chartered Engineer (CEng).[9] Incorporated Engineer is a first-cycle qualification for Bachelor of Engineering or Bachelor of Science degree holders. Chartered Engineer is a second-cycle qualification usually reserved for holders of integrated Master of Engineering degrees or Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Science plus Master of Science degrees. Both IEng and CEng require substantial professional experience, a professional review and interview.

It is illegal in the UK to hold that one is a Chartered or Incorporated Engineer unless so registered with the ECUK. The title of "engineer" by itself is not regulated in the UK.

While ECUK is the primary body registering Engineers in UK, there are other professional societies that register engineers as well. Under its Royal Charter, the Engineering Council UK grants licences to engineering institutions allowing them to assess candidates for inclusion on its Register of Professional Engineers and Technicians, and to accredit academic programmes and professional development schemes. There are over 30 institutions licensed to register professional engineers with EC UK.

[edit] Europe and Latin America

  • In Germany and some other European and Latin American countries, the term Diploma Engineer implies that the person has completed typically one more year of academic work beyond the basic engineering Bachelor's degree. Diploma Engineer is therefore a university degree, and not a professional registration or license.
  • In Chile, the Ingeniero (engineer) title is regulated by law, which distinguishes at least three different kinds of professional engineering titles. First, the Ingeniería de Ejecución, which only requires a degree in applied science and a technical degree, from a university or a technical institute (usually four years of formation); Ingeniería, which requires a major degree in basic sciences plus a technical degree, both from a university (usually five years of formation); and Ingeniería Civil, which requires an academic major degree in basic sciences, a minor degree in applied sciences and a technical degree, all from a university (usually six or six and a half years). In all cases, the term refers to a professional degree conceded by an educational institution, yet it can only be given by certain institutions when all legal requirements are met.

[edit] International professional bodies

The AACE, a professional body for Cost Engineers, explains why a technical engineering background is not required for their profession with the following statement:[10]

“ The skills and knowledge required to deal with costs (e.g., cost estimating, planning and scheduling, etc.) are quite different from those required to deal with the physical design dimension. From that difference, the field of cost engineering was born. Cost engineering practitioners work alongside of and are peers with engineers, software analysts, play producers, architects, and other creative career fields to handle the cost dimension, but they do not necessarily have the same background. Whether they have technical, operations, finance and accounting, or other backgrounds, cost engineering practitioners need to share a common understanding, based on “scientific principles and techniques,” with the engineering or other creative career functions. ”

[edit] See also

  • note also the older meaning of "engineer", one who drives a railway engine (see train driver)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Engineers Act
  2. ^ Professional Code
  3. ^ Andronache, Tatiana, The Importance of "Being Engineer".
  4. ^ http://www.ccpe.ca/e/files/microsoftmay04.pdf
  5. ^ APEGGA website
  6. ^ CIPS website
  7. ^ ASET Technology Alberta, p. 2
  8. ^ ECUK - About the International Registers
  9. ^ The European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) (First General System) Regulations 2005. UK Office of Public Sector Information (2005). Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
  10. ^ what is cost engineering?. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.