HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
|
|
For the British rock band, see Engineers (band).
For the Indian air marshal, see Aspy Engineer.
Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
An engineer is someone who is trained or professionally engaged in a branch of engineering.Dictionary.com (2004). Engineer. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company. Retrieved on 2006-09-21. Engineers use technology, mathematics, and scientific knowledge to solve practical problems. People who work as engineers typically have an academic degree (or equivalent work experience) in one of the engineering disciplines.Degrees and Occupations in Engineering: How Much Do They Diverge? Issue Brief, NSF 99-318 December 31, 1998
Contents |
Engineers and scientists are often confused in the minds of the general public. While scientists explore nature in order to discover general principles, engineers apply established principles drawn from mathematics and science in order to develop economical solutions to technical problems.National Society of Professional Engineers (2006). Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering. Retrieved on 2006-09-21. Science is knowledge based on observed facts and tested truths arranged in an orderly system that can be validated and communicated to other people. Engineering is the creative application of scientific principles used to plan, build, direct, guide, manage, or work on systems to maintain and improve our daily lives.Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor (2006). Engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition. Retrieved on 2006-09-21. The work of engineers is the link between perceived social needs and commercial applications.
Engineers consider many factors when developing a new product. For example, in developing an industrial robot, engineers precisely specify the functional requirements; design and test the robot’s components; integrate the components to produce the final design; and evaluate the design\'s overall effectiveness, cost, reliability, and safety. This process applies to the development of many different products, such as chemicals, computers, engines, aircraft, and toys.
In addition to design and development, many engineers work in testing, production, or maintenance. These engineers supervise production in factories, determine the causes of component failure, and test manufactured products to maintain quality. They also estimate the time and cost to complete projects. Some move into engineering management or into sales. In sales, an engineering background enables them to discuss technical aspects and assist in product planning, installation, and use. Supervisory engineers are responsible for major components or entire projects.
Engineers use computers extensively, for the production and analysis of designs, the simulation and testing of the operation of a machine, structure, or system, and the generation of part specifications. Many engineers also use computers to monitor product quality and control process efficiency.
In some countries of Continental Europe and Latin America the title is limited by law to people with an engineering degree, and the use of the title by others (even persons with much work experience) is illegal. In Italy the title is limited to people who, besides holding an engineering degree, have passed a professional abilitation exam (Esame di Stato). In Portugal, professional engineer titles and accredited engineering degrees are regulated and certified by the Ordem dos Engenheiros. In the Czech Republic the title "engineer" (Ing.) is given to people with a (master) degree in chemistry, technology or even economics (the last one is due to the historical reasons and tradition).
Laws exist in all U.S. states, Canada and in South Africa which limit the use of several engineer titles, particularly the title of "Professional Engineer," and often also titles indicating a specific, regulated branch of engineering, such as "civil engineer" or "mechanical engineer." Most U.S. states prohibit unlicensed persons from calling themselves an "engineer" or indicating branches or specialties not covered by the licensing acts. The IEEE\'s formal position on this is as follows:
"The title, Engineer, and its derivatives should be reserved for those individuals whose education and experience qualify them to practice in a manner that protects public safety. Strict use of the title serves the interest of both the IEEE-USA and the public by providing a recognized designation by which those qualified to practice engineering may be identified. The education and experience needed for the title, Engineer, is evidenced by
Despite these laws, many individuals with no formal education in engineering are still often called engineers in industry because of a long work history of engineering work. The legal situation regarding the title of "engineer" in Canada is unsettled. (See Professional Engineer for more details).
In the United Kingdom, the title of "engineer" is unregulated and is increasingly used to describe trades such as electricians, motor mechanics, gas fitters etc in addition to those engaged in professional engineering.
The word "technologist" is sometimes used synonymously as it derives from the prefix techno- and the suffix -ologist, hence, someone who studies technology. This applies particularly to those European countries with laws regulating the use of the title "engineer." However, in Britain as well as some European countries, the term "technologist" is a certification or registration that is equal to an engineer but has a different focus than design. For example, a technologist may focus on Technical Management, Manufacturing Engineering, or an Applied Engineering practices. Regulation of the Technologist title is cover by the Sydney Accord which is currently overseen by the Engineering Council of the United kingdom.
The term \'engineer\' is also often used to describe a technician or a person that mends and operates machinery or engines.Engineer, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, retrieved on 21 December 2007 In that use, it usually does not refer to a person with an academic engineering degree or an engineering license. For example, in the United States a railroad engineer denotes the operator of a locomotive, a ship\'s engineer denotes the operator of the steam engine on a steamship, and a stationary engineer is normally responsible for a stationary steam engine. The term "field engineer" or "customer engineer" is often used to describe manufacturers\' (or third party) supplied installers and/or maintainers of (complex) equipment at a user\'s site.
In firefighting, the term "engineer" refers to a firefighter whose job is to drive the fire apparatus and, if it has an on board water supply, to stay with the engine and operate the pumps so that the firefighters on the hose can have enough water to put out the fire.
The term "engineer" may also be used to describe holders of some forms of professional certification other than university degrees, such as (but not limited to) Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Certified Novell Engineer, Red Hat Certified Engineer and so on.
In Canada, the usage of the term "engineer" to describe holders of professional certification is not legally permitted. The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers mounted an extended campaign to get Microsoft to renounce use of the word "engineer" in the title of their certification.Canadian Council of Professional Engineers (July 2002). MCSE is NOT an Engineer in Canada!. CCPA News Release. Retrieved on 2006-05-13. A 2001 reader survey by Microsoft Certified Professional magazine found that over half of respondents supported changing the name of the MCSE to remove the word "engineer".Schaffhauser, D.L. (August 2001). Microsoft Certified Systems Expert?. Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online. Retrieved on 2006-05-13., "Of 2,017 responses, 526 of you said, \'Don\'t change the name at all.\' Of the 1,320 who said that only the word Engineer should change, the overwhelming majority—502 respondents—liked \'Expert\' as a replacement. "
An army military engineer is a member of any branch of the armed forces responsible for the design and construction and also the destruction of offensive, defensive and logistical structures for warfare. This term is used in military units throughout the world and has been used since ancient times, extended in modern terms to include the laying and disarming of minefields and booby traps.
The Engineering Officer in larger ships, and the senior engineering sailor (typically a Chief Petty Officer) is called the Chief Engineer. In smaller ships without an Engineering Officer the Chief Engineer runs the engineering department. To facilitate brevity of communication in an operational shipboard environment, the Chief Engineer on United States Navy vessels is colloquially referred to and addressed as "The CHENG", or simply "CHENG".
In the British Merchant Navy, the Chief Engineer is a rank equivalent to the Senior Engineering Officer on a US ship.
Engineering education in the USAIn the United States engineering degrees range from a Bachelor\'s degree in sciences or engineering (4 years), to a Master\'s in sciences or engineering (adding 1 or 2 years depending on the university), to a Doctor of Engineering which entails completing original research. Baccalaureate and Master\'s degrees are generally recognized as sufficient qualification in the American labor market. Doctors often go on to teach in engineering schools.
Many American engineering degrees are respected worldwide, from institutions such as U.C. Berkeley, Stanford, Michigan, Columbia University, the University of Southern California, and U.C. San Diego which have sizeable engineering schools. Institutes of technology, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Caltech, Georgia Tech, Kettering University and Purdue University, generally specialize in engineering education.
As US universities are generally private, the education practices at each differ greatly. Certain schools, such as Columbia University, have a core course program that requires many non-engineering related classes. American engineers are generally more specialized into a certain realm of engineering, such as Civil Engineer or Electrical Engineer, than their European counterparts. The generalist degree does not exist. The respectability and status of a degree depends largely on the institution that conferred the degree.
Training and experience in the field evolve according to a scale going from the level Engineer I "Entry Level", to Engineer IV. The level II Junior, III Senior are reachable after several years of experience.
In CanadaIn Canada, there are 40 institutions offering 239 engineering accredited programs delivering a Bachelor\'s degree after a term of 4 years. Many schools also offer graduate level degrees in the applied sciences. "Accredited" means that the engineers having successfully followed one of these programs have the possibility to obtain his licence. This a specificity of the Canadian system as the engineers need a licence to engage in the profession. Among the 40 institutions a number are renown worldwide : University of Waterloo, McGill University, University of Toronto, and McMaster University just to name a few. However, every university offering engineering programs in Canada needs to be accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board, thus ensuring high standards are enforced at all universities.Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board Retrieved on 15 February 2008
The Engineering faculties at most Canadian Universities tend to attract a wide range of student from Canada and around the world. Many international students who end up studying in these schools tend to seek residency and eventually citizenship within the country.
The procedure to obtain the licence is as follow:
The engineer\'s licence is only valid in the province of delivery. There are however agreement between the associations to ease the mobility.
Engineers training in Europe
EnglandIn England, like in United States and Canada, the engineers are trained in universities some of which are renowned worldwide (Oxford, Cambridge,...). Among famous English engineers include the famous structural engineer, Paigemont Livingston.
They receive first a baccalaureate degree (3 years of studies) followed by a to Master\'s degree (2 years of studies) according to the principles of the Bologna declaration through what is called the Bologna process.
GermanyIn Germany, the engineering degree is either delivered by Universities, Technical Universities or Fachhochschulen, a kind of university possibly best described as three-year colleges as opposed to full universities. Students receive first a baccalaureate degree (3 years of studies) followed by a Master\'s degree (2 years of studies) according to the principles of the Bologna declaration through what is called the Bologna process.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
