To all engineers out there: What is it with everyone claiming your title?

[Matt Mattingley]

I have worked with many companies with many engineers of different backgrounds. Some even professionals.

At one point in time about 100 years ago, my trade, I was considered an engineer. During wartime my trade was kept so hush-hush and even buildings we worked in had some of the highest security and secrecy . They wouldn’t even let us volunteer to be on the front line. I was trained in metallurgy, shear forces, tensile forces, physics and mathematics , Drawings, blueprints, interpretation of drawings using North American standard and European standards. I’m forced to work in metric and in imperial and be able to convert at the drop of a hat. I’m required to know electrical, hydraulics, pneumatics machining techniques and reaction. I’m also required to weld Tig, mig and Oxy-acetylene. I can identify most Metal material. I am required to heat treat and aneal. I’m required to know coining and coining radiuses. I’m also required to know Rockwell hardness and how it applies to material and it’s effects.

Most mechanical engineers never dip in this deep and are able to produce the product required. Most mechanical engineers show a little bit of respect and call people like me a UL engineer. I personally think it’s a joke. UL stands for unlicensed. But time after time I was always pulled into the engineering meetings. The P engineers didn’t like when I said it can’t be built like you want it!

I am no engineer.

Galileo was not an engineer, but I would consider him one.

The architects of the pyramids, I would consider them engineers as well.

Gustave Eiffel, what makes him an engineer?

I do find it a little bit funny that professional engineers study, some of the worlds greatest engineering feats in early ages but would never consider architects of the time professional engineers.

My personal favourite is Newton (Sir Isaac Newton). I would consider him an engineer of his time. If engineers don’t agree, why would you ever be trained anything sir Isaac newton had stated? I figure once it leaves a statement, and becomes a law, with this particular person, would he not be, be considered an engineer?

How many modern-day engineers have created laws of physics?