Engineering Job Postings

Q: I see in the various *.jobs.* newsgroups a great number of job postings for 'software engineers', 'network engineers', etc. When I read the postings, they are looking for programmers and technicians, not what I would call engineers. In Canada, you must be a registered Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) to practice professional engineering. I use the general guideline that a job should require an engineering degree to be called an engineering job. Perhaps I have extended a generality too far. My question is simple, is it appropriate or legal to offer a job position as a '? engineer' if there is no engineering degree requirement and probably no substantial engineering skills involved? I'm trying not to rant - I'm posting this message to see if I am the only engineer out there that is concerned or interested in this. For what it's worth, the Association of Professional Engineers of Nova Scotia (APENS) is working on updating the legislation for the profession here in Nova Scotia, and it is quite difficult to come up with a workable, understandable and enforceable definition of what is engineering.

A: In Texas, in order to legally.... o call yourself an engineer o have engineer on your business card o have engineer in your title unless it is an internal designation only (& business cards usually are not) you must be a registered professional engineer (RPE.) RPE status is generally conferred by..... o taking a grueling (or so I've heard) exam in your primary discipline (i.e. civil engineering) o having a certain number of years experience in the engineering field AFTER graduation with an engineering degree o having the required recommendations (4) from RPEs. They are pretty strict about the rules also. I tried to get registered after I graduated with a degree in electrical engineering & all the work exerience I had (8 years in design & QA) in engineering did not count because it was before the degree. I was responsible for world-wide procurement training at my company for two & half years so I have to make that up now before I can apply again (to get the requisite number of years in the field after grad.) It also helps in getting registered if you work for an RPE (which I do again now that I'm no longer in training.) Those were the rules when last I applied. Haven't heard of any changes since 1991, but there may have been some. Way back in history, the requirement for an exam was not there, but due to pressure, the state changed the rules to require proof of knowledge outside the degree/experience (I think in the late 80s or early 90s.)

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