> Professional Engineering Registration is about professional liability...

Professional Engineering Registration also has to do with legal requirements and regulations that must be met by the P.E. in order to legally practice engineering. While a professional engineer may well be held to a higher standard or to individual liability, professional liability may be there irregardless of whether you are licensed or not. In general, a company generally assumes liability for an employee's actions(if for no other reasons than they have the deepest pockets) but that may not stop you from being sued in civil court or charged for criminally for negligent acts involving any engineering you may do. In my experience as an expert witness, I know of cases where people who are employees who have been sued along with their companies for their actions involving an accident.

> This is acknowledged by the "company exemption" under which any person may
> be assigned duties of an engineer within the company in which he or she
> works, without having a professional engineering license or registration.

In Texas, this is known as the "industry exemption." These types of exemptions commonly allow a company(who is not providing engineering services to the public) to assign the duties of an engineer and title to anyone. However, in at least Texas, it is my understanding that these titles are internal to the company and representation in any form by a company or individual to another company or to the public that a person is an engineer when that person is not an licensed engineer is illegal.

> That is how Microsoft and Novell get away with their Network Engineer
> certifications, among other things.

In the state of Texas, Microsoft and Novell titles based on their certification that include the title "engineer" or representation of being a
"...Engineer" are illegal. It is my understanding, however, that the use the initials such as MCSE is acceptable.

Bill Mostia
===========================================
William(Bill) L. Mostia, Jr. PE
Independent I & E Consultant
WLM Engineering Co.
P.O. Box 1129
Kemah, TX 77565
[email protected]
281-334-3169
These opinions are my own and are offered on the basis of Caveat Emptor.

 

Hi Folks... Happy New Years...

I, like many others, have sat back and watched all of the replies to Mike's message and have expected someone to see a particular side of this issue but alas no one has... so I will take a stab at it.

Mike... as Bob Dylan sang... "The times they are a changing" and they are. You just need to have a little more patience.

I am an industrial electrician (licensed in Ontario and Quebec) who started in the trade in 1975. This gives me about... 26.? years of experience. In my current role with Kraft I am tasked with overseeing the electrical maintenance functions in a modern food plant.

I have seen our work force go from...

Then

Electricians who basically limited themselves to pipe, wires, power distribution, simple motor control and simple control system work (nothing wrong with this as this is where I started off).

Instrument Mechanics who basically limited themselves to pneumatic control systems and to dedicated loop controllers.

Control Engineers who designed the systems installed and maintained by the first two gentlemen.

Professional Engineer or the guy that came along after the design phase but before the implementation who basically approved everything and who was supposed to take the heat when it didn't work.

Now

Line Technicians or the name now used to describe the "maintenance electrician". This trades person is today expected to be the top three people in the above list all rolled into one. Our trade schools and colleges recognize this fact and are producing young grads that have about half of the training they need. The old time barriers and distinctions between the trades are disappearing fast. This merging of disciplines is effecting most of us in the field of industrial automation.

The point here is that what is left of the old structure are a bunch of labels used to describe people and functions. Those labels have not kept up to the pace of change in our work places. You are in a situation where you are performing a job function that you should not be able to do... given your official label. The vast majority of work places today restrict people to what they can do or should do by the label or slot that their educational background dictates and does not take actual their ability in to consideration.

You may need to find an employer who responds to skill sets and not labels. As time goes on, and this is where the patience part comes in, more and more companies and employers will come to realize that ability to perform a function, no matter the source of that ability, is truly what they require in an employee.

Be proud of your ability and of what you have done in the past. You earned it.

And as to the PE argument... well that is a closely regulated label that guarantees that someone passed a test. It, the "PE" label, also is used to create legal centers of responsibility. It has IMHO squat to do with a person's ability to perform a certain function. No I don't want to start a flame war here so no one go ballistic over that last statement.

Best Regards... Rick Kelly

Chief Technician N/C
Cheese Operations
Kraft Canada Inc.
Ingleside, Ont.

V (613) 537-8069
F (613) 537-8044
[email protected]

 

May I rephrase your statement from my 34 years as a electrical technician.
Engineers must know How and Why (no Brainer)
Scientist must know Why (Admirable)
Technicians must know all in order to fix the
science behind the engineeing so a project can run.

 

I'm sorry to inform that Yes you are a Technician with alot of a Experience. I really get offended when Techicians with experience think that they should enjoy the benefits as qualified engineers who have earned their Degrees through hard work. A Registered who does a job very well does not become a Doctor. You wonna become an engineer then go to school to become one otherwise stop complaining.

 

No simple answer to this one. As an engineer I often have to call on my academic qulaifications, but you can be an engineer without them, I think the academic side maybe helps with the discipline, but nothing beats good old fashioned experience.

 

I am a technologist who is involved in the field of "engineering" control systems for industrial machinery, and have been doing this since I started working. My experience has been the entire field is driven by ability. I have met and worked with many professional engineers who do not have the slightest clue about what they are doing, and it is reflected in the work they are given to do and the level of responsibility they are given. I have been doing this type of work for ten years and have never had a lack of work inspite of my education. If you have the God given ability to get things done it does not mater what your title reads, the recognition of that ability comes in the type of work you are given and the problems you are asked to solve.