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Any UK based Engineers please read this...
- Thread starter R.Youden
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Doing mechanical engineering at uni and I'm already on that petition. It seems that companies want to make their unskilled staff feel better about themselves, and so give them a good title. Sorry Mr. Gas Man, you are at best a technician, not at all an engineer.
From what I've heard, the word engineer derives from words meaning ingenious, implying one who thinks of something new. A technician or mechanic fixes whatever it is the engineer came up with.
From what I've heard, the word engineer derives from words meaning ingenious, implying one who thinks of something new. A technician or mechanic fixes whatever it is the engineer came up with.
I am an electronics engineer and I design very high-level electronics. The number of times I have friends ring me up asking them to fix a washing machine or something because all they know is the generic term 'engineer'. Whilst I have respect for the people who are technicians, they are not engineers and it is about time people realise that. I am serious considering not working in the UK they way we are treated. 
I am an electronics engineer and I design very high-level electronics. The number of times I have friends ring me up asking them to fix a washing machine or something because all they know is the generic term 'engineer'. Whilst I have respect for the people who are technicians, they are not engineers and it is about time people realise that. I am serious considering not working in the UK they way we are treated.
+1
LOL, but the questions to me usually have something to do with fridges or a new septic system for cabins.
Basically being an engineer in the UK is now a joke. When applying for mortgages and loans and you are a fully qualified engineer which a degree or even a doctorate, you are classed a non / semi skilled workers.
This country was built on great engineers, just look at Brunel, one of the most influential people in the history of the British empire. Would you class him as a non-skilled worker? The UK is turning into a country full or lawyers and accountants and eventually it will dawn on people that engineering is a serious qualification and we need the same level of recognition as some pen pushers in London.
I quite often face a similar problem. I work as a pensions consultant and people often confuse this with being an administrator. My bank is always surprised at how much I earn for an "administrative role". I signed the petition even though I am not an engineer because I know that being an engineer is tough and people who do it deserve recognition.
Oh go on then, even though I got out of Civil Engineering back in the mid-90s. I think it was either that or go work in China like everyone I graduated with
EDIT : Appears to be unavailable at the moment. I'll stay subscribed to this thread though. That'll remind me.
EDIT : Appears to be unavailable at the moment. I'll stay subscribed to this thread though. That'll remind me.
Basically being an engineer in the UK is now a joke. When applying for mortgages and loans and you are a fully qualified engineer which a degree or even a doctorate, you are classed a non / semi skilled workers.
This country was built on great engineers, just look at Brunel, one of the most influential people in the history of the British empire. Would you class him as a non-skilled worker? The UK is turning into a country full or lawyers and accountants and eventually it will dawn on people that engineering is a serious qualification and we need the same level of recognition as some pen pushers in London.
Well I dont know much about the situation, but I feel for you guys. I am a starting electrical engineer in the US and I know how engineers can be overworked, underpayed, and not given the respect they should for what they do. Engineering is extremely misunderstood today.
And even though what is going on in the UK doesnt directly effect me right now, I know that with the global economy it will only be a matter of time before it does. So im all for standing up for engineers.
I am an electronics engineer and I design very high-level electronics. The number of times I have friends ring me up asking them to fix a washing machine or something because all they know is the generic term 'engineer'. Whilst I have respect for the people who are technicians, they are not engineers and it is about time people realise that. I am serious considering not working in the UK they way we are treated.
Perhaps you need more intelligent friends. My work encompasses mechanical, electrical, electronic and bioengineering, ICT, product design, materials science and more. I call myself a consultant but no-one phones me up to ask about their ulcers.
Signed + Petition link forwarded to my friends at Uni
I think the term Engineer is used for just about everything manual these days in the UK. Photocopier broken? Call the 'Engineer'! Home heating broken? An 'Engineer' is on his way! Phone line developed a problem? Oh, an 'Engineer' will look into it for you!
Mention the word 'Engineer' to most normal people and they think of someone in a boiler suit who fixes stuff. I've taken to correcting most people, trying to inform them that there are Technicians who do these jobs. I'm told that outside the UK in places like Germany etc, the term Engineer does carry more weight.
The injustice is that Engineers work just as hard for Degrees/Masters/Doctorates and yet get relatively little respect compared with Doctors and Lawyers and other equivalent professions. I believe this is also part of the reason why Engineers don't get paid as much, employers feel they're not as deserving (unless the employer actually realises the true worth of the Engineers they employ).
When asked by people what course I'm studying and I reply that I am studying Electrical & Electronic Engineering, the first thing most say is 'Oh, you'll be able to have a look at my TV', or 'Oh, you'd probably know about how to rewire the lighting in my house'. Of course, when I correct them and tell them what I actually do, they seem somewhat disappointed, which I find odd. My friend is a newly qualified Doctor and he commands instant respect from one and all...
I think its about time someone petitioned the government about this. The usual industry magazines' letters pages usually have at least one letter from someone complaining about the lack of worth the term 'Engineer' holds in the UK.
I think the term Engineer is used for just about everything manual these days in the UK. Photocopier broken? Call the 'Engineer'! Home heating broken? An 'Engineer' is on his way! Phone line developed a problem? Oh, an 'Engineer' will look into it for you!
Mention the word 'Engineer' to most normal people and they think of someone in a boiler suit who fixes stuff. I've taken to correcting most people, trying to inform them that there are Technicians who do these jobs. I'm told that outside the UK in places like Germany etc, the term Engineer does carry more weight.
The injustice is that Engineers work just as hard for Degrees/Masters/Doctorates and yet get relatively little respect compared with Doctors and Lawyers and other equivalent professions. I believe this is also part of the reason why Engineers don't get paid as much, employers feel they're not as deserving (unless the employer actually realises the true worth of the Engineers they employ).
When asked by people what course I'm studying and I reply that I am studying Electrical & Electronic Engineering, the first thing most say is 'Oh, you'll be able to have a look at my TV', or 'Oh, you'd probably know about how to rewire the lighting in my house'.
Of course, when I correct them and tell them what I actually do, they seem somewhat disappointed, which I find odd. My friend is a newly qualified Doctor and he commands instant respect from one and all...I think its about time someone petitioned the government about this. The usual industry magazines' letters pages usually have at least one letter from someone complaining about the lack of worth the term 'Engineer' holds in the UK.