

The Ritual Calling of the Engineer - joegaudet
http://joegaudet.tumblr.com/post/556424221/the-ritual-calling-of-the-engineer

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psnj
Although it is a bit goddy for my tastes, I've always liked the Ritual Calling
of the Engineer and the Iron Ring that goes with it, which is unusual because
I'm certainly not one for ceremony. But I appreciate the serious tone and
quiet underlining of the importance of the discipline.

I'm not an engineer, but one of my top software dev industry pet peeves:
"Software Engineers" who aren't actually engineers. It drives me nuts.

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joegaudet
I couldn't agree more, that's why I like that in Canada you have to be a PEng
to get to out right call your self an engineer on your resume or business
card.

Me personally I am an EIT (Engineer in Training) which means I have a degree
but not enough work experience (you need 4 years under a PEng) to be a full
fledged Engineer.

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dmm
Regardless of what the official reasons stated for the creation of such
government enforced monopolies on professional titles are, the true
motivations are always the same: protectionism. Requiring someone to have an
official certification and then limiting the number of such certifications,
either explicitly or implicitly by requiring extensive education and
experience, reduces the number of certified individuals, resulting in higher
wages.

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jarek
I sympathize with this position, I really do. But in some cases, I can really
justify the protectionism.

Are you prepared to call for removal of requirement for medical doctors to be
certified and licensed next?

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_delirium
I'd be prepared to call for the AMA not to have a monopoly on their
certification and licensing. As it is, we bypass them anyway by importing a
bunch of doctors who went to med schools in the Caribbean. Why not run more
U.S. med schools instead? At the _very_ least, increase the number of med-
school slots in line with population growth; there are now fewer med-school
slots per capita than there were in 1980, because the AMA refused to allow any
new med schools to open between 1982 and 2001, and has put strict limits on
enrollments at existing schools. Throughout the 80s and 90s they justified
this with dire predictions of a "glut" of doctors, which of course turned out
to be incorrect.

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jarek
Sounds fair, but that concerns the amount of people licensed, not the
requirement to be licensed in the first place.

If you create an AMA2 while maintaining present licensing standards, you're
simply moving the ultimate responsibility for guarding the standards from AMA
and AMA2 to an entity above them.

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lleger
That's a really interesting tradition, Joe — thanks for sharing. As an
engineering student in the US, I was unaware of this, but I kind of wish we
took part in such a sacrament too. Being an engineer is an honor and truly is
something you must be called to do.

On a side note, I get really offended when people nonchalantly call themselves
engineers. It's a title you have to earn, not one you just can decide to call
yourself.

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joegaudet
I believe some schools in the states are starting to do a similar tradition.

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lleger
According to Wikipedia, there is a similar organization
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Engineer>), but the chapter at my
university is inactive (according to their website). Such a shame.

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hoprocker
Fascinating. Strikes me as somewhat a parallel to the Hippocratic Oath. Being
that engineering often deals with taming huge forces (somebody here referred
to a collapsing bridge), and also with the welfare of the public, the argument
for a ritual hilighting personal responsibility can definitely be
substantiated.

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ab9
"Here in Canada we take the term fairly seriously (it's copyrighted)."

Wow, I can understand a tweet being a creative work and therefore
copyrightable, but a _single word_?

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russss
It's not copyrighted (of course you can't copyright a single word), but it is
a protected term. You're not allowed to use it unless you're qualified.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_over_the_term_Eng...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_over_the_term_Engineer#Canada)

~~~
_delirium
Seems strangely Orwellian (in the sense of his politics-via-language writings,
not the police-state kind of Orwellianism). It's a descriptive word that long
predates these organizations, so it's sort of weird for them to retroactively
take ownership of it. I can see specific, narrower terms, like Professional
Engineer or Licensed Engineer, but _engineering_ is just a description of a
kind of activity that people have done for millennia, and an _engineer_ is
someone who does it.

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potatolicious
For the non-Canadian-engineers in the audience, the picture is the Iron Ring
that is given to all engineering graduates in Canada. It's worn on the pinky
of the working hand, the original purpose being that it will smudge as you
draw/write and generally serve as a constant reminder of the oath you've
taken.

I know a couple of people who have stopped wearing it since graduation despite
still doing engineering work. It's a little disappointing.

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qq66
Maybe they don't want their work smudged?

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phugoid
Hard to smudge a mousepad...

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yurisagalov
Interestingly, very few Canadian schools still offer _iron_ rings, most of
them nowadays are made out of stainless steel.

I believe Camp one (i.e. University of Toronto and Ryerson) are the only
schools left who offer real _iron_ rings (they're actually often rings
returned by people who have retired/passed away, since it is asked that upon
retiring from the Engineering profession you return your ring)... I'm not sure
it's possible, but if you're a Canadian Engineer I'd highly recommend to drop
by the Engineering Alumni office at UofT and getting yourself a real iron ring
if you can, they're absolutely amazing.

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potatolicious
See, I like the idea of the _iron_ ring, but there's a certain sentimental
value to the one you got at graduation. I think I'm going to try and keep this
for as long as I can even though it's stainless :S

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thisduck
I don't wear the ring because it has undertones of being a status symbol. "I'm
a smart engineer, with a ring to prove it."

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joegaudet
Which I always find amusing, because its intent couldn't be farther from a
status symbol. I feel as though the actions of a few arrogant engineers have
ruined what is a very good tradition.

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vishaldpatel
Pretty good oath for being a good human being all around ... not just for
engineers.

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joegaudet
Couldn't agree more.

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prodigal_erik
A good antidote to "Work fast and don't be afraid to break things". Even when
there's a legitimate business case for sloppy work, somehow it just never sits
right.

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jff
I just entered the American equivalent, the Order of the Engineer. Our ring is
smooth, polished stainless steel and the obligation is not as ponderous
(written around 1970 as I recall). I think it's definitely a worthwhile thing.

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jarek
Nitpick: as the text itself says, but the title doesn't, the name is "The
Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer".

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wazoox
Absolutely unreadable dark grey on black. Are you nuts?

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joegaudet
I was about to plead the old, I am an engineer, cut me a break deal.

But actually, in all honesty, I don't often look at my blog from the outside
of tumblr perspective. And this is the first thing I've posted of my own on
here.

So long and short, point taken, I'll look at some of the other built in tumblr
themes... I don't want to spend time making a fancy one my self.

.joe

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wazoox
Thank you, and sorry for the harsh tone, in daylight I winced and could read
nothing :)

