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Engineer
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An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of engineering. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. As such, the work of engineers is the link between perceived needs of society and commercial applications. Some consider this profession to be the link between art and science.
ddition to machine design, machine research, and machine development, many engineers work in production, testing, or maintenance.
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Encyclopedia
An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of engineering. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. As such, the work of engineers is the link between perceived needs of society and commercial applications. Some consider this profession to be the link between art and science.
Role in society
In addition to machine design, machine research, and machine development, many engineers work in production, testing, or maintenance. These engineers determine the causes of component failure, supervise production in factories, and test the manufactured products to maintain the quality of said product. Also, engineers estimate the time and cost to complete projects. Some move into engineering management or into sales. In sales, an engineering background enables them to discuss technical aspects and assist in the planning of products, installation, and use. Supervisory engineers are responsible for entire projects or major components.
Regulation
In some countries of Continental Europe and Latin America and also in Turkey, the title is limited by law to people with an engineering degree, and the use of the title by others (even persons with much more work experience) is illegal. In Italy the title is limited to people who, besides holding an engineering degree, have passed a professional qualification examination (Esame di Stato). In Portugal, professional engineer titles and accredited engineering degrees are regulated and certified by the Ordem dos Engenheiros. In the Czech Republic the title "engineer" (Ing.) is given to people with a (master) degree in chemistry, technology or even economics (due to historical reasons and tradition). In Greece the title of Engineer is given only to those who have a Diploma, after five-year scientific studying in Engineering University faculties. It is considered a high-level title.
Laws exist in the U.S., in Canada and in South Africa that limit the use specific engineer titles, particularly the title of "Professional Engineer." However, most engineers in the U.S. do not become professional engineers. Titles indicating a specific, regulated branch of engineering, such as "civil engineer" or "mechanical engineer" are also regulated. Most U.S. states prohibit unlicensed persons from calling themselves an "engineer" or indicating branches or specialties not covered by the licensing acts. The IEEE's formal position on this is as follows:
"The title, Engineer, and its derivatives should be reserved for those individuals whose education and experience qualify them to practice in a manner that protects public safety. Strict use of the title serves the interest of both the IEEE-USA and the public by providing a recognized designation by which those qualified to practice engineering may be identified. The education and experience needed for the title, Engineer, is evidenced by
- Graduation with an Engineering degree from an ABET/EAC accredited program of engineering (or equivalent*), coupled with sufficient experience in the field in which the term, Engineer, is used; and/or
- Licensure by any jurisdiction as a Professional Engineer.
- A degree from a foreign institution (or the total education when a person holds a graduate degree in engineering but no accredited B.S. in engineering) can be evaluated through a service offered by ABET."
Despite these laws, many individuals with no formal education in engineering are still often called engineers in industry because of a long work history of engineering work. The legal situation regarding the title of "engineer" in Canada is unsettled. (See Professional Engineer for more details).
In the United Kingdom, the title of "engineer" is unregulated and is increasingly used to describe trades such as electricians, motor mechanics, gas fitters, etc., in addition to those engaged in professional engineering.
The word "technologist" is sometimes used synonymously as it derives from the prefix techno- and the suffix -ologist, hence, someone who studies technology. This applies particularly to those European countries with laws regulating the use of the title "engineer." A Technologist supports professional engineers in N America. Technologists can become professional engineers with further academic study — usually 2-3 years of an engineering degree. Regulation of the Technologist title is covered by the Sydney Accord. A UK Incorporated Engineer is equivalent to a Technologist as defined by the Sydney Accord. The I.Eng qualification is administered by the Engineering Council of the United Kingdom.
Education, training & skills
Budapest University of Technology and Economics is considered the oldest university of technology in the world. The legal predecessor of the university was founded in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II, named Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum (Institute of Geometry and Hydrotechnics).
People who work as engineers typically have an academic degree (or equivalent work experience) in one of the engineering disciplines.
Engineers must also have skillset and methodology to problem solving that helps in making effective use of their knowledge base.
Engineering education in the USA
In the United States degrees in engineering range from a Bachelor's degree in engineering or sciences (4 years), to a Master's in the same fields (adding 2 or 3 years depending on the university), to a Doctor of Engineering which entails completing original research. Doctors often go on to teach in schools of engineering.
Engineering education in Canada
In Canada, there are 40 institutions offering 239 engineering accredited programs delivering a Bachelor's degree after a term of 4 years. Many schools also offer graduate level degrees in the applied sciences. "Accredited" means that the engineers having successfully followed one of these programs have the possibility to obtain their licences. This a specificity of the Canadian system as the engineers need a licence to engage in the profession. Some of the schools include: University of Toronto, Ryerson University, University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Waterloo, McGill University, Dalhousie University, University of Ottawa, University of Calgary, McMaster University, Queen's University, University of New Brunswick,UOIT and Royal Military College of Canada just to name a few. Graduateshotline ranks the top engineering schools in Canada. However, every university offering engineering degrees in Canada needs to be accredited by the CEAB (Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board), thus ensuring high standards are enforced at all universities.
The engineering faculties at most Canadian universities tend to attract a wide range of students from Canada.
The procedure to obtain the licence is as follows:
- Be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or on a valid workpermit / visa.
- Have a Bachelor's degree from an accredited Canadian institution or from a recognized foreign university or other higher institution. The Bachelor's degree delivered in Europe is not adequate since it is only a 3 year term. Thus for European engineers wishing to obtain a licence in Canada, it is better for them to consider they need a complete course including the Master's degree (2 additional years so making 5 years in total). The engineer's degree obtained from universities in Europe after completing 4 years of studies is valid.
- Must work at least 12 months in a Canadian company (supervised by a licenced senior engineer). The term varies between provinces and can be as long as four years.
- Be of good reputation.
- Be fluent in English (French in Quebec, English or French in New Brunswick)
The engineer's licence is only valid in the province of delivery. There are however agreements between the associations to ease mobility.
Engineers education in Europe
See also European Society for Engineering Education
Finland
Finland's system is derived from Germany's system. Two kinds of schools are recognized, the universities and the AMKs (literally, "vocational colleges").
Traditionally, universities award only five-, to six-year Master's level degrees called diplomi-insinööri ("engineer with university diploma"). The degrees are awarded by engineering faculties in universities (in Oulu and Vaasa) or by separate universities of technology (in TKK, Tampere, Lappeenranta). The degree is a scientific, theoretical taught Master's degree. It qualifies for further study into Licentiate or Doctorate. Because of the Bologna process, the degree tekniikan kandidaatti ("Bachelor of Technology"), corresponding to three years of study into the DI degree, has been introduced.
The AMK's are municipally administered schools that traditionally award 3.5-, to 4.5-year vocational degrees called insinööri (amk). The aim of the degree is professional competency with less emphasis on scientific study. Although they may be called "Bachelor's degrees" in English, Finnish universities do not recognize them as equal to tekniikan kandidaatti but require approximately one year of additional study. Recently, AMK's have also began awarding a higher AMK degrees, designed for AMK-engineers already involved in the working life (at least two years of professional experience). AMK's do not award Licentiates or Doctorates.
France
In France, the engineering degree is delivered by "Grandes Écoles d'Ingénieurs" upon completion of 3 years of Master'studies. The Écoles typically recruit undergraduate students from CPGE (2 or 3 years after the baccalaureate), even though some of them include an integrated undergraduate cycle. Hence graduate engineers in France have studied a total of 5 years after the baccalaureate. To be able to deliver the Master of engineering degree , an École Master 's curriculum has to be validated by the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieurs (Commission of the Engineering Title). It is important for the external observer to note that the system in France is extremely demanding in its entrance requirements (numerus clausus), and much more elitist than various other systems. In fact, being a graduate engineer in France is considered as being near/at the top of the social/professional ladder.
Inside a French company the title of Ingénieur refers to a rank in qualification and is not restricted. Therefore you can find sometimes Ingénieurs des Ventes (Sales Engineers), Ingénieur Marketing, Ingénieur Bancaire (Banking Engineer), Ingénieur Recherche & Développement (R&D Engineer), etc
Germany
In Germany, the engineering degree is either delivered by Universities, Technical Universities or Fachhochschulen.
Students receive first a baccalaureate degree (3 years of studies) followed by a Master's degree (2 years of studies) according to the principles of the Bologna declaration. The former type of education was the German Diplom. The quality of German engineering expertise has long been much vaunted, especially in the field of Aerospace engineering. This is supported by the degree to which the various theories governing aerodynamics and structural mechanics are named after German scientists and engineers such as Ludwig Prandtl.
Romania
In Romania, the engineering degree and Engineer title is delivered by Technical Universities upon completion of 4 years of studies. Additional master degree(2 years) and doctorate programs(4-5 years) provide the title of "doctor inginer". Students that started studies in Technical Universities before 2005(when Romania adopted the Bologna declaration) need to complete a 5 years program to get the engineer title. In this case the master degree is obtained after 1 year of studies.
Only persons with an engineer title can be employed as "engineers". Still persons with competence and experience in a enginnering field that do not have an engineer title, can still be employed to perform engineering tasks as "specialist","asistant","technologist" or "technician". But, only engineers can take legal responsability and provide guarantee upon the work done by a team in the field of engineering. Sometimes a company that is in the field of enginnering and temporarely does not have any employees with an engineer title must pay for an external service of an enginnering audit to provide legal guarantee for their products or services.
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands there have always been two paths to study engineering. The HTS or higher vocational technical schools awarded a practically orientated degree and the title ing. after four years study. The universities offered a more academically oriented degree and the title Ir. after five years study.
This changed in 2002 when the Netherlands switched to the Bachelor-Master system. This is a consequence of the Bologna process. In this accord 29 European countries agreed to harmonize their higher education system and create a European higher education area.
In this system the higher vocational technical schools award a bachelor degree and the title BEng after four years study. The university's with engineering programs award a bachelors degree and the title BSc after the third year. A university bachelor is expected to continue his education for one or two more years to earn his masters degree and the title MSc. A vocational bachelor may be admitted to a university master degree program although often they are required to take additional courses. The higher vocational technical schools have started to develop master degree programs specifically for their students. This slightly awkward situation is expected to disappear thanks to the European harmonization process.
Turkey
In Turkey, engineering degrees range from a Bachelor's Degree in engineering (for a 4 year period), to a Master's Degree (adding 2 years), and to a Doctoral Degree (usually 4 - 5 years).
The title is limited by law to people with an engineering degree, and the use of the title by others (even persons with much more work experience) is illegal.
Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA) was established in 1954 and separates engineers and architects to professional branches, with the condition of being within the framework of laws and regulations and in accordance with the present conditions, requirements and possibilities and to also establishes new Chambers for the group of engineers and architects, whose professional or working areas are similar or the same.
UCTEA is maintaining its activities with its 23 Chambers, 194 branches of its Chambers and 39 Provincial Coordination Councils. Approximately, graduates of 70 related academic disciplines in engineering, architecture and city planning are members of the Chambers of UCTEA.
MEMBER CHAMBERS OF UCTEA
Chamber of Agricultural Engineers
Chamber of Architects
Chamber of Chemical Engineers
Chamber of City Planners
Chamber of Civil Engineers
Chamber of Electrical Engineers
Chamber of Environmental Engineers
Chamber of Food Engineers
Chamber of Forestry Engineers
Chamber of Geophysical Engineers
Chamber of Geological Engineers
Chamber of Interior Architects
Chamber of Landscape Architects
Chamber of Marine Engineers
Chamber of Mechanical Engineers
Chamber of Metallurgical Engineers
Chamber of Meteorological Engineers
Chamber of Mining Engineers
Chamber of Naval Arch's and Marine Eng's
Chamber of Petroleum Engineers
Chamber of Physics Engineers
Chamber of Surveying Engineers
Chamber of Textile Engineers
United Kingdom
In the UK, like in United States and Canada, engineers are trained in universities. Some of these institutions have previously invested heavily in engineering subjects and have become globally renowned, such as Bath, Manchester and Imperial College. Many engineering courses are assessed and approved by the Professional Institutions reflecting the subject covered; IMechE, IET, ICE, IStructE etc. The degree then counts in part to obtaining Chartered engineer Status after a period (usually 4-6 years) of structured professional practice, professional review and, if required, further exams to then become a Member of the relevant professional body. The term 'Chartered Engineer' is regulated by Royal Assent and not allowed to be used by other professions; the awarding of this status is devolved to the professional institutions by the Engineering Council.
In Britain, Engineers can study for a 4 year period on an Undergraduate Masters and obtain an MEng, this is not a 3 year undergraduate degree with an additional year, but a program that is designed from the outset to be 4 years. Some universities allow a student to opt out after 3 years and receive a bachelor's degree, whilst some universities award both a bachelor's and a master's degree at the end of the 4 years. Many courses include a year in industry, which is usually between the second and third years of an undergraduate degree course.
Alternatively, students can receive first a baccalaureate degree (3 years of studies) followed by a 1 year Master's degree.
Engineering education in India
India has many Engineering colleges.At national level IITs,NITs,IIITs are considered to be among the best.Apart from them BITS-Pilani,CEG,NSIT,DCE are other famed colleges.
IIT
The Indian Institute of Technology has seven IITs are located in Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati, and Roorkee. Also included in this list is IT-BHU.
With the plan to set up eight more IITs in the states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab, and the conversion of IT-BHU to an IIT, the total number of IITs will be increased to 16.[2] Six of the eight proposed new IITs, namely, Rajasthan, Bihar (Patna), Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad), Orissa (Bhubaneshwar), Gujarat (Gandhinagar) and Punjab, are functional as of June 2008 and admitting students for the 2008-'09 academic year.[3] All IITs are autonomous universities that draft their own curricula, and they are, with the exception of IIT Kanpur, members of LAOTSE, an international network of universities in Europe and Asia. LAOTSE membership allows the IITs to exchange students and senior scholars with universities in other countries.[4]
Admission to undergraduate B.Tech and integrated M.Tech programs are through IIT-JEE (the Joint Entrance Examination) in which around 300,000 students appear annually out of which only 5,500 get selected. Admission to most postgraduate courses in IITs is granted through various written entrance examinations: GATE (for M.Tech.), JAM (for M.Sc.) and CEED (for M.Des.). The admission for Ph.D. program is based primarily on a personal interview, though candidates may also have to appear for written tests. The IITs are also well known for their special reservation policy, which is significantly different from the one applied in other educational institutions of India.
For details of colleges in India see: Indian Institutes of Technology and
NITs
National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are premier colleges of engineering and technology education in India. They were originally called Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs). In 2002, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, decided to upgrade, in phases, all the original 17 Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) as National Institutes of Technology (NITs). There are currently 20 NITs, the latest being NIT, Agartala. The Government of India has introduced the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Act 2007 to bring 20 such institutions within the ambit of the act and to provide them with complete autonomy in their functioning. The NITs are deliberately scattered throughout the country in line with the government norm of an NIT in every major state of India to promote regional development. The individual NITs, after the introduction of the NIT Act, have been functioning as autonomous technical universities and hence can draft their own curriculum and functioning policies.
The admission to undergraduate programs of all the NITs is done by the All India Engineering Entrance Examination popularly known as AIEEE. In addition to the NITs, a host of other well known national level reputed institutes like DA-IICT, DCE, NSIT, IIITs, SPA Delhi, BIT Mesra, IIEST(proposed) accept students from this examination. The examination is objective by nature and will be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education popularly known as the CBSE uptil 2008. More than eight lakh(800,000) students appeared in 2008 for around 9000 seats in the B. Tech and B. Arch programmes available in all the NITs put together. Academic Session 2009 onwards the NITs have been entrusted with the task of organizing the AIEEE right from setting the question paper up to the counselling of students through their own set up under one umbrella, which will automatically entail the administrative procedure of the whole process. Every year from 2009 an elected set of NITs selected on a rotation basis will take individual turns to conduct the exam at the national level just like the IITs do for the IIT-JEE.
Other meanings
Operating and maintaining equipment
The term 'engineer' is also often used to describe a technician or a person that mends and operates machinery or engines. In that use, it usually does not refer to a person with an academic engineering degree or an engineering license. For example, in the United States a railroad engineer denotes the operator of a locomotive, a ship's engineer denotes the operator of the steam engine on a steamship, a broadcast engineer maintains broadcast facility operations, and a stationary engineer is normally responsible for a boiler plant and/or stationary steam engine. The term "field engineer" or "customer engineer" is often used to describe manufacturers' (or third party) supplied installers and/or maintainers of (complex) equipment at a user's site.
In the United Kingdom, there is no regulation of the term "engineer" as there is in many other countries and its use by repairers and fitters is particularly prevalent, giving rise to complaints of loss of status from traditional professional engineers. Debates about the use of the title of engineer, similar to that afforded to doctors, are widespread and periodically are directed towards government, with a view to establishing legislative protection for its use.
In firefighting, the term "engineer" refers to a firefighter whose assignment is to drive the fire apparatus and, if it has an on board water supply, to remain with the engine and operate the pumps so that the firefighters using the hoses have sufficient water to extinguish the fire.
Non-academic professional certification
The term "engineer" may also be used to describe holders of some forms of professional certification other than university degrees, such as (but not limited to) Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Certified Novell Engineer, Red Hat Certified Engineer and so on.
In Canada, the usage of the term "engineer" to describe holders of professional certification is not legally permitted. The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers mounted an extended campaign to get Microsoft to renounce use of the word "engineer" in the title of their certification. A 2001 reader survey by Microsoft Certified Professional magazine found that over half of respondents supported changing the name of the MCSE to remove the word "engineer".
Military engineers
A military engineer is a member of any branch of the armed forces responsible for the design and construction and also the destruction of offensive, defensive and logistical structures for warfare. This term is used in military units throughout the world and has been used since ancient times, extended in modern terms to include the laying and disarming of minefields and booby traps.
The Engineering Officer in larger ships, and the senior engineering sailor (typically a Chief Petty Officer) is called the Chief Engineer. In smaller ships without an Engineering Officer the Chief Engineer runs the engineering department. To facilitate brevity of communication in an operational shipboard environment, the Chief Engineer on United States Navy vessels is colloquially referred to and addressed as "The CHENG", or simply "CHENG".
In the British Merchant Navy, the Chief Engineer is a rank equivalent to the Senior Engineering Officer on a US ship.
See also
Lists of notable engineers by discipline
Other related lists
Licensing and registration
External links
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- [Airborne Engineers Association, a military association, which is a registered charity, made up of serving and ex members of Airborne units of the British Corps of Royal Engineers refer to www.airbornesappers.org.uk]
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