Title

[jike]

Is is legal to call yourself an "electrical engineer" on your business card and in proposals to clients when you are only a two year graduate? This person is not a PE but is a licensed "designer" in Wisconsin.

I know if you use the title of "architect" and are not one, the AIA will come after you and you may be prosecuted by the State License Board of Architects.

 

[zdas04]

Same with engineers. It depends on the state, but the states I'm familiar with specifically prohibit anyone "holding themselves forth as engineers" without a PE. In addition to bididng on engineering work, one good way to get crosswise with the engineering police is to have a title on business cards or stationary that includes the word "engineer".

David

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

http://www.muleshoe-eng.com

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

The harder I work, the luckier I seem

 

[MintJulep]

Although some states do make the distinction between the title "engineer" and "licensed engineer" or "professional engineer".

 

[JAE]

I'd still contact the Wisc. state board and notify them of this - at the very least they can tell you if they do make the distinction between E and PE as MintJulep states.

 

[TheTick]

The definition for designer in Wisconsin is very narrow and limited to specific types of design. I doubt the individual can get away with billing himself as an engineer when his license specifically says he is not.

WI does have a path to become a PE without a 4-year degree. Look on the state website.

 

[whyun]

jike,

What is a licensed designer? EIT?

 

[mrMikee]

In Wisconsin it was a common practice to use the title "Engineer" on job classifications and on business cards even if the person was not a degreed engineer. I don't know if this has changed at all, but as JAE says contact the state board.

 

[sms]

Part of the distinction is weather or not you are offering services to the public, or bidding on government contracts. In Texas at least, you must be a PE to call yourself an engineer in those contexts.

I reported to the PE board the fact that a number of people in my area use the term broadcast engineer, or sound engineer in the media business, and for the most part these guys are technicians with no engineering education much less a PE. The board rep said it was not worth pursuing.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[IRstuff]

Your guy, while not necessarily breaking the law, is certainly being unethical, since almost all EE jobs require a 4-year EE degree.

TTFN

 

[dik]

Depends on the jurisdiction...

In some jurisdictions, you cannot use the title engineer unless you are a member of the professional engineering association. In Manitoba, for example, even if I'm registered in Ontario, I cannot use the designation P.Eng. until I am registered in Manitoba. Manitoba and Ontario both objected to Microsoft using the term "Software Engineer" unless the person was a registered engineer, and Microsoft stopped the practice in these jurisdictions...

Dik

 

[GregLocock]

I freely grant you the right to use the abbreviation MEBA after your name.


That'd be Meaningless Ego Boosting Acronym.


Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[EddyC]

Greg,

I killed 2 entire summers worth of weekends to study for that "MEBA" as you called it. I colleage of mine killed an entire years worth of evenings since it took him 3 tries before he could pass the "MEBA" exam.

 

[TheTick]

I one worked for Kaplan test Prep. I think I see a fortune to be made in MEBA test prep courses.

 

[CanuckMiner]

Dik, I think you'll find that Microsoft has not stopped the practice (actually did stop and then started again) and that this is still an "area of concern" for some provincial engineering bodies. Not that they do anything about it, and in many cases do not seem to have the authority to even do anything about it.

Cheers,
CanuckMiner

 

[SomptingGuy]

Over here in the UK if you do anything using a spanner or screwdriver you are expected to have the word "Engineer" in bold letters across your white van and on your supermarket business cards.

 

[dik]

CanuckMiner... I don't know what MS did, but I know the professional bodies had sent them notices to desist...

I don't have a problem with anyone using the term engineer... during the last 30 years, I've met good and lesser engineers as well as some excellent technicians that have had more on the ball than some engineers...

I think of engineering as the 'Oldest Profession'...

Dik

 

[rholder98]

From the Texas Board website: "Graduates of all public universities recognized by the American Association of Colleges and Universities have the right to disclose any college degrees received and use the title "Graduate Engineer" on stationery, business cards, and personal communications of any character. A graduate engineer who is employed by a registered firm and who is supervised by a licensed professional engineer may use the term "engineer". Refer to the Texas Engineering Practice Act, Section 1001.406."

Again, the point is that you have to check with the individual state board. They all vary a little in their rules.

 

[GregLocock]

"I think of engineering as the 'Oldest Profession'..."

How's that? we get paid by and ...ed by the client?

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[dik]

Greg... I think I'm going to use MEBA... great acronym! I've always used engineering as the 'oldest profession'... goes back some 30+ years for exactly the same reasons you mentioned (not to mention the abuse!).

Dik

 

[JStephen]

I looked at the WI rules and they do seem pretty vague. A lot of other jurisdictions make it more plain what you can and can't do.

Normally, there are exemptions in the rules for Operationg Engineers, Locomotive Engineers, or other professions that have traditionally used "engineer" to mean one who tends an engine, as opposed to one who designs them. So don't just assume that every use of the word is improper.