lybrary wrote: I think here in the US many engineers get their education from trade schools.
No.
You've criticized me more than once for talking about subjects that you think I don't know anything about. Don't get yourself caught in the same trap.
In America, an "engineer" means one of two things:
1. A
Professional Engineer, who has taken (and passed) a PE exam in one of the engineering fields (Civil, Mechanical, Aerospace, Electrical, etc.). Requirements include:
- Earn a four-year degree in engineering from an accredited engineering program
- Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam
- Complete four years of progressive engineering experience under a PE
- Pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam
This is equivalent to an attorney having passed the Bar exam, and why engineering is considered to be a Profession (like law or medicine) rather than a trade. Once having done so, he is issued a PE license by the state, and can practice in that state. He is able to certify documents and plans as having been done properly, and is liable for faults in those documents and plans should they be wrong.
The PE who signed off on the plans for the bridge that recently collapsed in Florida is, no doubt, currently having many in depth conversations with his attorney and his malpractice insurer.
2. Generically, an "engineer" is someone who has earned a four-year degree from an
accredited Engineering college or university. The ABET accredits schools, by inspecting and reviewing their curricula, faculty, facilities, etc., to insure that students received a proper education including not only engineering studies but other appropriate topics to make a well-rounded student who can integrate his engineering training into society at large. My own degree required that I take not only science, engineering and mathematical topics, but political science, history, literature, economics, and composition.
"Trade Schools" offer two year degrees. With respect to Engineering, the degree will typically be in "Engineering Technology", rather than Engineering. Other schools may offer programs of shorter duration, and yield a "certificate" rather than a degree. A person who gains employment based on such a degree is typically a technician, rather than an engineer. (I have, on rare occasions, seen senior technicians re-classified for purposes of higher pay as "engineers" rather than technicians. This is after they have demonstrated that their years of professional experience is a valid substitute for the engineering degree.)
Back then engineers typically learned via some kind of apprenticeship.
No. Again, you are saying things that are absolutely wrong.
Ever since the
Morrill Act of 1862, when the federal government endowed state universities to promote the "mechanic arts" and engineering, engineering has been a degreed field.
When Gallaway compared Print Estimation to Engineering, he was full of it. It is a ludicrous statement. The Profession of Engineering is a far deeper and broader field than the trade of printing.