Interesting topic and comments, which I have enjoyed reading.
Engineers, as a group, tend to be negative and I've heard that comment from quite a few non-engineers. Life is never so bleak as some think, including me. And life is very hard for me right now so I am no Pollyanna.
Whether there is a shortage or not, nature and nurture will still effect engineering. People usually move towards their desires even when outside motive forces are not acting upon them. In short, I don't know that we have that much control over numbers in the profession. We do not need to sell young people on STEM. We need to educate them about it enabling them to make a good decision for their lives. It's not about us but them and their interests. We've made our decisions.
I've been participating in the Central Chapter of NSPE-CO, since 2014. It's been quite an education. I understand the importance of licensure and membership in NSPE better now and I am still learning. It is interesting to listen to engineers, attorneys, and insurance companies discuss problems that arise and how they are dealt with, in and out of court. One engineer has been in court numerous times on various things and always takes in a wagonload of documentation and ensures he is familiar with his wagonload of documentation. It matters and is not insignificant. There are many such stories engineers tell about this kind of thing. Attorneys and insurance companies have some interesting stories.
With changes coming in technology, I believe licensure will become even more important and widespread. At least one old industrial company has done away with the industrial exemption and spent several hours explaining what that meant to their engineering staff. With autonomous vehicles coming, based upon some of the presentations I've heard on it, the automotive industry will probably change. I don't know how ubiquitous that thinking is as it is just my opinion based upon what I've learned in the last 4 years of membership in NSPE. My former employer didn't want to assume the legal responsibilities for its engineers any longer and I cannot believe others will not follow suit.
Licensure in the USA is rooted in the US Constitution through Amendment 10 as well as Article 4, Section 2. With that in view, I foresee licensure for engineers as transportation technologies advance.
When I researched ABET's and NCEES's websites, I began to realize that licensure is not insignificant because a lot of effort goes into making it possible. It provides a standard to measure competence much like licensure for physicians and attorneys. And for those who don't put much stock in standards, let's go back to no standards on threads, fiber, etc. and see how good everything works. I know there are problems everywhere but it's a place to begin.
Life events are seldom simple and people are seldom simple. The state of industry, engineering, society, etc. are due to a host of factors, to me. In the USA, a general coarsening of our society has occurred over my lifetime, which is disheartening. We don't value human capital. We have isolated ourselves into silos, which is destructive. This statement reflects some of what I see, "I just don’t understand the disrespectful attitude toward working people.” Source:
AFL-CIO CEO-Worker Pay Ratio
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
