Arrogant Engineers 37

[sbozy25]

Ok... So someone tell me why this is.....

I notice it with most customers and suppliers I work with, as well as my-self from time to time. I even notice it in these forums.

What is it that makes engineers so arrogant? I was asked this earlier today by someone that thougth i was being arrogant because I told them a convesion from mm to inches was easy. In these forums, if you read most of our posts... you will even notice there is a sence of this arrogance in a good portion of the responses....

Is it because we are for the most part well educated and that makes us this way? Or is it that we are all "nerds" and do not have the best interpersonal communication skills? Or are we just a large group of cocky know it alls?

I don't know, perhaps arrogance is not the word I am looking for, but you all know what I am getting at.

 

[prohammy]

Sideswiper,

Star for you buddy, the sonofapoodle cracked me up, perfect forum insult

As for the rest, I think you made it all up, but I forgive you

Kevin

“It is a mathematical fact that fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class." ~Author Unknown

"If two wrongs don't make a right, try three." ~Author Unknown

 

[debodine]

geekEE, if I understand you correctly, my physical health will be much safer from degradation if I am LESS humble and meek? <grin>

Are we allowed to have this much fun on this forum? )

debodine

 

[Tomfh]

Your wives/girlfriends are the height of rationality compared to a friend of mine.

He had this big heater in his room plus a portable air conditioner. He would turn the heater on full blast and then regulate the temperature by adjusting the airconditioner.

 

[swearingen]

I've found that, as a group, we are thought of as pretty arrogant. I've accepted this, even though I don't think of myself that way.

I often have to go to the field and work with contractors who think this way as well. My trick is to defuse the situation by explaining that all engineers take a class in college to be arrogant, but I made a D. This usually gets a chuckle and the room will warm up just a little...





If you "heard" it on the internet, it's guilty until proven innocent. - DCS

 

[MedicineEng]

In my city there is a big rivalry between 2 engineering colleges. One has the reputation of the best engineering school in the country (the one that I attendend to I ) and the other gets the remainder students that don't have vacancy in the first one.
We have a joke that goes like this:
"What does an engineer from school A (the best one) says to and engineer from school B?
-It's a Cheeseburger and a Coke, please."

Is this being arrogant?

 

[Tomfh]

No, it's being cliched. Everyone tells that joke.

 

[Latexman]

When I'm with other technical people I tend to involve them in the thought process I'm going through. With lay people, I don't, and it comes across as less arrogant.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[KENAT]

Medicine Eng, the joke goes.

Q. "What do you say to an arts graduate with a job"

A. "Big Mac & Fries please"

It's verging on arrogance but firstly has an element of truth and secondly is somewhat clichéd as Tomfh pointed out. This has been used as the base of many jokes, such as yours which support rivalries between schools, departments courses etc.

Your version is just pointing out that some schools are truly superior to others;-).

In my schools town there was a real University and an "institute" which used to be a polytechnic college. We nicknamed the institute variously “dimstitute” or “ destitute”. Is that arrogance, or just typical rivalry? Either way it’s not arrogance due to being an Engineer, so probably not relevant to this thread.


KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[Tomfh]

Here's another variant:

The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with an Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

Those poor old arts students were the butt of everyone's jokes. Half the toilet paper dispensers at Sydney University had the following message: "Arts degrees, Please take one"

 

[MikeHalloran]

Guys at my school who couldn't quite hack the engineering math switched to a special major: Industrial Distribution.

It was arrogant to look down on them ... and stupid.

They've all retired as Caterpillar dealers and such, and I'm still trying to scratch out a living, engineering parts for their yachts.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[oldfieldguy]

Engineers often have answers derived from published data and calculations that can be replicated and validated.

Many managers, HR types, and general hangers-on often have answers based on opinions, flavors of the month, and what they think will please the boss. They THINK they have real answers, but when they are confronted with somebody (an engineer) who's confident of an answer, they label him as 'arrogant'...

"I'm not arrogant, I'm just that d*mned good!"

old field guy

 

[csd72]

oldfield,

I agree with your point.

Maybe engineers arent arrogant enough. If we were then we would be making the judgement of others, not the other way around.

csd

 

[rcooper]

Oldfield,

You have just explained my current situation. I ask the client what their selection criteria for a pump is, and they tell me it is the 20 year whole life cost based on a 7% discount rate. I go to the market place and select the best pump against these criteria. This happens to be the cheapest pump with the lowest efficiency.

Then the client says what about carbon footprint. Surely we should be minimising carbon footprint. So I go to the market place and find a pump with the lowest carbon footprint. Naturally, it doesn't look like what they are used to - low melting point materials, plastics etc, so they tell me they want the highest efficiency, above 85%. So I go to the market place and find them a pump which will operate at above 85% efficient, but it costs a fortune, so they tell me they want the best whole life cost, not just running cost.

So where did I go wrong - it was doing exactly as they asked me to do, not as they wanted me to do. I relied on numbers to back up my proposals rather than the latest fashion.

I thought I was doing as the client wanted. They probably thought I was being arrogant.

 

[HgTX]

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Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[JsTyLz]

Don't you think upper management is arrogant in some of their decisions. At the last company I worked for, Japanese Chairmen and publically traded, in Japan, had a lot of managers I would classify as arrogant. Though I think the act of classifying or calling someone arrogant almost makes you arrogant.... anyways. Based on whims and superficial figures, some of these decisions seemed to go against the strategy of all people in business, to make money. They woud make the decision that they wanted "insert asian import vehicale brand here" as a customer and were prepared to sell them items at a loss, right out of the gate. That seems like an ill informed decision at best.

Why us engineers base our opinion on facts, a lot of people that classify us as arrogant, base there facts on opinion. Buts thats the way it is, so get used to it I geuss.

 

[Kwan]

Worked for a company and a mechanic told me, "the managers where trying to make this company go out of business. So we really performed just to spite them." It's poetic!

 

[bradpa77]

I find a lot of engineers to be very arrogant and self centered.

I am thankful that I'm not one of them.

I don't even like to tell people I'm an engineer half the time. I am proud of it, but I don't feel the need to advertise it or flaunt it in front of people.

I think a lot of the arrogance from engineers stems from a lack of self esteem. They feel bad about themselves for some reason or another, so they need to use their intelligence or engineering career to boost their image to themselves and those around them.

 

[doberdorks]

I find a lot of engineers to be very arrogant and self centered.

I am thankful that I'm not one of them.

Uhm how do you know? Most arrogant people don't think they're arrogant (grin). Seriously though, I've only met a few engineers that I'd call arrogant... and most of those were good enough that the term might not apply (ie they weren't arrogant, they were just right).


SLH

 

[TheTick]

When I was in U.S. Navy nuc school, I encountered a lot of resentment due to the fact that I was doing well with a lot less effort than many others who were failing. Some used the "A" word ("arrogant", not the other "A" word).

Never mind that I did whatever I could to help my peers. I coached. I encouraged. I did watches when duty nights fell before tests. I gave rides and ran errands for the car-less. I never once held myself to be "better" than my peers just because I was performing better.

The judgment of "arrogant" seems to have its roots in envy and resentment.

 

[debodine]

An interesting little saying might be fun to insert here. I am not claiming this saying is accurate and universally applicable...just that I like the way it sounds.

"A person who actually knows what their doing often seems arrogant to the ignorant."

I don't think the saying is using the word ignorant in a pejorative sense, only in the sense of the ignorant person being untaught in that particular area of knowledge.

debodine