BSME in email signature? 8

[kevindurette]

I work as an applications engineer and reverse engineer for a distributor, and many of our clients have little or no college education. The term "engineer" seems to be loosely tossed around by people all over this industry. I did not take my FE exam, though, so I cannot call myself an EIT. Would it be appropriate to put BSME at the end of my name in my email signature? It doesn't seem to be a title that people often brag about; I'm sure my bachelor's degree required only a fraction of the work it must take to earn a doctorate's degree. It might clear up questions of credibility with customers with whom I have not yet dealt, however. I don't want to come off as arrogant either, though. What do you think?

 

[brandoncdg]

Why in the world do you want to add more info to your signature in an email? You just need

Full Name
Company or Logo of company
Email Address
Phone
Fax

And that already takes up 5 lines of the most important stuff. The only other thing to add to that would be

Full Name, P.E. or whatever licenses you have.

Anything more than this seems extremely over the top and just wasting space in the email. If someone contacts you outside of your company they will pretty quickly know if you know what you are doing, or just a janitor engineer with BS.

CDG, Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading

http://cdg-ca.com

 

[photoengineer]

Brandon,

Putting your e-mail address in an e-mail is redundant. Fax machines are antiquated. That leaves three lines - name, company, and phone. A fourth can be used to state your title at the company (i.e., mechanical engineer).


Cedar Bluff Engineering

http://cedarbluffengineering.webs.com

 

[KENAT]

Not always photoengineer. Sometimes a message may get forwarded or something and what was the 'to' may only show name not the actual email address.

I can't recall the details but I've ended up with something like this before.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[jber82]

Will it help gain or loose customers is the real question. If you are dealing with engineers it may help, but if you are dealing with 80 year old mechanics that dropped out of the 3rd grade when they were 15 it may rub them the wrong way.

I deal with "sales engineers" everyday and don't know if any of them actually have engineering degrees or not. I never think anything about it as long as they are good at their jobs.

http://engineerhumor.com/

 

[brandoncdg]

photoengineer: I have seen enough emails get replied back and forth where the original emails addresses are lost. That's why I would tell anyone to put your email address in your signature. Currently we have a big project with the developer requesting reply all for any single email. It's like a 25+ consultant list going back and forth. Imagine at the meeting table the all together groan of all these people when this was reuqested haha.

I know what you mean though since most email addresses don't get lost in the Matrix.

Talking with others I don't really care what their position in life is, as long as I know what discipline they are coming from, which is generally obvious from their company name. I know plenty of very good designers that can answer a lot of difficult Civil related questions, that only have a high school degree. And plenty of P.E.'s that can't answer those questions. But when you get your P.E., that's more impressive than adding M.D. to your name.

CDG, Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading

http://cdg-ca.com

 

[grimmy65]

I agree with kepharda. Seeing the various opinions for each side, it would probably be best to sit for the FE so that you can get your EIT. The other route would be to get your employer to pay for a masters so that you can put MSME behind your name.

 

[Whiffle]

Don't do it. I wouldn't put anything after your name until you are a PE.

 

[Waidesworld]

My brother in law did a degree in law and then a few years later he did a associates in engineering which somehow made him into an environmental engineer. He recently became a chartered engineer. Now I love the guy but when he's emailing me he could at least drop the sig. which uses about half the alphabet.

Some of replies have included, Real Engineer, Proper Engineer and this morning I simply sent CnH2n+1OH-ic after signing it.

drawn to design, designed to draw

 

[brandoncdg]

I think even putting EIT in your signature isn't something to do.

Waidesworld, that's funny. Why not just call yourself a garbage man or whatever other professions now call themselves enegineers. =)

CDG, Los Angeles Civil Engineering specializing in Hillside Grading

http://cdg-ca.com

 

[sodengineer]

Another look at things:
Would you sign

John Smith
Podunk Law School 2009?

John Smith
BA Liberal Arts?

I say nope, the only qualification is PE. When you get your PE, you will understand why that is. Until then, keep your hand down, mouth shut, eyes and ears open.

This is from person who is:
Commerical Pilot (land and sea), Instrument Rated
Certified Scuba Diver
Licensed Catamaran Captain
etc etc etc.

The point is, PE is the only qualification (that counts) in this business.

 

[TheTick]

Anything less than PE or Ph.D. sounds like a wannabe working too hard for status.

 

[HSNIC]

I put credentials in my resumé. Definitely worth it.

Instead of BSME, Maybe put your college nickname in the signature for a conversation piece. A lot of non-degreed people and those with degrees have common ground in sports, especially college football.

Something like,

Kevin Durette
"Go Fightin Foresters"

 

[TheTick]

One of my best friends has dozens of degrees and certifications: BS in EE and Physics, MBA, MSEE, Law, CPA, and more. He really is that talented and driven.

In his office he has only one certificate hanging on his wall: licensed fortune teller in the state of New Jersey.

 

[Ron]

Photoengineer...to do what you suggest violates many state laws...the terms "Mechanical Engineer", "Civil Engineer", etc. are statutorily protected. Unless you are licensed, you can't use them.

Kevindurette....yes, you earned the degree, but to use it in your signature is a bit pretentious. As someone else suggested, pass the FE then use E.I. or EIT, then continue to get your P.E.

 

[bvanhiel]

Ron,

Most states have an "industrial exemption". A PE in my industry (medical product development) does not have any value. I would guess 90% of the mechanical engineers I know are not PE's.

-b

 

[rmw]

My company has an engineer at a customer site who has "Graduate Engineer" in his e mail signature.

It raised a flag in my mind as to why he did that. Was he the only degreed engineer at that plant or in that utility? Or was he just austentatious?

Overall, it was unseemly. To this day it strikes me as odd.

I have worked in departments where many weren't degreed engineers but they carried the 'title'. Some were good at what they did and others weren't. But everyone in the dep't knew who the degreed engineers were and who wasn't.

When the department's credentials had to be established in a big proposal or the like, everyone's resumes were included as part of the presentation, so the clients became aware of it then.

I am a PE but I don't have PE in my e mail signature at work. I could but I don't. But my company does require me to put my job title in my signature which of course is Mechanical Engineer.

rmw PE

 

[CRG]

Ron the problem with folks calling themselves engineers when they are not licensed professionals is common. Take a look at this site (

http://www.apl.washington.edu/people/profile.php?last=Light&first=Russ

) and you will find a department head that took the offensive against me when I simply asked what state he was registered in. He demanding to know where I worked and who I was affiliated with just for asking if he was a licensed engineer. He never answered my question and he is not licensed in the state, Washington, where he works, as such, I will let you draw your own conclusion regarding the University of Washington department heads.

 

[desertfox]

At the end of the day obtaining qualifications in the field you work in is a very worthwhile thing, it is also a great personnel achievement,however lots of people have degrees,Phd's etc,it is not uncommon for most people working around you to have similiar qualifications.
That being the case the people round you don't really care what qualifications you have, they probably care more about whether you can do your job or not. When I speak to a colleague I don't think oh he is Phd or PE or whatever, I just need to talk to him about the project.
We had a honours degree qualified engineer who astounded our office one day with a telephone conversation, in which several colleagues and myself heard him say that 100 degrees centigrade (boiling point of water) would be warm to the touch!
On another occasion we discovered he couldn't understand simple lever problems or do simple trignometry, now would it make any difference if he put his letters after his name on his emails as to what people thought of him.

desertfox

 

[SomptingGuy]

I receive emails from some people with "Six Sigma black belt" in their signature. It's quite handy really, because it means I'll need to explain things really carefully and slowly to them.

- Steve

 

[FeX32]

I too have similar experiences on the matter. I found that the individuals that have 80 or so characters after their name (of which I have no idea what they are) are the most incompetent of all.
It is the classic game play of inferiority complex.
I remember this one guy could not fit his name in one line with 9 pt. font.
I personally don't put my credentials after my name. There are times when it is appropriate, but within a department for example it is not necessary.


Fe