design/product/project engineer title meanings 3

[sgtlethargic]

What are the main diffences between these job titles (most specifically for a mechanical engineer)? My 1st engineering job title was "Product Engineer". I ended up being a DRE (Design Responsible Engineer). I basically wrote validation test plans, pushed to get the product validation tested, and wrote reports. I did very little design work.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

[lz5pl]

Senselessticker, nice scale

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It may be like this in theory and practice, but in real life it is completely different.
The favourite sentence of my army sergeant

 

[sbozy25]

The higher your title, the less work you actually do and the more meetings you attend.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Until quite recently we had this scale

1 Development engineer
2 Senior Development engineer
3 Project engineer
4 Senior Project engineer
5 Principal engineer
6 Manager/Technical specialist
7 Senior manager
8 Technical director

Which seems fairly sensible and straightforward. I could never (and still cannot) get to grips with the scale at one of the big car companies (with a big centre near Basildon). My contacts there seem to be promoted every year but never appear on any org charts.

- Steve

 

[jistre]

That scale has one fundamental problem, SomptingGuy: There are three levels of directors/managers above the engineers.

In my experience, those managers typically have no technical skills whatsoever (and fewer common sense skills). Like so many things that float through the sewers, these people also tend to float up to the top. Since getting something through them and into production takes wading through three levels of manager, rarely is the effort worth trudging through.

I truly hope you're lucky enough, as I am now, to have management positions above you filled by engineers (practicing, mind you, not the kind that completely trade their mathematical skills in for a career of counting beans) and not by what my cynical mind makes me believe is the norm.

 

[SomptingGuy]

jistre:

The accountant types kick in above level 8, thankfully. Those who use words like "city". Yikes. Everyone from 8 down is or has been an engineer.

But the grading system for us plebs has recently changed. We now have C,D,E,F, where F is what 6 used to be. I think it's to do with killing off the overtime culture, but those are just my thoughts.

- Steve

 

[jistre]

Well, that's good news, SG. Every company needs those counting types, but they should always be kepts as far away as possible from the people who actually produce things.

(And now for the five degrees off center metaphor of the day)

Putting them together is like mixing Bailey's Irish Cream and sweetened lime juice. Sure, they each make tasty drinks of their own, but if you mix them, you get something that doesn't flow well and makes you want to throw up.

 

[cksh]

A few years ago I was hired as a design engineer. (i actually designed stuff). I can't remember how but I found out that i was actually a design engineer III. I am sure it was because of salary etc. I think it also helps them if you start screaming for a promotion. "OK, you are now a design engineer IV!"

At my present employer I am a senior engineer. They never mentioned what class. I am sure its low considering there are guys here with the same title and have 20 years of experience on me. Doesn't give me warm thoughts when I think about getting a promotion. Maybe I will get a raise out of changing to a II

What really bothers me is that my job function will never change. No matter what the title. Supervisors do the same job we do.

But I have had lots of titles. Design drafter, senior drafter, designer, mechanical designer, engineer, mechanical engineer. there is probably 5 or 6 more. In the end I don't think they were all that much different.
Do what we say not what we do