Look, no one in this thread means any disrespect to the IT industry, or to programmers. I respect IT professionals and programmers. I also respect doctors, lawyers, and janitors (ok, maybe not lawyers). This thread is not about respect or disrespect to any certain profession.
Having said that, let me break some things down. Just because an engineer comes to you for help when his computer or network goes down does not mean that you should call yourself an engineer. I’m a mechanical engineer by training. When I have serious car trouble, I take my car to a mechanic. He fixes my car, but he does not call himself an engineer. Also, he does not tell me to cram my 60k per year engineering job after he has fixed my car (which I am perfectly willing to admit that I could not have done myself).
As for the comment on the “might” of the IT industry: are you serious? The engineering field is much bigger than the IT industry. Without engineering, there would be no computers and there would be no networks. Speaking more broadly, there wouldn’t be much of anything. Look around your office. I’d wager that everything you see has been touched by an engineer at some point: your phone, desk, computer, printer, palm pilot, coffee mug, and the machine that was used to make your coffee. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the office building itself!
So, on to the semantics: when talking about “engineering,” what do we mean? I think of an engineer as someone who uses mathematics and the laws of science (primarily physics and chemistry) to solve (practical?) problems. Normally, the solution to the practical problem involves the design and/or construction of something tangible. By that I mean that something is built (such as a car, MEMS device, coffee cup, machine, building, bridge, computer chip, electronic circuit, etc.).
Let’s talk about what my (yes, this is my personal definition and I am open to discussion on others’ points of view) definition means. An engineer is not simply someone who “builds something,” whether that something is a car, building, or a computer network. Similarly, it is not someone who only studies the laws of science or mathematics (they are called scientists and mathematicians). Under this definition, computer engineers would be considered engineers. Computer scientists (note the use of the word “scientist” in this title), programmers, and, yes, IT professionals would not. That is not to say that the work of these professionals does not affect the engineering industry in some ways. Obviously, the work of many professionals affects the engineering industry in many ways. But that does not mean that those professionals are all engineers!
There is no question in my mind that the term “engineer”, in the context we are discussing here, is misused. I will concede, however, that this misuse is likely to continue. But I still haven't heard a well-reasoned argument as to why IT professionals should feel entitled to use the title of engineer.
One last point: I have a BS and MS in mechanical engineering. I use engineering principles and mathematics to solve problems everyday. BUT, I am not a PE, and the word engineer does not appear in my title or anywhere on my business card.
Haf
