Engineer Title Regulation

In many parts of the world, it is illegal to call yourself an "engineer" without both appropriate certification/training and legal accountability for the work one signs off upon, as with lawyers, medical doctors, and so on. It's frankly ridiculous that software "engineers" are permitted the title without the responsibility in the US.

Where I come from (Canada), you can't call yourself an Engineer unless you are certified as a Professional Engineer by the appropriate licensing body. This is similar to the fact that you can't call yourself a Lawyer or a Medical Doctor unless you have the appropriate certification. It's not a matter of fussiness. It's just that there are certain niches for professional behavior and those niches have evolved a process to prevent those without appropriate qualifications fr

In many engineering disciplines you're legally forbidden from self-applying the title of "engineer" -- you have to be licensed and take formal legal responsibility for the quality of your work. That level of discipline and rigor is what most people are referring to when they distinguish between "software engineers" and "real" engineers.

Not sure why you're getting downvoted, other than maybe because the original topic is US-centric.In many countries (not sure about the US), it is illegal to call yourself an engineer, regardless of what discipline it is.In Canada, various provincial bodies (PEO in Ontario) regulate the use of the title "engineer", including derivatives of it such as "software engineer". [0] Some of this might seem heavy-handed (see objection to the MCSE term[1]) and I used to think

In some jurisdictions (like Canada), the title "engineer" is a legally-protected term. Someone like me who has 3 engineering degrees -- but have not taken any licensing exams -- cannot officially use the title "engineer" on a business card without being liable to a fine.I can sort of see the intention behind laws like this, but I also think it's a bit of gatekeeping. The original intention was to prevent someone who isn't licensed from providing professional opin

Most "Software Engineers" AREN'T ACTUALLY ENGINEERS... it's illegal in many states to use that title if you're not licensed with the state's Professional Engineering Board.If you haven't taken professional engineering exams, and passed, you're not an Engineer.STOP IT!

I always felt (perhaps wrongly) that “Engineer” connotes some kind of a professional licensing process (P.Eng for example). I think the title would be more earned if software engineers had to agree to an oath and sign their work (somewhat accountable if harm is caused by negligence).

It's okay; software engineering isn't real either.(In many countries, the word "engineer" is regulated -- you can't call yourself an engineer without professional qualifications and oversight.)https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_and_licensure_in_...

In some areas use of the title "Engineer" is regulated. I'm not claiming what's right or wrong on this, just stating how things are.From Wikipedia [1]:"The practice of engineering in the UK is not a regulated profession [...] In Continental Europe, Latin America, Turkey and elsewhere the title is limited by law to people with an engineering degree and the use of the title by others is illegal."[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E

I was drilled from birth by PE-license-holding parents that "Engineer" is a regulated term that you can't legally describe yourself as without the license.They're correct; it's just that the rule is flouted to the point of non-existence in tech.