Engineering technology

An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. Engineering technology education is even more applied and less theoretical than engineering education, though in a broad sense both have a focus on practical application. Engineering technologists often assist engineers but after years of experience, they can also become engineers. Like engineers, areas where engineering technologists can work include product design (including improvement), fabrication and testing. Also as with engineers, engineering technologists sometimes rise to senior management positions in industry or become entrepreneurs.
The engineering technology field often overlaps with many of the same general areas in engineering (e.g. design/development, testing) but the focus is even more on application than in engineering field (which is, in a somewhat different sense, also about the application of science). Engineering technologists are more likely than engineers to focus on (post-development) implementation or operation of technology but this is not a strict rule as they often do design original concepts. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in the USA summarizes the distinction as being that engineers are trained more with conceptual skills to "function as designers," while engineering technologists "apply others' designs." The mathematics and sciences, as well as other technical courses, in engineering technology programs, tend to be taught with more application-based examples, whereas engineering coursework provides a more theoretical foundation in math and science (because those are the very subjects that engineers apply directly). Moreover, engineering coursework tends to require higher-level mathematics, including calculus and beyond, as well as more extensive knowledge of the natural sciences applied in design, which also serve to prepare students for research (whether in graduate studies or industrial R&D). Engineering technology courses generally have more labs associated with their undergraduate courses that require the hands-on application of the studied topics.
Although in the USA, some states require a BS degree in engineering accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) with no exceptions, about two-thirds of the states accept BS degrees in engineering technology accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC) of ABET to become licensed as professional engineers. Each state has different requirements on years of experience to take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Professional Engineering (PE) exams. A few states require a graduate MS in engineering to sit for the exams. This education model is more in line with the educational system in the United Kingdom where an accredited MEng or MSc degree in engineering for further learning is required by the Engineering Council (EngC) to be registered as a Chartered Engineer. Engineering technology graduates with applied engineering skills often gain further learning in graduate school with an MS degree in engineering technology, engineering, engineering management, construction management or a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited Master of Architecture degree program. These degrees are also offered online or through distance learning opportunities with various universities, both nationally and internationally, allowing an individual to continue working full time while gaining an advanced degree.

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