Becoming an engineer with no degree?

[homeomorphic]

And I forgot to mention that programming is a good way to get hired by companies that do engineering. You would still be doing programming for them, rather than actual engineering, but you'd still be involved in building stuff, or at least contributing to the software part of it.

 

[TyPie]

That's a fine question. If you look at what other countries think an engineer is you'll discover that they're not even remotely similar education or experience requirements. In some cases, I have to wonder if they even assign the same meanings to the words. Doing it "better" depends upon what you expect from the outcome.

My point is that I think engineering in North America could be improved significantly by migrating away from a strictly academic approach and toward more apprenticeship. Note that I'm not dismissing academics entirely, but I am trying to avoid Years of class work that students barely use for a decade or more. I would also like to see more technical development taught to students. For example, I learned about RF engineering entirely on my own. I never had any classes on the various polynomials used in filters, Impedance mapping using S-Parameters was not taught either, Noise figure calculations and Dynamic Range measurement techniques were not taught either. The notions of group delay characteristics and linearity were not taught either. Antenna design was only taught in the most rudimentary discussions with no transmission line theory at all. Nobody discussed modulation theory at all. These are things that I had to learn on my own. I wish there had been a mentor to help me understand those things.

These days, I see issues with power grid stability, syncrophaser data analysis, and the like. Nobody teaches the theory behind real time systems used in SCADA and event based reporting problems, either. We all learned how it works by trying stuff and figuring out what works and what doesn't. And by the way, this isn't just me complaining. I was at an academic meeting several years ago and professors were complaining amongst each other that THEY had no idea what people like me were building with or doing in the standards we wrote.

In other words, this learning never stops. Even if they remember every lesson from college, there are still new techniques and new concepts to discover throughout the career. We need to keep a fresh perspective from mentors who teach younger engineers where the state of the art is. So why not start that way from the beginning? My rant is against the sheer incompetence of bureaucracies to properly gauge what a person can or can't do. I am suggesting a system of apprentice oriented study because I feel it is better suited and longer lasting than an entirely academic approach.

As for TyPie's notion of just lying on a resume: Do not lie on your resume. That is a firing offense in most places.

You will get caught eventually. I used to work with a lady who, for nearly 15 years told everyone that she'd graduated from a well known college. Then one day, someone checked. It later turned out that although she had attended that well known college for some time, she never graduated as she had claimed. She was fired not long after that and they used that original lie to keep her out.

What she made in 15 yrs would have taken her 30 yrs if not more to make the same amount. What's even more disturbing is that you guys couldn't figure out that she wasn't very smart. This is a reason why people really question what you learn with a degree.

 

[JakeBrodskyPE]

What she made in 15 yrs would have taken her 30 yrs if not more to make the same amount. What's even more disturbing is that you guys couldn't figure out that she wasn't very smart. This is a reason why people really question what you learn with a degree.

Not sure if you're trolling, but I'll give you the benefit of my doubts.

What you don't realize is after that time she hasn't had steady work since. Mind you, the original people who hired her were no longer with the company.

Some day you will discover the Peter Principle. This lady had hit the Peter Principle limit pretty hard. It wasn't merely that she annoyed many people around her, we have had many annoying managers, so that's not a major show stopper. The problem was that she had no idea how to manage the systems she was tasked with maintaining. The whole company was depending on the systems being there. She also could not account for where her budget went, and was often absent without leave.

If you feel that little white lies like this are acceptable, then you'll do it again for something else. Sooner or later it will snowball and then you'll end up like her. I strongly recommend honesty. You'll sleep better at night and your overall quality of life will be better.

 

[DivergentSpectrum]

I think you complain too much.
Put yourself in my shoes. I have a criminal record (and not just a one time thing but a long rapsheet from when i was young and stupid)
I may know physics and math up to maxwells laws, including a general knowledge of c programming, but in all likelyhood itll be nothing more than a hobby. I am struggling to find a job flipping burgers, and youre complaining cause you don't want to do some menial work to pay your way through an accelerated course.