Poll:How many of us are Engineers?

[Huston55]

We only get one vote per person, not per certification-- right?

I understand it's just an opinion poll... we already know engineers are hot, but we accept that some people may not realize it yet.

I should have clarified that one can vote for 1, 2 or 3; and then 4 if one so chooses.

I can see you dancing around now Nords on your new lanai.....

"I'm too sexy for my slide rule, too sexy for my HP35s, too sexy for my spreadsheets....Baby!"

 

[Huston55]

I have a degree in chemical engineering but never actually worked as an engineer.

I am confused and not sure how to vote.

I have an engineering degree but after only 5 years working as engineer, I got a lobotomy and moved into marketing.

To make even it more complicated I am retired
I am sorry the number of hot engineers I've met over the years can be counted on fingers and toes.

I'd count you as engineers. Once your brain is hardwired that way, there's [-]no hope[/-] no turning back. You're [-]scarred[/-] prepared to live life with an inherent [-]inability to select an attractive wardrobe[/-] ability to analyze data and make fact based decisions.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

Undergraduate degree in pre-engineering. Graduate degree in physics.

Ended up working as a "quant" on Wall Street.

Does that make me a financial engineer?

 

[rescueme]

I engineered my ER. Does that count?

 

[timeasterday]

I have an EE degree, but haven't done any real engineering work for 10 years. I miss it sometimes.

 

[flotsamandjetsam]

Two engineers, here. I'm not too surprised by the strong engineering presence on the ER board. Engineering is a profession with a fairly narrow income range where if you LBYM you have a shot at ER. We also tend to be obsessive.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

Engineer, Nuclear, one each.
When DW wants me to do something, she says I am hot. I believe her.

 

[Moemg]

Engineering is a profession with a fairly narrow income range where if you LBYM you have a shot at ER. We also tend to be obsessive.

Having been married to two Engineers I can vouch for the obsessive part !

 

[powerplay]

My degree is in civil structural engineering. Throughout my career I had job titles that included civil engineer, mechanical engineer, general engineer, and industrial engineer.

 

[Wendy]

Although I was educated and trained as a scientist, one of my friends once told me I "think like an engineer". I'm sure you'll all agree that's a great compliment!

 

[Midpack]

I should have known that about ER.org, but I didn't. BSME here, one of the few (relative) non-nerds...

 

[ls99]

I am not an engineer and never wanted to be one.

Never found an engineer that I could hold up as a role model.

The engineers I've known and w*rked with had the motto: There are engineers and there are others.

 

[Onward]

Yikes. Almost 60%. That's some skew.

 

[Huston55]

Yikes. Almost 60%. That's some skew.

Nothing like a good skew!

Heh, heh, heh...Unclemick.

 

[Amethyst]

For my part, I've never understood why engineers love to proclaim that "engineers can't write." Do all engineers hold this view, or just the many I've worked with and managed? It's not as if anyone expects them to produce poetry on the job or something.

Business writing is a learned skill based on disciplined, organized thinking. Engineers appreciate disciplined, orderly thinking, so why would they disdain writing?

Amethyst

 

[NW-Bound]

Engineers appreciate disciplined, orderly thinking, so why would they disdain writing.

Nope.

My own experience observing fellow engineers has been that the good engineers tend to write well, while some really poor ones write like an illiterate. I suspect that would be true in other professions as well. Again, like you said, it's not like we have to produce poetry or anything.

"Just the facts, Ma'am", is what we have to write, although some engineering proposals that I have seen read like science fiction, and I do not mean this in a good way.

 

[arky]

Never found an engineer that I could hold up as a role model.

The engineers I've known and w*rked with had the motto: There are engineers and there are others.

I hope there is no ill will lurking behind these posts.

Ever wonder why there are so few engineers in politics ?

 

[omni550]

At the moment, for whatever reason, this thread has had 528 views and only a total of 86 voters.

The poll is probably not generating a totally accurate assessment of the population here.

omni

 

[Alan]

When I was in school, somehow there were very few girls those years. In one class, there was this cute girl, and as I always sat at the rear of the class, I spent more time watching her than the prof! Yes, she was hot!

Same here. 55 in our class, 1 cute girl.

I was the lucky one who got to date her, and we ended up being married at the end of our Junior year so she was not only the first ever female EE to graduate from this particular uni but we were also the first ever married couple to graduate as EEs.

 

[omni550]

Same here. 55 in our class, 1 cute girl.

I was the lucky one who got to date her, and we ended up being married at the end of our Junior year so she was not only the first ever female EE to graduate from this particular uni but we were also the first ever married couple to graduate as EEs.

Alan,

Nice photo and congrats on winning her heart.

Question about your gowns: Were those your graduation gowns or did you wear them to classes (as I've heard that's been the custom at some British schools)?

omni

 

[ERD50]

I'm not too surprised by the strong engineering presence on the ER board.

The engineer in me says that one cannot make any conclusions at all based on a self-selected survey such as this. It tells us nothing about the total population, nor what % of engineers actually voted, nor how many actually saw the poll, etc.

The only thing we can determine is that 52 (at the time I wrote this) members identified themselves as engineers.

Geeky enough for you?

For my part, I've never understood why engineers love to proclaim that "engineers can't write." Do all engineers hold this view, or just the many I've worked with and managed? It's not as if anyone expects them to produce poetry on the job or something.

Business writing is a learned skill based on disciplined, organized thinking. Engineers appreciate disciplined, orderly thinking, so why would they disdain writing?

Amethyst

I think it's just a stereotype. There is some truth to it, but I've met people in many disciplines who can't write. Lately, it seems like professional journalists are among them.

Another stereotype is that Electrical Engineers are no good at mechanical stuff. I grew up tinkering with things, so I'm pretty good with mechanical things. But some EEs really were clueless with the physical world. But is that any more/less the case of the general population? I dunno.


Heck, I knew quite a number of female engineers that would be described as 'hot' by most guys. I feel sorry for any guys whose career path did not provide this experience. Not that I'm prejudice in this way anyhow, but it does help knock any ideas out of your head that a pretty/hot girl cannot also be smart about scientific stuff.

-ERD50

 

[Free To Canoe]

I hope there is no ill will lurking behind these posts.

Ever wonder why there are so few engineers in politics ?

Ask Herbert Hoover or Jimmy Carter.

 

[Major Tom]

I have an undergraduate degree in Electronics but on graduating, promptly became a DJ, a line of work that I followed for the next 20 years. My high school chemistry teacher used to call me Disco Dave, so my leanings must have been obvious even then. While in university, I directed much of my time and resources towards running a small radio station on campus. I think the main reason I went to University was because I thought I was supposed to get a "proper" job and wasn't somehow good enough to get anyone to pay me to do what I really wanted.

In retrospect, I do actually think I wasn't that good, but I somehow managed to find people that would pay me to present programs, do voice-overs etc. The luck finally ran out 3 years ago, but it was a fabulous 20-year journey.

No engineer here I'm afraid

 

[Alan]

Alan,

Nice photo and congrats on winning her heart.

Question about your gowns: Were those your graduation gowns or did you wear them to classes (as I've heard that's been the custom at some British schools)?

omni

Thanks.


The gowns were hired for the occasion, and the chancellor, Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, handed out the diplomas.

Classes were very informal affairs, blue jeans and teeshirts were the norm although many professors wore their gowns while giving the lectures.

 

[Free To Canoe]

Not an engineer, though I thought about it when I was a sophomore in Univ. Engineering paid better, but I just wasn't as interested as I was in the pure science I was studying.

But, I have a great - absolutely true engineer joke - I say "true" because I was there when it happened. I say "joke" - well I'll let you decide. In HS, I had a friend (Earl) who's only ambition in life was to become a carpenter. His guidance councillor insisted that Earl take college algebra and he happened to be in my class. After half a semester, Earl's average test score percentage was barely in double digits as he had not applied himself to such a useless (to him) course of study. One day, the teacher, perhaps in disgust, asked Earl "What do you want to do with your life?" Earl answered in an absolutely serious way "I want to be an Engineer." The teacher (and most of the students) were stunned - almost to silence since they knew of Earl's test scores. Finally, the teacher said "What kind?" Again, in a serious tone, Earl answered "Choo choo." The teacher was NOT amused - but the rest of us were.

By the way, Earl DID become a carpenter and though he w*rked for a building contractor as his c*reer, he made furniture as a hobby - he was a master at it. Just thought you would want to know. YMMV

I enjoy a good engineering joke.
Mechanical / Chemical engineer here.