[SECProto]

Definitely! Engineers don't do all the work. But if you're working in the field, you don't call yourself an engineer unless you're licensed.

(For context: I work in the field and am not a registered engineer, though I studied it in university. I would never call myself an engineer)

[7952]

I guess this confusion is why a lot of professions use "chartered" to signify this.

[OJFord]

Chartership for engineering most certainly exists, and there are many good reasons it should be more popular within software engineering.

[richk449]

You have an engineering degree, but you wouldn’t call yourself an engineer?

What do you call yourself?

[SECProto]

An engineering graduate, or an engineer-in-training. You can call yourself an engineer once you have several years of experience, pass some exams on law and ethics and whatnot, and get a professional designation.

[ballenf]

Do the ethics courses focus on when you’re allowed to call yourself an engineer?

[zo1]

That is downright ridiculous, sorry. You are an engineer, just not a "certified" or "accredited" one for some sub-set of tasks/things/requirements. The fact that we have to even discuss this as if saying you're an engineer is some ultra-taboo because people might "mistakenly" allow you to do mission critical or potentially dangerous work without asking for your specific accreditation is disturbing and Orwellian-like policing of plain language.

[journalctl]

No, it’s why actual engineering isn’t currently suffering the influx of unskilled dilettantes like software is.

[NOGDP]

Getting an engineering license doesn't require much in terms of skill beyond what you'd learn in undergrad.

[slavik81]

The work experience requirement is pretty important, though. That's how you learn the practical side of the field.

I have a degree in EE, but there's a 0% chance I could safely design electrical equipment. In school they taught me how to analyze circuits, but I know nothing of the electrical code, let alone practical matters like mechanical stresses on wires. Without somebody to learn from, I would learn a lot of things the hard way—when the design fails.