[b1n]

But doesn't an engineer's authority come their skill-set and not from peoples perception of them or their job title?

When you say diminished, are you are talking from a societal point of view?

Prompt Engineering is a fun title in a fast moving and interesting field. Everyone's taking it far too seriously.

I'm going off to become a Clay Engineer, that sounds fun!

[criddell]

A Profession Engineer’s authority comes from their education and experience. When they stamp a design or plans, they are putting their reputation and livelihood on the line. If they are negligent, they can be sued for malpractice and may be barred from working as an Engineer in their field. If their employer asks them to do something unethical, they have a duty to refuse.

I personally think it’s worth reserving certain titles for qualified practitioners. If you want to call yourself a Doctor, Lawyer, or Engineer, I think that should mean something.

[ElFitz]

That's also very US-centric.

In many countries it's more a title associated to education and specific degrees from specific schools than a license to practice some professional organisation could revoke.

While, from my limited knowledge, doctors and lawyers both seem to have some sort of license and controlling body in most, if not all, countries.

[criddell]

> That’s also very US-centric.

There are quite a few jurisdictions where some Engineer title is protected:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_and_licensure_in_en...

[ElFitz]

I haven't counted many this page where there is a regulating body that could take away a license to practice as an engineer.

The UK seems to discriminate on a per discipline basis. Canada apparently is ambiguous, with self-regulating bodies but courts dismissing cases regarding job titles. Germany has one, but only for civil engineers (still according to the wikipedia page).

Still only relying on this wikipedia page, there are on the other hand many countries where although the title is protected, it simply requires one to have studied a certain number of years (Poland), to have completed a specific degree (Brazil, Chile, Germany), or a specific degree in one of a few select higher-education schools (France, Turkey).