RE: Skills vs education (was: Senior technical writer?)

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

Hmm. Perhaps I'm beating a dead horse, but... 
mlist -at- safenet-inc -dot- com wrote on 10/03/2006 03:02:11 PM:
> doctors, lawyers and engineers have "apprenticeship" 
> stages following their academic studies, only the engineers 
> get their profession-specific academic training as 
> undergrads.

While Lawyers and Doctors may go to school for their specialisation, let 
me tell you that the level of specialisation of a graduate Engineer with a 
Bachelor's degree is VERY low.

An Engineer receives far more specialisation during their years of 
apprenticeship, other OTJ training, and continued learning/study. An 
Engineer with a Bachelor's degree is really only divided into very generic 
groups. Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Civil, and Industrial. Some 
faculties may add Computer Science. While YMMV, after four years well over 
half the courses are probably identical for all with only the final year 
being completely different from one group to another.

Each really only, IMO, gives you a jumping off point in a very general 
direction. Certainly not a well defined career path or anything 
particularly "profession-specific". Your first job as an engineer is as 
important and as formative to an Engineer as internship and residence is 
to Doctors. The requirements, codes, legislation, and ethics you learn and 
qualify in as an Engineer are very much the equivalent of the on-going 
schooling and testing a Doctor is required to do.

Entering into the Engineering profession with only a Bachelor's would very 
much be like a Doctor opting to become a GP. The GP will require a minimum 
of 2 years of residency followed by an exam to be licensed. An Engineer 
too requires two years of work experience followed by an exam to be 
licensed. To specialise further still requires significant study and 
experience. I was no closer to designing critical car components upon 
graduation than a medical school graduate is ready to open a family 
practice or perform general surgery.

Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer


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