Crossposted from https://beehaw.org/post/24258253
This week, meet a reader we’ll Regomize as “Wilson” who once worked as the boss of a welding shop attached to an engineering consultancy.
Wilson set the scene by telling us this story came from the early 1980s, when AutoCAD was replacing drawing boards.
“We had a new structural engineer who those of us in the shop quickly identified as an idiot with a degree,” Wilson wrote.
One day, said idiot decided that the computers used to run AutoCAD needed to be cleaned and that the welding shop was the place to do the job.
Engineers do a lot of dumb stuff ask anyone who works in the trades
As an engineer, a lot of engineers do a lot of dumb stuff.
Part of it is that a lot of engineers don’t think through the implications of their design. Part of it is that a lot of engineers coast by on the equivalent of copying other people’s code. Part of it is that budgets for projects are so compressed that you need a high performer to get it done on budget and getting that high performer in this case isn’t always viable. Part of it is that you need someone smart enough to do the job and dumb enough to not go for a higher pay position in another field.
Thank you for this. I agree 100% with this analysis. Working with an experienced engineer who understands that copy and paste doesn’t make sense in the real world is a game changer. A engineer who understands the intricacies of assembly, local code, maintenance and customization we deal with in the field are complex and require feedback from the people who do this job for a living are so much better to work with. I do understand there’s a lot of dumb tradies as we have a lot of nepotism and ignorance in the trades but there’s a pool of smarter people who absolutely appreciate a competent engineer
I’m a crane technician and I hate engineers
They probably hate you as well. Nothing like being told how to do your job by a technician who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Nah mate, there’s good engineers and there’s bad ones.
The best ones I’ve worked with have been hands on in the field so they know what is happening.
The worst are desk jockies making lift plans etc and going way over with safety factors
50t lift rather then use 4 30t soft sings they will go with some stupid sized chain because they’re not the one who’s lugging the things around.
How about mechanical engineers who design a machine as tight and compact as possible with no regard to servicing after resulting in work having the ba carried out in a confined space in a chassis tunnel to replace a filter.
No shit, Sherlock. Ive been an engineer for more than ten minutes. Appreciate the pep talk though.
So the people doing the actual work day after day week after week who just have less privilege and access to higher education don’t know anything. You’re ignorant AF. That Has not been my experience
This is the problem. Every technician thinks engineers don’t do any work, or the right work. It’s just a different job. That’s it.
I dont need to dip my hands in grease to be working my ass off just like you.
And if you wanted a degree, you could get one I took put student loans to get my degree, and im still paying on them (not even the point). The privilege you’re talking about is just you being jealous you didnt decide to go to school and get a desk job that pays you well.
Well, guess what, they both suck. We’ve been duped by capitalists into thinking we all need to break our backs for their benefit while they sit on a beach somewhere getting richer.
If you think engineers are the problem, then you’re missing the point.
I only commented in the first place bcz I’ve been getting these kinds of comments from technicians my whole career, and frankly, it’s annoying to hear everywhere I go.
Frankly, “doing the actual work” is much less important than you’d imagine. I have yet to hear someone start with “I’ve been doing this job for…” and not end with something stupid.
Plenty of tredies know a lot, and I’ve met a bunch of tradesmen who did try uni but quit. But also, plenty of them have a need to tear down engineers because they feel threatened, and plenty more think an engineer is an idiot because he wants things done differently than “the right way” which is, of course, “how I’ve always done it”.
Being an engineer just means you have a degree. It’s almost like everyone is different, and its just a piece of paper…