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1
Definition of Engineering
Introduction
The advancement and application of technology have become
increasingly complex activities and involve people with a broad scope
of training, skills, and experience. Engineering has not in the past and
will not in the future be the sole province of individuals with degrees
from accredited engineering institutions and engaged in designing
products or services.
To analyze the complexity of the subject, the Panel on Infrastructure
Diagramming and Modeling went about the task of defining engineer-
ing by first discussing, as individual topics, the mission of engineering,
the credentials of engineers, the functions and activities within engi-
neering, and the context of engineering work. Based on these discus-
sions, the panel arrived at the following conclusions:
· The mission of engineering is to apply knowledge derived from
mathematical and physical sciences in creating or delivering useful
products or services of a technical nature.
· The credentials of people in the engineering field include experi-
ence in applications as well as evidence of formal education and train-
~ng.
· The functions of engineering extend from research through tech-
nical operations and include direct management of technical or engi
9
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10
INFRASTRUCTURE DIAGRAMMING AND MODELING
peering activity but do not include general management or such
support functions as purchasing or sales.
· The context of engineering includes lousiness, government, aca-
demia, and self-employment.
In parallel with the preparation of working definitions, the panel also
developed a flowchart of education and engineering experience, rang-
ing from secondary school graduation through an individual's exit
from engineering work. To quantify the flows, the panel reviewed
available data sources. In doing so, it became clear that there is an
engineering community composed of people who are or have been
actively engaged in work within the mission and context of engineering
but who may have had no formal training in engineering. They may
have degrees in the physical or biological sciences, in liberal arts, or,
particularly, in computer science, or they may have had no formal
training at all before entering engineering work. It also became clear
that the engineering community included individuals who had had
training or experience in engineering but who were not currently
employed in either engineering or in engineering support. These people
may be employed in general management in technology-l~ased compa-
nies or elsewhere in the economy, or they may lie unemployed, but they
are a reserve pool that is available, particularly to industry, for engineer-
ing work if there is a surge in demand for engineering talent.
Together, the structural and flowcharting approaches led to the
working definitions that are given below. For simplicity, the panel
combined the mission and context aspects into the single definition of
engineering, and it defined the engineering communityl~roadly enough
to include people with current or recent credentials or employment in
engineering work. The definitions of engineer, engineering technolo-
gist, and engineering technician differ only slightly from those used in
other studies. {For a discussion of the historical context of definitions of
engineer and engineering, see Appendix A. ~
The notion, however, of an "engineering community" far broader
than a " community of engineers" is a departure from previous stud-
ies and is a novel feature of the panel's work. Chapter 3 shows clearly
and quantitatively why it is important to recognize the contributions,
at both professional and support levels, of people without formal engi-
neering training, and of the "engineering reserve," which contains
people available to meet surges in industrial demand
Definitions
As discussed in the Executive Summary and in Appendix A, the panel
found it necessary to establish definitions, with particular application
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DEFINITION OF ENGINEERING
11
to its own work and to that of the Committee on the Education and
Utilization of the Engineer, and on which to base accurate data collec-
tion and display, and analyses of data about the profession. The panel
recognizes that this challenging task is subject to controversy and,
indeed, emotionalism, but it was essential for the purposes described.
The following definitions were adopted by the panel.
Engineering Business, government, academic, or individual efforts
in which knowledge of mathematical, physical and/or natural sciences
is employed in research, development, design, manufacturing, sys-
tems engineering, or technical operations with the objective of creating
and/or delivering systems, products, processes, and/or services of a
technical nature and content intended for use.
Engineering Community People meeting at least one of the follow
. . . .
ng cone .ltlons:
· actively engaged in engineering, as defined above;
. ~ . . . . ~ .
· actively engagec ~ in engineering education;
· qualified as an engineer, engineering technologist, or engineering
technician, as defined below, and actively engaged in such engineering
support functions as engineering management or administration, tech-
nical sales, or technical product purchasing;
· qualified as an engineer, engineering technologist, or engineering
technician, as defined below, who was but is not now actively engaged
in engineering, engineering education, or engineering support.
Engineer A person having at least one of the following qualifica-
tions:
· college/university B.S. or advanced degree in an accredited engi-
neering program;
· membership in a recognized engineering society at a professional
level;
· registered or licensed as an engineer by a governmental agency;
· current or recent employment in a job classification requiring
engineering work at a professional level.
Engineering Technologist A person having at least one of the fol
. . . ... .
owlug qua .lilcatlons:
· a bachelor's degree from an accredited program in engineering
technology;
· current or recent employment in engineering work, but lacking
the qualifications of an engineer as defined alcove.
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INFRASTRUCTURE DIAGRAMMING AND MODELING
Engineering Technician A person having at least one of the follow-
ing qualifications:
· a degree or certificate from a one- to three-year accredited techni-
cal program;
· current or recent employment in engineering work, but lacking
the qualifications of an engineer as defined above and at a lower job
level than that of an engineering technologist.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
engineering technologist
