Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

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SteveHGraham
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by SteveHGraham »

If there's one thing I love, it's polite discourse.
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NP317
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by NP317 »

Harold:
You made me laugh out loud this morning! For that I thank you.
Please continue to be the inspiration we all appreciate.
Well, most of us, anyway.
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mikeehlert
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by mikeehlert »

Dave_C wrote:
A good engineer talks to the wrench guy and ask. What do you think?

My personal opinion is that all engineers should spend 4 years in the field and then go get their professional credentials.

Dave C.
Some of the best advice an aspiring engineer can get.
Along with "Keep your mouth shut and ears open." said in the most positive way possible.

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RickBarb
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by RickBarb »

Dave_C wrote:I gotta comment on this since I hold some "Engineering" credentials!

Engineers are schooled {taught} facts, theory and so forth. Wrench guys know how to take it apart, fix it, make it better and then put it back together.

A good engineer talks to the wrench guy and ask. What do you think?

You need both to make a good product. I was a wrench guy long before I gained my professional credentials. I grew up on the farm working on tractors, balers and everything else that ran or was supposed to run.

My personal opinion is that all engineers should spend 4 years in the field and then go get their professional credentials.

Dave C.
Russ Hanscom
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by Russ Hanscom »

I will admit to being an engineer - and a good one - and some of the best training I received has been from non-engineers. I do agree that you need to have practical experience. Also need to understand the needs for a particular project - is it going to launch people to the moon, or just hang a coat on the wall? - some people put the same effort into both types of projects, I do not.

Not sure if it really hereditary or not, but I am fifth plus generation engineer, all the brothers, sons, nephews are engineers - BUT, we are not a herd of nerds. We do know which fork to use, engage in social discourse, and rarely have engineering discussions unless it is about the Darwin Awards.
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by Steggy »

eeler1 wrote:[Civil engineers] are tied for 'worst engineers' with the UK mechanical engineers, who believe that the more moving parts you can design in the better engineer you are.
A now-dead friend who was a mechanical engineer (and one of the inventors of the pop-top beer can) once opined that UK mechanical engineers didn't understand that oil is a liquid and one has to take steps to ensure that it doesn't leak out of the machine. British motorcycles and sports cars are a good case in point: they leak like a sieve. :D
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by warmstrong1955 »

BigDumbDinosaur wrote:
eeler1 wrote:[Civil engineers] are tied for 'worst engineers' with the UK mechanical engineers, who believe that the more moving parts you can design in the better engineer you are.
A now-dead friend who was a mechanical engineer (and one of the inventors of the pop-top beer can) once opined that UK mechanical engineers didn't understand that oil is a liquid and one has to take steps to ensure that it doesn't leak out of the machine. British motorcycles and sports cars are a good case in point: they leak like a sieve. :D
From an old friend of mine, years ago, that was a BSA fan:
"Show me a Triumph that doesn't leak oil, and I'll show you a Triumph with no oil in it"

(Like one leaked more than the other)

;)
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Dave_C
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by Dave_C »

We do like to comment on how bad an engineer did with a certain design but there may be more to the story!

Did the bean counters make the engineer cut quality so they could sell at a lower price? This is often what I run into. I tried to work with some manufacturers with some of my inventions only to be told I had too much money in my design. Quality cost money and not all companies intend to build high quality merchandise.

We knock overseas products but they are making the product to our specs. Cheap and fast! They can, will and do make beter products that they don't export.

So not all bad products are the engineers fault.

Now we can work on the bean counters, LOL

Dave C.
I learn something new every day! Problem is I forget two.
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by warmstrong1955 »

Pick your calling......and decide who is to blame......
what-the-customer-actually-wanted.jpg
:D
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by SteveHGraham »

If anyone falls off that swing, let me know so I can file a frivolous lawsuit.

You forgot the panel that says "What it Looked Like When the Attorneys Got Through."

Air bags, safety switches, a big sticker saying, "Do not attempt to eat this swing"...
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by tornitore45 »

Dave C. I appreciate your point. I worked in Industrial Electronic (Telephony and Radio Transmitters) for 3/4 of my career. Things were designed and built right, never had pressure to reduce cost, they trusted our judgement to keep cost in mind but not being driven by it.
The last quarter I worked for consumer electronic built in China from our design and lately directly designed in China wit our toothless supervision and verification. The bean counter and most of all the MBA's squeezed the suppliers of every part to point that quality was OK on the qualification samples and bad thereafter.
Since we were just "babysitting" the Chinese design I took it like a sign to jump ship.

In my view to market a product that is so bad to be not functional is immoral. Not everybody can afford a Roll Royce, but you can choose BMW, Hunday and KIA, on the other hand take battery drills for example: They look like drill, they are pretty, with soft 2-tone rubber grip, an LED to light your way and a bubble level to keep you straight but do not drill holes, at least no more than 3 holes in thin aluminum MAX, the case and the gearing, the tiny motor and the inadequate battery do not have the strength to make it a serviceable tool, not even for the typical home-owner. These modern product are not less expensive than the old plain vanilla metal case Black&Decker, the difference is simply a much higher profit obtained by the MBA philosophy of managing a company.
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Mid Day Machining
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Re: Are Engineers the Most Obnoxious People in the Universe?

Post by Mid Day Machining »

I have a tee shirt that says "MACHINIST, AN ENGINEER WITH COMMON SENSE".
You can buy good parts, or you can buy cheap parts, but you can't buy good cheap parts.
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