charlie b said:
I gotta jump on you here, Mike. I've agreed with you twice in recent days, and I need to make amends for that transgression.
jwelectric said:
What you all have to realize is that most electrical engineers do not have an understanding of the grounding concept as we know it.
Neither do most electricians.
jwelectric said:
Most of what they learn about grounding through school is chassis grounding. Most of the classes that they take have more to do with electronics than electrical constructions as we know it.
No true at all. I hated electronics, and preferred courses related to power distribution and analysis.
Please accept my apologies Charlie I didn?t mean this to be offensive.
I dropped out of my engineering classes because after two years I hadn?t covered one thing that had to do with electrical construction. In the time and money that I spent I felt that I would have been better off taking a TV repair course. In the courses that I did take and was able to pass a ground was nothing more than a reference point. Not once did I cover the grounding (bonding) of a circuit in order to facilitate the opening of an over current device. The ground was always referenced as the chassis which is indirectly connected to earth. I do believe that it is my knowledge of the electrical construction trade that hindered me in those courses that I took.
Now don?t take me the wrong way there is a need for engineers and I have nothing but respect for anyone that can endure the four years of school. It is not an easy thing to accomplish. I quit so that tells me something. :wink:
I just don?t see where a degree in electrical engineering would help the installer of the electrical system. Looking at my course material for the next semester I didn?t see anything that pointed toward any code or installation criteria. All I saw was more math and electronics.
When working in the field and I run across something in a PC board that is not working properly I just replace the board. In 37 years in the field I have not ever used an oscilloscope nor have I had to figure the X sub l of a circuit. The only time that I worked on a power factor in a plant I just installed what someone else had designed (an engineer). When I ran into a problem with the electrical serviced I just called the power company and they took care of the problem.
Again please accept my apologies if I offended you or anyone else with my statement. The engineering field is just not my bag of bones. I fail to see where it would benefit anyone who is going into the electrical trade as an installer of the electrical system.
I can and do see where it would be of
GREAT use for someone that is designing the system or a component of the system as long as they continue their education into the code aspects of the trade.