Designer vs Electrician vs Engineer

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dicklaxt

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Here's an interesting slant that I see and have experienced.

I have noticed that all electricians in the field (bar none that I have worked with) refer to anyone out of the engineering office,be it a material specifier,purchasing agent,designer etc to be an "Engineer" and really believe in most case's to in fact be a graduate engineer. It should also be noted that there was a wall between the office personnel and the field electrician.

I as a designer had a lot of trouble with that wall but as time went by was able to tear it down and I became one of the crew tho I couldn't use any tools, even to the point of lunch together,beer afterhours at the local ice house some social functions and going home for a home cooked meal together.

The telling of jokes, mostly off color (smile), was a good entry to the realm of the electrician. You probably have heard this joke,its been around for a long time, about the guy from the office walking around the job site with a pad and pencil talking to people and writing down their names.A big burly electrician was approached and asked what his name was and the engineer wrote it down.The electrician asked what that list was for and the engineer replied I'm making a list of everyone whose rear end I can kick.The electrician replied,I don't think you can kick my rear.The engineer started erasing his name saying OK,I'll just take you off the list. I actually tried that after a few days on site in the foremans shack at lunch time.It was always a popular hangout at lunch as it was air conditioned.I guess there was at least a dozen electricians present and that joke went over with many laughs and put me in their good graces from that point forward.

dick
 
There are usually stereotypes about the different groups. Social gatherings are important at work and the value of cook-outs and BBQs at lunch and such should not be over-looked. It makes for a better work place. Friction naturally developes between departments and you have to short that out from time-to-time.
 
Might as well get it started: What's the difference btw engineer's boots and cowboy boots?

Cowboy boots have the BS on the outside.
 
Our installation group is pretty small and the techs and I are on a mutual first name basis. I've pulled wire with them and cursed recalcitrant installations with them. They respect my knowledge nearly to the point of annoyance, and I don't hesitate to ask them what they think if my own resources seem inadequate. It certainly didn't happen overnight, but my own attitude is that I don't and can't know it all, and I'll believe you have something to contribute until you demonstrate otherwise. Maybe that makes me a rarity among degreed engineers. If so, I'm disappointed that's the case. My first job was so unusual that there was no conceivable way my engineering program could have prepared me for it. I had to depend a lot on the OJT the technicians had accumulated over the years to help me find my way in that particular field. That may have kept me a little humbler than engineers who went directly into a technical environment and never had to clean a reactor or turn a wrench. The one thing I've never done is say to someone "We're doing it this way because I'm the engineer and I say so." The only appropriate place for that attitude is when dealing with your 6-year old. Sometimes.
 
gadfly56 said:
Our installation group is pretty small and the techs and I are on a mutual first name basis. I've pulled wire with them and cursed recalcitrant installations with them. They respect my knowledge nearly to the point of annoyance, and I don't hesitate to ask them what they think if my own resources seem inadequate. It certainly didn't happen overnight, but my own attitude is that I don't and can't know it all, and I'll believe you have something to contribute until you demonstrate otherwise. Maybe that makes me a rarity among degreed engineers. If so, I'm disappointed that's the case. My first job was so unusual that there was no conceivable way my engineering program could have prepared me for it. I had to depend a lot on the OJT the technicians had accumulated over the years to help me find my way in that particular field. That may have kept me a little humbler than engineers who went directly into a technical environment and never had to clean a reactor or turn a wrench. The one thing I've never done is say to someone "We're doing it this way because I'm the engineer and I say so." The only appropriate place for that attitude is when dealing with your 6-year old. Sometimes.
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Well said and that so often is the case

dick
 
dicklaxt said:
I have noticed that all electricians in the field (bar none that I have worked with) refer to anyone out of the engineering office,be it a material specifier,purchasing agent,designer etc to be an "Engineer" and really believe in most case's to in fact be a graduate engineer. dick
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Well, if you had ever worked with me you wouldn't be able to make that claim.

Roger
 
gadfly56 said:
Our installation group is pretty small and the techs and I are on a mutual first name basis. I've pulled wire with them and cursed recalcitrant installations with them. They respect my knowledge nearly to the point of annoyance, and I don't hesitate to ask them what they think if my own resources seem inadequate. It certainly didn't happen overnight, but my own attitude is that I don't and can't know it all, and I'll believe you have something to contribute until you demonstrate otherwise. Maybe that makes me a rarity among degreed engineers. If so, I'm disappointed that's the case. My first job was so unusual that there was no conceivable way my engineering program could have prepared me for it. I had to depend a lot on the OJT the technicians had accumulated over the years to help me find my way in that particular field. That may have kept me a little humbler than engineers who went directly into a technical environment and never had to clean a reactor or turn a wrench. The one thing I've never done is say to someone "We're doing it this way because I'm the engineer and I say so." The only appropriate place for that attitude is when dealing with your 6-year old. Sometimes.
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I think that your situation is more the norm than the exception. I am an engineer, and I've climbed on roofs, pulled wire, and handed tools to our master electrician. He knows a lot about the practical side of wiring a system and I lean on him for support in that arena quite a lot. I like to think that he looks at our relationship as symbiotic as well. There is nothing to be gained by letting stereotypes interfere with cooperative relationships within an organization; a good team is comprised of members whose skills complement and support each other. I hate the "vs" in these thread titles.
 
I can see similar analogy to when I was still in military. Officers that were once enlisted men, seemed to be officers that the enlisted men liked and trusted more than those that were never enlisted. Was not always the case, and some officers just needed to be broke in by the guys that are truly "getting the job done". The ones that were enlisted before already knew the realities of doing the job and trusted the feedback they got from the enlisted. He also knew that even though he technically outranked a senior enlisted man he did not have the experience and could learn a lot from that source of knowledge.
 
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