Engineer
An engineer is someone who practices the profession of engineering – a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems using technology. The title "engineer" is normally used only by individuals who have an academic degree (or equivalent work experience) in one of the engineering disciplines. In some countries of Continental Europe the title is limited by law to people with an engineering degree, and the use of the title by others (even persons with equivalent work experience) is illegal. Similar laws exist in most if not all American states and Canadian provinces; they usually dictate that only those who have passed the Professional Engineer examination may call themselves engineers. However, the reach of such laws is often limited to cover only situations involving intentional deceit or fraud.
The word "technologist" is sometimes used synonymously as it derives from the prefix Techno- and the suffix -ologist, hence, someone who studies technology. This applies particularly to those european countries with laws regulating the use of the title engineer, since the term technologist is not regulated. However in some Latin countries, "technologist" is a somewhat lower certification at a level between technician and engineer.
A scientist explores nature in order to discover general principles, but an engineer uses general principles in order to design practical things.
In the US, the term "engineer" is also used to denote an operator of a steam engine of some sort, e.g., a railroad engineer denotes the operator of a (steam) locomotive, a ship's engineer denotes the operator of the steam engine on a steamship, and a stationary engineer is normally responsible for a stationary steam engine.
See also
Lists of engineers by discipline
- List of architects
- List of aerospace engineers
- List of chemical engineers
- List of civil engineers
- List of electrical engineers
- List of industrial engineers
- List of materials engineers
- List of mechanical engineers
- List of biomedical engineers
