I do not know if licensing/certification is the answer, but I wish there was a way to weed out the type of "professionals" that seem to be appearing more and more often in the newsgroups I frequent, with posts along the lines of:
Hi group!! I'm a surgeon and will be performing open chest surgery on one of my patients tomorrow. I have a few questions: What is an hemorrhage, when do you use it? What is a suture? What is coagulation, What is an antibiotic? What is anesthesia, do you implant it before or after the coagulation? Where exactly is the heart? Can you help me? Please email the answer directly to the operating room.
Yes, I am exaggerating. No, I am not exaggerating a lot.
Roberto Waltman
[ Please reply to the group, ] [ return address is invalid. ]
So just what does "a degree from a university" really mean?
Yesterday I heard a news report that questioned whether or not average US college graduates were even literate -- their test criterion was related to reading product labels/instructions [I was driving at time so I was paying attention to other things ;]
I remember a sophomore EE lab requiring us to design a 1 transistor amp. MANY of my classmates were going to supply tech requesting better than
1% tolerance on bias resistors. Had reason to suspect they had similar problems later.
I had an informative experience interviewing for a student position as electronics tech for university's chemistry department. The intended result of one of my (then future) boss's questions was either a half wave or full wave rectifier. I automatically went from fused connection to wall outlet to filtered DC out. He was surprised.
I later was a tech for the "Power Supply Engineering" dept of a mini-computer manufacturer. A fresh EE grad was assigned to "design" a new AC power control panel (basically cord, fuses, relay, transformer, and distribution of fused AC to convince outlets). Said BSEE had not the foggiest of what to do.
Decades later, between jobs, I applied for a temp position with a community college to pull computer cable for their *TEMPORARY* expansion into new facilities. It was admitted that I was more qualified than many of their permanent staff, but I didn't have letters after my name.
As to PE license, it's irrelevant to reality if not legality. I don't know how it is now. But when I was a BSEE student in 60's, an EE interested in medical monitoring [which I was] was required to be competent to design bridges to receive a PE license. Did they know an aorta from a neuron was irrelevant.
So who is unqualified? I have no degree or formal university training. I went to a polytech and studied electrical. Now I design radios and interface them to a digital world.
Well, please do not extrapolate this on all the European countries. That website is about France and thus it is, um... self-explanatory. ;-))) Despite the fact that we call ourselves "European Union", there is no essential unification between our countries in this field. Each country has its own regulations, so no French labour time limit is applicable in, for example, Poland and vice versa. Here we have
40 hours/week + overtime, if necessary.
Best regards Piotr Wyderski
--
"If you were plowing a field, which would you rather use?
Two strong oxen or 1024 chickens?" -- Seymour Cray
One time my wife spotted some fresh blackberries in a farmers' market in Baden-Baden. She took them down to breakfast to put in her cereal. Everyone was asking, "I can't find the blackberries on the buffet" ;-)
Me, I liked all the cold cuts, sausages and boiled eggs ;-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.
Naaah! How to press the buttons on a McD cash register ;-)
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.
I had a corresponding experience in my first job (some 35 years ago). Newly qualified, I was asked to design a simple Colpitts oscillator: 1 transistor, around 2MHz. I fished out my slide-rule, & prepared for a heavy afternoon's maths. My mentor stepped in, & said (in effect) "I know that's how they teach you in Uni, but it's not how we do it in the real world". His design logic went:
Supply voltage = 9V (that's what we've got available)
Transistor = BC109 (the stores are knee-deep in them)
Ic = 5mA (known by experience to work well)
Bias chain current = Ic/10 (ditto)
Vb = Vcc/3 (ditto) Now solve out the resistors, & give me a parts list.
He signed the list, I took it to the stores & got the bits, & 20 minutes later, the oscillator was running.
Theory vs Practice.
"Theory: when you understand all about it, but can't make it work." "Practice: when it works, but no-one knows why."
- Seen in a German office, 1974 (translation mine)
Unfortunately that attitude includes that of the USA :-(
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.
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