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[Dray]

Thanks for that, so the so called "Broadband Engineer" obviously needs some training.

Worse still he told me he had a quick job to go to but he would be back to check on mine. He called me an hour later and when I told him it was worse he told me he wasn't coming back!

As a Chartered Engineer myself I have zero faith in OR, I do however digress.

I doubt an Openreach engineer is a C.Eng

[Black Sheep]

Our official title is 'Technician' as it is classed as a semi-skilled trade. There are a few of the older sweats like myself who are time-served electricians, and there are other trade-served individuals employed ....... but you can literally walk in off the street and become an Openreach 'engineer' after a few weeks training and a few weeks shadowing.

That is all I will say on the subject. 

[underzone]

On the other hand, you can buy 'Chartered' status (with royal endorsement I hasten to add) for £150 a year. you get some fancy letters after your name, and get to call yourself a Chartered whatever. It is just another fiddle. Check out BCS...

[Dray]

I'll endeavour to use Technician instead of Engineer in future

[Dray]

On the other hand, you can buy 'Chartered' status (with royal endorsement I hasten to add) for £150 a year. you get some fancy letters after your name, and get to call yourself a Chartered whatever. It is just another fiddle. Check out BCS...

Here, check it out yourself http://www.engc.org.uk/engcdocuments/internet/Website/UK-SPEC%20third%20edition%20%281%29.pdf

[underzone]

Yep, exactly:

http://www.theiet.org/membership/profreg/fees/

Buy it now...

[Dray]

I don't think you understand how the process works 

[Busa]

If it was only about the fees I'd have done my CEng 10 years earlier. Unfortunately it's not quite as simple as that, I started life as a 16 year old apprentice, studied part time for some 13 years and then after a further 10 years applied for my CEng which after writing a full professional report which is counter signed by two other CEng's you are hopefully invited to an interview with three other CEng's who give you a real grilling before telling you three months later if you managed to get it!

Having said that I know some damn good people in Engineering without the qualifications and fancy letters who are better at the job than those that have them. 

Oh and the fees are paid every year, mine are almost double that!

[loonylion]

my degree course is accredited and entitles me to become a C.Eng after 5 years of professional experience. But I need a job first.

[c6em]

I did my Chartered Status via the university route.
At the time the route I did (as it was at the time)

1. Electrical Engineering course at a 'Red Brick' university as they were called and maybe still are.
At this point you could become a graduate member of an engineering institution.
2. Approved 2 year training program at my employer encompassing shop floor work, office work and on site experience covering all areas of the company from finance though engineering/development to site maintenance.
at this point you could become an Associate member
3. A number of years responsible experience: This is the bit which is most difficult to quantify and qualify as to how many years and how do you define responsible.  I think I became a chartered engineer around 7 years after graduating: so around 5 years experience.
All the above has to be recorded in a logbook and the training program of your employer and indeed the degree course all has to have been prior approved by the engineering institutions as meeting their standards.

4. Finally you fill in the form to transfer to full member and become a Chartered engineer.
You needed to be supported in your application by 2 other other chartered engineers not necessarily from your own (electrical in my case) institution. My boss and my engineering director signed mine.
You go for an interview at the engineering institution. I think I was interviewed by two people.

If successful you then become a Chartered engineer and have to pay the full annual membership rate to the engineering institution (IET for me as the IEE is now named) and also an annual fee to the Engineering Council.
You can at this point also now if you want also apply to registered as an European professional engineer which is open to those with Chartered Status with the euro body FEANI - which yes, requires another fee every 5 years I think, cannot remember when mine comes up for renewal).

I think that covers it.......

[adrianw]

I have hard won C.Eng, MBCS and C.Eng qualifications.
Possibly useful when looking for a job.
Useless as a means of generating awe in informal situations 

[HPsauce]

No doubt you can find organisations that will give you a "Chartership" easily, but they will not be accepted as worthwhile by any organisation that is looking for evidence of genuine skills put into practice over an extended period.

Personally I have two genuine accredited Charterships, via a similar route to that described by c6em, through separate organisations.
And all my 3 children are chartered members of relevant institutions, though there is nothing in common between us (and only one is actually a Chartered Engineer).

As c6em describes, it's a non-trivial process to acquire and requires membership fees and (commonly) regular proof of continuing professional development to maintain it.

[JGO]

Recently I re-read Nevil Shute Norway's forward to " Most Secret War", the story of the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons  Development. He makes the point strongly that imagination was vital.

It seems this comes near to defining any sort of engineering - using the old definition of "Ingenious Contriver of Devices". How this ability is recognised is difficult - I've known people with good degrees who are just as hopeless with a new problem as the people who've " been doing it this way man and boy for 40 years. " . They are hardly ingenious contrivers  so what are they ?

[tonyappuk]

Although when younger I had the ambition to achieve chartered status especially when our head of department suggested that should be a qualification to become a shift leader on a television transmitter. It soon became apparent to me that he was more concerned with the prestige associated with Charter Status than with the ability to mend a valved or klystroned TV Tx quickly so that the viewers were not let down. It was also necessary to be a jack of all trades situated as we were in isolated spots often up mountains and with no other resources but ourselves. This meant mending everything from the septic tank to the clock system and of course the transmitter, its control system, the HV power supply and the phone system. And I loved every minute of it and was happy being unchartered (but it was a long time ago!)
Tony

[Busa]

Useless as a means of generating awe in informal situations 

Reminds me of the story my old Mechanics Lecturer told me:

He was eating out with his wife when they bumped into a couple they hadn't seen for years so ended up chatting. The conversation eventually came around to what you did for a living, my lecturer's wife played clarinet for a large orchestra and they had quite a few questions about this. Eventually it was the turn of my lecturer, who being quite a wise man advised us never to tell anyone we were Engineers as no one is interested. So with this thought in mind he decided to tell them he was a university lecturer to which they asked what he lectured in, he replied "Stress Analysis". Their next question was "for which faculty?", he eventually told them it was "Mechanical Engineering" to which they asked "and do you play an instrument?" 

Oh how true that is, very few people actually know (or care) what most engineers do.