There's a farmer on here?

I work in a division (485 people) called "Weapons Systems Engineering". Some of us do systems engineering, some of us do test and qualification stuff, some of us do basic research on detonation/shock physics and some others do stuff with hydrogen-materials interactions. Our degrees cover: (duh) engineering, chemistry, metallurgy and physics. Some HR monkey has declared that, since we're in "... systems engineering", we all must be engineers.

There were not a few bad feelings among the chemistry and physics PhDs. Primadonnas all of them - even worse than chemical engineers.

That would NEVER happen at ORNL. Never, never

BTW - if you know a guy who was called Goodsie in college, tell him hi from me. He's Dr. Goodsie now (Mat. Sci.).

I'll be nicer if you be smarter.

I didn't miss that, but then there are a lot of things I don't miss. ;)

Some of my best friends are engineers. This is all in good fun.

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Wow. This was obviously a topic that touch a lot of people.

I have an HP41 app on my iPhone. SmileWavy

That's hilarious! I need to get that, so I can leave my HP48G at home.

Relax Hugh. His post immediately died on the vine as we all went off in various directions, "acting" pompous, arrogant, humorous, nerdy, evil genius, etc. This is OT, where we tend to play better. ;)

It's awesome. It's called "i41CX". I'm afraid to admit that I use it all the time.

I still use my HP41CV that I bought brand new in 1982. It's sitting on my desk as I type this. They'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead fingers.

That's funny. When I first started at ORNL I was told that engineers are "second class citizens". I shrugged it off, but it's true. It's an interesting social and professional dynamic.

Our value here is to arrogantly tell the PhD physicists why their crazy idea won't actually work. I stood and listened to one physicist spend 10 minutes describing this thing he wanted to do during an upcoming outage. He had it all figured out. He got done and asked what I thought. I said, "Yeah, technically we can do that. Unfortunately the radiation levels will kill all of the technicians, though.". He hadn't thought about that part... ;)

I don't have much experience with engineers but around here is the triple PHDs out of MIT, Harvard, etc. I don't find them arrogant.

I do enjoy being invited to parties and watching them interact with each other...

Even if you do find that an engineer is arrogant and you tell him he is arrogant I really don't think that he/she will change....he will still wonder why you are avoiding him.:confused:

I used to have a little computer club group that met at my office in the front lobby back in the 1980s and 1990s. I was the only non engineer. One guy was the multiple time engineer of the year at AT&T back in the 80s. Several were engineers at Seagate one was at the FAA.

They were a great group of men. Most were retired or close to retiring. We all tinkered with computers back before the internet.

I wish I had my camera at one meeting. As we were breaking up to go home 5 engineers were standing up and chatting and ALL of them were looking at their shoes.

It kinda backfired on the OP's intended trolling, didn't it?
Maybe if he had a degree ....... or a clue.

You hear it often from some folks that play down a degree or a profession and they have no idea what the educated have to go through. Engineers, doctors, dentists etc have to have internships, experience. I give them all credit as they have studied so hard......and the engineer has to sit down 8 hours a day and crunch numbers. The dentist has to stand all day looking at and working on patients' teeth.

I never complain about engineers while driving over a bridge in the same context that I never ***** about farmers with my mouth full.

An 8-hour day is one where I go home really early.

HA! HA! VERY funny Dennis! well done. I managed a group of (mostly) software engineers and they require a different approach from either artists or "mere mortals".

I do not ascribe to the opinion of the OP but I do think Dennis has identified some personality traits often found in people who pursue an engineering career.

I, like many others, have anecdotal experiences with engineers where the optimum response is to smile knowingly and just walk away...... :)

I think irrespective of what a person does for a living, once identified as one who NEVER takes any advice, it is best to stop trying to give said advice.

Perhaps the flaw in engineering thinking, if there is one, is the belief that the application of logic answers all questions. In undergrad the Jesuits spent 4 years pounding that into our heads, it took another 3 years of grad school to completely remove it......:eek:

"I've worked with a lot of good engineers and most of these don't tend to suffer fools which to a bull$hitter could be perceived as arrogance. I have also worked with a whole lot of arrogant guys who spent their time telling people what they knew rather than trying to understand what they didn't know." <= This is true in many walks of life........ Bull****ters REALLY hate it when they are called on it with facts, confidence and experience. AND it is a thing of beauty to behold OR participate in! :)

In closing, thank god for engineers and for that matter people in general who ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING.