[unclebilly]

In Canada, 'Engineer' is a restricted title. The provincial engineering associations such as APEGA (association of professional engineers and geoscientists of Alberta) are very vigilant. Every company that advertises 'engineering' must prove that they have a licensed professional engineer on staff and must have a 'permit to practice'.

So here, not everyone / anyone can call themselves an 'engineer'.

For the better or worse of our system, every Professional Member must prove that they have a 4 year engineering degree from an accredited university or equivalent (APEGA defines what is equivalent). When I was engineering manager at a company that made Pressure Control Equipment (20ksi equipment), the guy on my team that did the drawing and calculation checks was a German trained engineer who was a graduate of a 3 year program and had years of experience. We are still arguing with APEGA about getting him a P.Eng designation. He is one of the brightest and most thorough engineers I've worked with in my career but didn't do a 4 year program... They will grant him a Professional Licensee designation with a limited scope of practice which I think is unfair given his abilities and experience. I'm involved because I was one of his references and recommended him for P.Eng.

As I mentioned above, not everyone with an engineering degree practices engineering. There are also those without a degree that do practice engineering. In Canada, the former can call themselves an 'Engineer' provided they are registered with their provincial engineering authority whereas the latter can not.

Also as professional engineers, we need to prove that we are doing professional development each year and participating in the profession.