[KTL]

I only glanced thru this topic, but one statement did catch my eye by Souk. And no, I didn't pick out this statement simply because Souk is a local friend of mine. It's very true:

"An engineering degree does not make you an engineer! You have to be an engineer at heart to be a good engineer...and you don't need an engineering degree to be a good engineer.

Just because someone has PE after his/her name doesn't mean diddly. It's just passing a test. Those who produce good work that is clever, effective, practical, and so on, are those who are the true PEs. I don't claim to be a great engineer (civil) by any means. But I know a good one when I see one. Some of the plans I review for my municipality are ridiculous. It seems like some people simply want to get stuff on paper to get the job approved and get going on construction. Those guys who like to "wing it" in the field scare me.

And yes, civil engineers are the ones you yell at when traffic backs-up, roads fall apart, your basement floods, bridges fall down (God forbid....), ........... etc. I don't know of many things civils do that the average Joe appreciates. It's not like computers or architecture that people woud marvel at their creation. Civil stuff is just there for the utility.