this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
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Engineering isn't usually a cert. It's a degree. I have a Bachelor of Engineering, majoring in Software Engineering. There's probably a cert level qualification in software development, and frankly it's probably just as good at producing effective software developers as an engineering degree, but it would be misleading, if you claim that only those with some particular qualification can call themselves engineers, for the qualification to be a cert.
In Canada the Cert and the Degree are separate.
You typically through getting your degree also become certified, but the key is while your degree lasts forever, the Cert has to be maintained and renewed.
Cert has a lifetime and expires and you have to keep it up to date.
In Alberta for example the regulatory authority is APEGA: https://alis.alberta.ca/occinfo/certifications-in-alberta/engineer/
I think even technically the license is also a separate piece of paperwork.
Degree: you completed school at some point
Cert: up to date on current practices, must be maintained, requires the degree
License: you are legally allowed to practice in the province/country and have registered. Requires degree+cert
Ah right, you're talking certification. I was thinking certificate, because "Certificate I – Certificate IV" are very common less-than-Bachelor qualifications where I live, usually shortened to Cert I–Cert IV.
Obviously the terms "certificate" and "certification" are etymologically basically identical, but their meaning when it comes to the type of qualifications they represent are significantly different.
It's a license issued by the state. As in, "you could go to jail for practicing engineering without a license."
(Source: was on track to become a licensed civil engineer until I decided to do software "engineering" instead.)
See, the thing is, software engineering in Australia is engineering. My degree was accredited by Engineers Australia and had the same requirements as a civil or mechanical engineering degree.
Of course, it definitely is still the black sheep of the engineering world. In the vast majority of (possibly all) cases, practising as an actual engineer is no different from practising as someone with a different degree (like IT or computer science), practising with a lower-level qualification like a certificate, or practising after being entirely self-taught.
In the US, to become a licensed engineer you need to get an accredited bachelor's degree in it, and then pass the "Fundamentals of Engineering" exam to become a state-licensed "Engineer in Training (EIT)," and then work in the field for four years, and then pass the "Principles and Practice of Engineering" exam to become a state-licensed "Professional Engineer (PE)." The degree is just the first step.
Does Australia let civil engineers certify construction plans straight out of college? (Answer: apparently -- and surprisingly -- some states do!)
Fwiw in my previous comment's second paragraph when I said "practising as an engineer" that meant "practising as a [software] engineer". I wasn't claiming that that's how it works for all fields of engineering, but pointing out specifically how software engineering is more similar to degrees in computer science, IT, or being self taught.
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