Why be an Engineer: It’s the Mornings

Dec 4, 2018 | Career, News, Opinion, Podcast, SJCC

Executive Summary:  A recent article by the American Bar Association caught my eye. It was entitled “When is it okay for a lawyer to lie?” I could probably end the article right here.  I’ll keep going. [QR]

Contemplating a law career.  Yup, I get it, you know someone who watched television like the rest of us and you became a lawyer because of Perry MasonLaw & Order,or Boston Legal.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved A Few Good Men.

Is their career going like the TV show?  They probably drive a fancy car and live in a nice home.

Or did your friend realize that his/her “scope of the obligations to truth and integrity [had] become less clear”?  In his or her daily tasks, was (s)he contemplating the acceptable amount of deceit or the purpose of deceit as it relates to the goal?  I’m not sure what all this means, but I think I need a shower. The language in this paragraph was all taken from the article in the American Bar Association’s December 2018 issue at www.americanbar.org.  And look at me, I’m actually a member of the ABA!

Why an engineer?  The proudest of parents say “Oh, my child is going to school to be a _________” – you fill in the blank.  Most parents fill that blank with doctor, lawyer, or engineer.

I’m proud to say that I am an engineer.  You should be proud of your kid if (s)he is going to school for engineering too.  You should be proud of yourself if you’re an engineer.

Here are some excerpts from the Engineers’ Creed from www.nspe.org:

  • To participate in none but honest enterprise.
  • To place…the public welfare above all other considerations.

From the Order of the Engineer:

“I am an engineer. In my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations.”

“As an engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect; and to uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of the earth’s precious wealth.”

“As an engineer, I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give my utmost.”

The public knows engineers as persons with technical aptitude obligated to society and cocooned in integrity.

My story.  One of my good friends is CEO of a top engineering firm in Hawaii. We’ve had many talks over a beer about our profession.  We realize that civil engineering is not the highest paying profession in the world, but it does bring with it a sense of pride unparalleled by other professions. We build America.

We are the reason buildings stand hundreds of feet tall, cars can drive under water, and why no one died in the 7.0 earthquake in Alaska last week. We not only improve the human experience, we protect human life.

Talk to your child about being an engineer.

Ours is a profession which leads to many sleepless nights due to hard work and worry, I’ve never had a morning where I couldn’t wake up and look myself in the mirror.

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