[BC] radio engineering not a profession

[dd92251 at aol.com]

I think the comment regarding Radio Engineering as a non-profession was merely a way of stating that?the job no longer holds the respect and prestiege it once had. Or maybe that is what I read into it.

The title of Chief Engineer was once appropriate, as there was a team of engineers and their director was considered the Chief. That title continued as the team was reduced to nil and only one engineer survived... the Chief Engineer.

However, in todays world, for most, the position of Chief Engineer would be better described as Radio Station Technician...?or fixer of broken things.

Sad but true,
Dave Dybas?


-----Original Message-----
From: Xmitters at aol.com
To: broadcast at radiolists.net
Sent: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:10 am
Subject: [BC] radio engineering not a profession


Richard:?
?
Licensing (I am assuming you're talking about the FCC First Class) has?
nothing to do with "Engineering." My First Phone says "Operator's License" and?
elimination of _IT_ has nothing to do with engineering as a profession; Operator?
Licensing merely placed the responsibility where it belongs; in the hands of?
the station licensee.?
?
When and where was Radio Engineering declared a non-profession? I have a?
very good reason for asking this, given that I have an EIT license from the state?
of Illinois.?
I have contacted the Department of Professional Regulation about taking the?
PE exam.?
?
I was never told by them that Radio Engineering is not a profession. What I?
*was* told is that if the lion's share of my duties were that of repair and not?
"creating" then what I'm doing is tech work and not engineering. I was also?
told that any system or circuit that I designed would likely be considered as?
Engineering if someone signed off on it. Because I have mostly worked at?
one-man shops, there was not a Professional Engineer OR someone practicing?
Professional Engineering who was supervising my work, that experience would not count?
regardless. So Radio Engineering, here in Illinois anyway, is not?
automatically considered as nonprofessional. YMMV. The particular situations like mine,?
are decided by a panel of PE's that decide whether or not the candidate (in?
this case, me) can take the PE exam or not.?
?
The wording regarding supervision by "a PE or someone doing Professional?
Engineering" is there because the definition of Professional Engineering is not?
cut and dried here in Illinois. That's one of the things that the?
certification panel decides.?
?
I could possibly solve this problem by setting up a supervisory relationship?
with one of my licensed professors that I studied under 1n 1995, and have him?
sign off on all of my "engineering" decisions here at the station. That's no?
Guarantee of course. Then what is "supervision?"?
?
The chap at the State that I talked to, also threatened to bring me up on?
charges if I made an issue out of my radio work as the "lone" engineer counting?
towards my experience and a certification to test, because I was not supervised?
by a PE or someone doing Professional Engineering, and "according to me" was?
doing professional engineering. How's that for grade A B*** S***?! To the?
man's defense, I really don't think he was serious; he was just being an?
argumentative smart ass. (that's not much of a defense is it? :-D )?
?
Plus, if you're working as an employee, the employer can give you whatever?
title it desires to give you; BUT, you just can't whore yourself out for hire to?
design onsies and twosies of of a circuit for anyone that asks you to do so.?
Contract broadcast "engineers" here in Illinois are safe, so long as they do?
not deliberately claim that they are a Professional Engineer when they do not?
have a PE license. That decision came down a few years ago, thanks to a law?
suit with Novell, about their CNE program. I CNE can whore themselves out to the?
public, but they're OK so long as they don't use that sacred term, "P.E." Same?
goes for contract broadcast engineers.?
?
Interesting contrast: About 30 miles from me is the famous DOE HEP lab,?
Fermilab. Now if I worked over there replacing cooling hoses on water cooled power?
tubes (and they have a lot of those over there), every minute I'm working?
there counts as professional engineering because it is a government physics?
research facility. I would not even have to be supervision by a P.E.; I would just?
have to be supervised.?
?
> Now that licensing is not required and "radio engineering" is?
> no longer a recognized profession, safety at the transmitter?
> site may fall into the cracks. Most radio transmitters are?
> designed so that it takes multiple failures or downright?
> disabling of protective circuitry to expose a technician to?
> harmful voltages.?
>?
?
Jeff Glass, BSEE CSRE?
Chief Engineer WNIU WNIJ?
NPR Affiliate?
Northern Illinois University?
?
?
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