What happens when a civil engineer refuses to certify a bridge is safe? What happens when a network engineer refuses to certify a network will work? Why is there a difference, and what can we do about it?
I'm not sure that's the right question. Here's the real question: What happens when a civil engineer certifies a bridge as safe, that isn't? He goes to jail and his license is revoked. He's barred from the field. What happens when a network engineer says a system will work that doesn't? There are no civil or criminal penalties. The PE process is a two-way street - you get the perks, but there are also consequences for misbehavior. Daniel L. Golding Sr. Internet Engineer Cypress Communications (and a degreed ME) -----Original Message----- From: owner-nanog@merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On Behalf Of Stephen Sprunk Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 12:25 PM To: J.D. Falk Cc: nanog@merit.edu Subject: Re: "Engineer" (Was: Tech contact for Qwest?) I think that most of us act as ethically as management permits. There's a reason why vendors bring an "engineer" along on sales calls; customers have a very solid understanding that nobody else (sales, marketing, etc) can be trusted. That's not to say every "engineer" is without ulterior motives, but they're virtually guaranteed to be the most ethical people you'll meet at any company. What happens when a civil engineer refuses to certify a bridge is safe? What happens when a network engineer refuses to certify a network will work? Why is there a difference, and what can we do about it? Stephen "Engineer" Sprunk Stephen Sprunk, K5SSS, CCIE#3723 Network Consulting Engineer Cisco NSA Dallas, Texas, USA e-mail:ssprunk@cisco.com Pager: +1 800 365-4578 Empowering the Internet Generation ----- Original Message ----- From: J.D. Falk To: Vadim Antonov Cc: david@brouda.com ; nanog@merit.edu Sent: Monday, August 23, 1999 10:48 Subject: Re: "Engineer" (Was: Tech contact for Qwest?) On 08/22/99, Vadim Antonov <avg@kotovnik.com> wrote:
David Brouda <david@brouda.com> wrote:
Now, I have mentioned three key words: engineer, professional, and
ethics.
As a student of engineering, I believe that these three words go hand-in-hand.
The facts that somebody is being professional, educated and ethical does not guarantee that he has any idea of what he is doing. The catch is that a clueless person is generally unware that he's clueless, so he can be quite eithcal and professional in what he thinks he is doing. Watch the hordes of ATM zealots - many of them with very impressive credentials. Does not make their "contribution" any more worthwhile.
Yeah, but at least they have a code of ethics. Where'd ours go? ---------========== J.D. Falk <jdfalk@cybernothing.org> =========--------- | OKINA MAKETSU IPPAI NO UISUKI, ONEGAI SHIMASU! | ----========== http://www.cybernothing.org/jdfalk/home.html ==========----