Made By Monkeys

Apparently when the government says you are not, at least that's the case with one hapless engineer in the United States.

Chuck Murray, Senior Technical Editor at Design News, writes about a bizarre case in the U.S. in which an engineer's credentials are being seriously investigated by the State of Illinois in his recent article, "Are You An Engineer If You Don't Pass The P.E.?"

(Note PE stands for Professional Engineering Exam, a test I once studied for but never took because I elected to attend instead a cribbage tournament that weekend instead. On second thought....)

Murray writes: "During the course of his 55-year career, Burton Siegal has assembled a resume that would be the envy of most design engineers....Unfortunately for Siegal, the state of Illinois isn't sure he deserves to be called an engineer. Because Siegal isn't a certified Professional Engineer (P.E.), the state's Department of Financial & Professional Regulation is investigating him for the unlicensed practice of engineering. Siegal's attorney says Illinois has asked him to "show cause" to prevent it from levying a "cease and desist" order that would stop Siegal from using the term "engineer" or "engineering" on his business card or in his company's name. Siegal sees the matter as a cruel irony, especially since he is an engineering graduate of the University of Illinois. "