The Relevance of Professionalism to an Engineer.

In Uganda today, Professionalism is a trait that has been repeatedly emphasized however to some extent it has been given a lesser degree of attention especially in the Industries. This is an outstandingly potential threat not only to the Engineers in charge but also the Industry’s reputation generally.

In this article I intend to discuss the Importance and the Relevance of Professionalism to an Engineer. Engineering being a great field, a lot of traits and characteristics must be undertaken Professionalism being among. About Professionalism in Engineering, Dean Gordon Brown mentioned that

“Engineering is not merely knowing and being well knowledgeable, like a walking encyclopedia; engineering is not merely analysis; engineering is not merely the possession of the capacity to get elegant solutions to non-existent engineering problems; engineering is practicing the art of the organized forcing of technological change…Engineering operate at the interface between science and society”

Professionalism in simple terms is actually the skill, good judgment and polite behavior that is expected from a person trained to do a job well. It is a conduct, quality that characterizes or marks a professional person. In fact it involves:-

• Thinking about a career decision.

• Understanding ones’ strengths • Career tests.

• Enhancing ones’ job

• Effective working relationships

• General career skills.

A couple of weeks ago I read a published Article by Laurie Reeves on “The Importance of Professionalism in Engineering” on The Nest dedicated to female Engineers, the writer clearly emphasized that “The level of Professionalism an Engineer has plays a key role in a number of skills , training and ongoing education after graduation from College.” And adds that

“Regardless of an Engineer’s License, Certification or chosen field, Professional Engineers should exhibit Competence, Knowledge and Skills as they hold to standard of ethics with integrity” The writer explains 3 vital characteristics of a Professional Engineer which I wish to share in this article which are Competence, Safety and Ethics.

Competence: Where she noted it that an engineer who haphazardly throws numbers together when say calculating the strength of wood or steel when building a house or designing a crew displays lack of competence. Safety: where she urges that the engineer who disregards safety requirements courts disaster especially to those who come in contact with products. Ethics: Since the Public and Clients rely on the accuracy and honesty of an Engineer’s design and calculations. She also adds that a Professional Engineer never puts his/her personal interests against the integrity of the Profession because building jurisdictions, clients and public rely solely on his expertise.

In their article about “The Professional Responsibility: The role of Engineering in society” S P Nicholas and W F Weldon from the Center of Electronics, The University of Texas at Austin, USA Urge that the practice of engineering does not exist outside the domain society interests and that the practice of engineering has an inherent and unavoidable Impact on the society since engineering is based upon the relationship with the society. Nicholas and Weldon emphasize that an engineer’s conduct captured in professional codes of conduct towards the other engineers, employers, clients and public is an essential part of a professional engineer yet the education process and professional societies pay inadequate attention to the area. And due to unprofessionalism, they also continue that the direction of scientific research has been described by some as curiosity based research which is not necessarily driven by values of the society.

The bottom line of it all is that Professionalism is a value that oughts to be given utmost attention as this helps give the career a professional edge and enwrap it with a given degree of reputation.