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design/product/project engineer title meanings
3

design/product/project engineer title meanings

design/product/project engineer title meanings

(OP)
What are the main diffences between these job titles (most specifically for a mechanical engineer)? My 1st engineering job title was "Product Engineer". I ended up being a DRE (Design Responsible Engineer). I basically wrote validation test plans, pushed to get the product validation tested, and wrote reports. I did very little design work.

Thanks,
Kurt

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

2
Job titles mean nothing.  Job descriptions mean twice as much.  You are what you do.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

(OP)
Yeah, I should've used the search function. The search function on another forum I'm on doesn't work well, so I didn't try this forum's search function.

Thanks,
Kurt

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

(OP)
How about "entry-level", "Mechanical Engineer I", and "Mechanical Engineer II"?

Thanks,
Kurt

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Quote:

Job titles mean nothing.  Job descriptions mean twice as much.  You are what you do.
laughtearsThis is the truth....unless you're one that likes to have a flashy title.

Some important things should be do you enjoy your job, the company treats you fairly, & you're respected by your coworkers.

Heckler   americanflag
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 4.0 & Pro/E 2001
      o
  _`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

This post contains no political overtones or undertones for that matter and in no way represents the poster's political agenda.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

That just means the company has multi-tiered pay scales in the organization, which can be good or bad.  The bad aspects can include position quota limits.  As TheTick sez, "Job titles mean nothing.  Job descriptions mean twice as much."

ME I and ME II probably do the exact same thing, one just has more experience, typically 2yrs vs 4yrs.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

The standardized rankings like level 1, 2 , 3 etc are just an HR invention to try and 'standardize' pay (read reduce).

http://www.radford.com/home/surveys/bcr/

Basically they try and fit all jobs into a certain number of categories which then correspond to a pay scale.

Apart from the fact that ME II will probably be a slightly higher pay scale than ME I they are almost meaningless.  They certainly don't explain what you'll be doing day to day etc.

If you look at some salary sites their job descriptions use these titles.

My official ranking is something like CAD Engineer IV which bears almost no relation to what I actually do.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Labor Categories are a necessary evil in most companies, and the are probably standardized across the entire firm, even though what Office A does has little in common with what Office B does.

I don't dislike Labor Categories, as they have little to no bearing on what we do or how we operate.

What I DO dislike is how labor categories are used withing our vacancy announcement system.

The company's "boilerplate" labor cetegory description has so much BS that it's meaningless.  I do have the opportunity to add "position specific" test, but this appears at the end of a very long paragraph, with no separation or distinction. A candidate needs to read all they way through physical fitness and "lifting" requirements before they can see if I'm seekin an ME, a EE, or a software engineer (in the case of the various engineering categories).

 

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

At some companies I was at, we were told to make up our own titles. Hence, most people in my group have different titles.

The group's name was consisten though.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."   
Albert Einstein
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RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

I officially asked HR to change my job title from Design Manager to Firefighter since most of my day is spent solving problems.  

Zuccus

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

I asked mine to be changed to paramedic from always helping others.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 1.1
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 10-07-07)
ctopher's blog

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

I prefer to be known as Clue Distributor.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

One of my official titles is Transportation Engineer.  Apparently the fact that I'm NOT a transportation engineer is not considered relevant.

Hg

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RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

What about Sr. Demolition Engineer.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Petroleum Relocation Engineer has always been my favorite.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Here in the UK the last thing you want in your job title when applying for car insurance is "engineer".  I once called myself an "acoustic consultant", these days I just say "computer programmer".

- Steve

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

I think in the UK the Engineer title is at the bottom of the repect o meter.  As in your local mechanic is a Mechanical Engineer and so on.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

I agree with others above.  Job titles mean nothing except for internal company use to determine pay grades.  Usually Engineer I means fresh outta school.  Engineer II means you've not got fired yet and have been working 2-4 years in some form of engineering.  Engineer III means you have your license and still haven't got fired.  Engineer IV means you've been an Engineer too long...

My favorite is when folks put "Sr. Engineer" on there email signature.  Which usually means you have anywhere from 2 years to 40 years of experience and may or may not have a degree or a license...

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

I resemble that remark.

I think I was made a senior engineer in 1984, 2 years out of uni, and that's what I've been at every company since then.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Senselessticker, nice scale thumbsup

------------------------
It may be like this in theory and practice, but in real life it is completely different.
The favourite sentence of my army sergeant

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

The higher your title, the less work you actually do and the more meetings you attend.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Until quite recently we had this scale

1 Development engineer
2 Senior Development engineer
3 Project engineer
4 Senior Project engineer
5 Principal engineer
6 Manager/Technical specialist
7 Senior manager
8 Technical director

Which seems fairly sensible and straightforward.  I could never (and still cannot) get to grips with the scale at one of the big car companies (with a big centre near Basildon).  My contacts there seem to be promoted every year but never appear on any org charts.

- Steve

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

That scale has one fundamental problem, SomptingGuy: There are three levels of directors/managers above the engineers.  

In my experience, those managers typically have no technical skills whatsoever (and fewer common sense skills).  Like so many things that float through the sewers, these people also tend to float up to the top.  Since getting something through them and into production takes wading through three levels of manager, rarely is the effort worth trudging through.

I truly hope you're lucky enough, as I am now, to have management positions above you filled by engineers (practicing, mind you, not the kind that completely trade their mathematical skills in for a career of counting beans) and not by what my cynical mind makes me believe is the norm.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

jistre:

The accountant types kick in above level 8, thankfully.  Those who use words like "city".  Yikes.  Everyone from 8 down is or has been an engineer.

But the grading system for us plebs has recently changed.  We now have C,D,E,F, where F is what 6 used to be.  I think it's to do with killing off the overtime culture, but those are just my thoughts.

- Steve

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

Well, that's good news, SG.  Every company needs those counting types, but they should always be kepts as far away as possible from the people who actually produce things.

(And now for the five degrees off center metaphor of the day)

Putting them together is like mixing Bailey's Irish Cream and sweetened lime juice.  Sure, they each make tasty drinks of their own, but if you mix them, you get something that doesn't flow well and makes you want to throw up.

RE: design/product/project engineer title meanings

A few years ago I was hired as a design engineer. (i actually designed stuff).  I can't remember how but I found out that i was actually a design engineer III.  I am sure it was because of salary etc.  I think it also helps them if you start screaming for a promotion.  "OK, you are now a design engineer IV!"

At my present employer I am a senior engineer.  They never mentioned what class.  I am sure its low considering there are guys here with the same title and have 20 years of experience on me.  Doesn't give me warm thoughts when I think about getting a promotion.  Maybe I will get a raise out of changing to a II ;)

What really bothers me is that my job function will never change.  No matter what the title.  Supervisors do the same job we do.

But I have had lots of titles.  Design drafter, senior drafter, designer, mechanical designer, engineer, mechanical engineer.  there is probably 5 or 6 more.  In the end I don't think they were all that much different.
Do what we say not what we do ;)  

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