Part P risk

[ban-all-sheds]

He reckoned the subtext was you aren't employing an engineer for their skills with spelling and grammar

That is superficially an attractive proposition.

But the way I look on it is one of attitude. Of course, there are problems such as dyslexia which can affect someone's apparent literacy level, but usually poor spelling and grammar in forum posts and in emails and so on are simply due to lack of care.

If someone knows that they have a problem with spelling, then, flawed though it is, there is a spelling checker on this website. If that is found to be inadequate, then there is the option of preparing posts using a word processing application, and then pasting the corrected text in.

Like Softus, I also don't believe that someone intelligent and dedicated enough to acquire higher education qualifications is unable to cope with the rules of English grammar and punctuation.

So what posts full of egregious errors show is that the writer is someone who can't be bothered to do a proper job when writing. Someone who is not prepared to treat his readers, who are in a sense his customers, with respect by trying to do the best job that he can.

I am convinced that someone with attitudes like those is not the right sort of person to be employed as an engineer.

 

[coshhassessor]

I wasn't making any statements about Hulky at all. I have decided not to get involved! To be honest, I just wanted to use it as a chance to get that quote about engineers in

 

[coshhassessor]

Gah! BAS jumps in as I'm replying to the last reply!

I agree it's a superficially attractive proposition! What underlies that quote is the parlous state of communication skills among specialists, and the fact that
a) it isn't a new thing;
b) it isn't improving;
c) it seems to be an accepted norm.

For my own part, I am (for the record) a fan of (possibly even a stickler for) trying to get written work as "correct" as possible as regards grammar, spelling, syntax and so on. My view is that as you progress into increasingly complex, specialised or technical areas, the need to do so increases, since the scope for confusion / misinterpretation becomes greater with increasing complexity. Hence, it is incumbent on you to try to reduce this risk. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with either the desire or the necessity to do so.

As for "someone intelligent and dedicated enough to acquire higher education qualifications is unable to cope with the rules of English grammar and punctuation", unfortunately, this is far more frequently the case than you would think (or hope, or expect) that it would be. This is why we have to send graduates on courses to train them to report the science they do. Doing a scientific / technical degree seems to equip the recipient with the skills to carry out science or engineering (or at least to be able to be trained to do so), but my experience is that IN NO WAY does it equip them to communicate the results of their work effectively.

I have a feeling this is getting off-topic

 

[Softus]

I have a feeling this is getting off-topic

Not to worry - I don't think that you, b-a-s and myself are actually disagreeing. It's more that we're finding subtly different ways of agreeing with each other

In fact, I'd stray off-topic so far as to observe that it warms the cockles of my heart to find like-minded posters in an otherwise wilderness of common sense, which is too often occupied by the likes of Slogger (to name but one).

 

[Stoday]

Towards the end of his career a good engineer might become a consultant, paid a big fee just to sit around and write a report.

The readers of the report will be financial people, with no technical capability. They have to have confidence that what's written is correct. Bad english, spelling and punctuation will ruin that confidence. An engineer who isn't capable of communicating effectively to that audience will never make it to the top of his profession.

Indeed, he'll be lucky to climb above the first rung...

 

[Softus]

...Indeed, he'll be lucky to climb above the first rung...

Taking your words out of context Stoday, but hulky has the advantage of having what is effectively an infinite number of ladders, so there's no need ever to climb any one of them!

 

[coshhassessor]

Softus, you slay me!

"Not to worry - I don't think that you, b-a-s and myself are actually disagreeing. It's more that we're finding subtly different ways of agreeing with each other "

I will make a point of remembering this - "subtly different ways of agreeing" - I love it!

Well, in the lab we get plenty of people who never grasp that communication skills, especially written, are vital.

Good job we always need people to wash up, really, I suppose...

M

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I will make a point of remembering this - "subtly different ways of agreeing" - I love it!

It's a bit like "insurmountable opportunity"...


You can add this one to the list - from when I was at school, some A level physics experiment...

Teacher: "These results are completely wrong!"
Pupil*: "No, Sir, they're just wildly inaccurate"

*Not me - honest.

 

[Softus]

8)

 

[securespark]

Anybody can certify other people's work, i.e. issue an I&T EIC, you don't officially need any qualifications to do it

Under the umbrella of the company I have just started working for, I can self-certify. I can also issue Minor Works and other certificates (At Risk/ Not to Current Standards) to say that other people's work is or is not to the standard of 7671.

I do not possess 2391, or 2381 for that matter. I have 236 Parts 1 & 2, and 2380. However, I am au fait with the latest regs and OSG and have a copy of the IEE's Part P Handbook. I am also very familiar with test equipment (Alphatek), the readings I expect and what it means if my meter throws up any odd readings.

 

[Softus]

Thanks for the wake-up call securespark - we had digressed unerringly.

This is all useful information, especially to someone who currently (arf) has no electrical qualifications. Ta!