Engineer Definition

[Aussie_Guy00000]

I'm not sure what the deal is in other countries, but in Australia, engineers that design refrigeration systems are Mechanical engineers. Now a mechanical engineer is someone who has attended university/college for 4 years full time and studied the theory behind Static, dynamics, fatigue, vibration, acoustics, heat transfer, mass transfer and energy conversion. I myself am a Mechanical engineer, and during my degree I spent a grand total of 1/2 a subject on refrigeration systems. That doesn't sound like a lot especially when we did 8 subjects a year, but I also did 4 subjects relating to heat transfer, so they are extremely relevent to refrigeration systems as well. Now a refrigeration mechanic, attends TAFE or a technical college part time and does an apprenticeship for 3-4yrs, all of which is dedicated to refrigeration and is hands on. Now the engineers initial knowledge of refrigeration systems is from a heat transfer point of view, whilst he was at university he more then likely learnt little to nothing about the practical side of building a refrigeration system, I never even entered a workshop during my degree, although it is a personal hobby of mine.
So to recap, a Mechanical Engineer isn't a dedicated refrigeration designer (at least not in Australia), he's capable of designing pretty much anything that moves (machinery, heat transfer systems, acoustic systems, etc), he view everything from a design stand point, and is only present at the time of manufacture as a supervisor, he doesn't actually build anything.
A refrigeration Mechanic (or technician), solely deals with refrigeration and heating systems, he was trained on the job in all the practical aspects of the systems and knows how to design, build and repair them.
Could a technician do the engineer's job, more then likely. But in most cases, the designs need to be inspected and verifed by a certified engineer, and then he takes the responsibility for the design being correct, It's his job.
In saying all that, if an engineer hasn't designed refrigeration system before, he should certainly consult with the technicians, because it's their sole job to know the ins and outs of the systems.

[jamcool]

Here in the Tropics,also Engineers are those with degrees that do the design and do not think that they should consult with no one .
For me I am a Technician and will always be a Technician i try to have practical solutions to complex questions Engineers might think they have the book smarts but thats where it ends.
On the totem pole Technicians are at the bottom of the rung but i think we can all learn a thing or two from each other but its sad to say that at times the guys futher up have an attitude that says they could never and would never learn anything from a tech.
Thats life in the tropics As to money!(salary) dont get me started