Engineer or technologist: A matter of degree? Part II: It is at the interface of entry-level positions, where EE and EET graduates meet, that the similarities in their backgrounds tend to mask their differences

Since the 1940s, the analogy of a spectrum has been used to define the engineering manpower team. At that time, a simple, two-dimensional chart showed the relationship between theoretical and practical knowledge as it applied to two-year associate degree engineering technicians (EETs) and four-year baccalaureate degree engineers (EEs). With scientists and craftspeople extending the spectrum at either end, we had a manpower model that was simplistic but easy to discuss with interested students and employers. The fact that there were many engineers and technicians in industry whose backgrounds did not fit the academic definitions associated with that model was not really recognized at that time. The engineering profession was an open profession then as much as it is today.