Codes of Ethics
are labor unions for the elite, strictly limiting the number of practitioners of the profession, controlling the working conditions for professionals, and artifi cially infl ating the salaries of its members. An analysis of both models in terms of law and medicine would show that there are ways in which these professions exhibit aspects of both of these models.
Where does engineering fi t into this picture? Engineering is certainly a service- oriented profession and thus fits into the social-contract model quite nicely. Although some engineers might wish to see engineering professional societies func- tion more according to the business model, they currently don’t function that way. The engineering societies have virtually no clout with major engineering employers to set wages and working conditions or to help engineers resolve ethical disputes with their employers. Moreover, there is very little prospect that the engineering societies will function this way in the near future.
2.2.5 If Engineering Were Practiced More Like Medicine It is perhaps instructive to speculate a little on how engineering might change in the future if our model of the engineering profession were closer to that of law or medicine. One major change would be in the way engineers are educated. Rather than the current system, in which students study engineering as undergraduates and then pursue advanced degrees as appropriate, prospective engineers would probably get a four-year “preengineering” degree in mathematics, physics, chemis- try, computer science, or some combination of these fi elds. After the four-year undergraduate program, students would enter a three- or four-year engineering professional program culminating in a “doctor of engineering” degree (or other appropriately named degree). This program would include extensive study of engi- neering fundamentals, specialization in a fi eld of study, and perhaps “clinical” train- ing under a practicing engineer.
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