The signs that the engineering profession, like medicine, is in flux are all around.  As Engineering S/W becomes more "intelligent" design democratization become more possible and probable. Does this spell the end of engineering as a profession, a transition to a new model of work, or potentially a redefinition of engineering?

A long time ago Engineering was considered a highly qualified and respected profession. The profession and the disciplines under that profession (civil, mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Hydraulic, etc.) were, like medical professions, considered both a calling into a community of practice as well a requiring their own codes of honor.  A new engineering candidate was not simply tutored in the academic of the profession s/he was apprenticed and grown through experience into a master craftsman.

I use the work craftsman deliberately in that too many engineering projects now are no longer works of a craftsman engineer, they are becoming more spreadsheet optimizations that expressions of a creative and innovative mind.  Maybe this is the result of outsourcing, global competition, or maybe our culture’s obsession with the bottom line.  The values that the engineering community once cherished seem to be wearing away with time; with it customer loyalty has been replaced with consumer preferences and choice.  In response many design firms have created their own nightmares of massive product lines, only to have to scale back under the weight of too few customers for each variation.

The latest trend and potential threat to the engineering community is that of “democratization of design” made popular by Eric von Hipple of MIT.  The premise of such is to develop systems that enable potential customers to design their own products.  If we extend this metaphor further in the future could this mean engineers are to become a thing of the past?  Maybe the engineering profession becomes more of a facilitation role like architects now on all but the most independent profile projects. 

If this is the case, should engineers now prepare to become technical facilitators and develop those soft people skills we’re suppose to lack or should we look at what we are doing with the current engineering software and realize there is more to good design that just balancing the stress and functional formulas; there is an element of creativity and style with differentiates a mass production design and product stamped out by the thousands ending up as a Walmart special and a premium product that lasts. 

Maybe that is the new reality…mass customization…experience economy where momentary novelty replaces individual style for all but the very few.