R1Tamer
I've always thought an engineer is someone who has a degree in engineering or someone like yourself who's obtained a professional qualification from a professional body such as the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Electrical Engineers etc (or a military equivalent) after years studying an approved course and passing examinations.
But the term 'engineer' does seem to be used very loosely in the UK.
Can someone with neither an engineering degree nor a qualification from a professional body properly be called an engineer?
I realise the term 'professional body' can be rather dubious these days. There's nothing to stop anyone setting up an association with very simple examinations and meaningless titles granted on payment of a membership fee.
Perhaps it's a symptom of the general devaluing of terms in pursuit of 'status'?
Years ago, my central heating was serviced by a plumber - now it's done by a 'central heating engineer'.
My car used to be serviced by a mechanic; now it's done by a 'technician' - same guy.
'Consultant' is another one - salesmen/women and shop assistants are now 'Sales Consultants'.
The funniest is 'profession'. I suppose anyone can call themselves a 'consultant', but the way 'profession' is frequently (mis)used is laughable - often describing jobs where the training takes only weeks, rather than years of study, training and examinations.