There's a certain Irony that for many years being classed as an Engineer condemned you to being part of the lower orders as being a Rude Mechanical was not considered to be a suitable position in life for a proper gentleman.
The term Engineer and Mechanic were for many years interchangeable and I belive in America railway locomotive drivers are still called engineers.
That is why aircraft engineers are called engineers because like ships engineers they tended the engines on the aeroplanes.
The degrees came later so whilst an engineer on the tools may not use the letters after his name he's still an engineer.
Oh yeah I have a friend who's a nurse who's got a Ph D which entitles her to be called Dr
