Shaker (Steve)

Here’s something I’ve always found strange as an engineer. It is NOT a rant about how engineers aren't recognized, not at all, it was never the expectation but consider this- When you flip on a light, get in your car, drink clean water, walk through an airport, or sit on a plane, you have no idea who made any of that possible. You don’t know who designed the system. You don’t know who tested it. You don’t know who set up the factory line or validated the process. And you never will. You can watch a movie from 1952 and see everyone credited. The actors. The director. The guy holding the microphone. Go into a hospital and everyone has a name tag. Doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists. You know exactly who did what. Even video games list credits. But the engineer who made sure your brakes work, your water is clean, your medication doesn’t kill you, your defibrillator fires correctly, your plane doesn’t fall out of the sky? Anonymous. The more important the system is to daily life, the less likely anyone knows the name behind it. And here’s the real difference. If a doctor has a bad day, one patient might die. If an engineer has a bad day, half a city can get sick. A bridge collapses- hard to believe right? Possibly even... A plane crashes, especially if they are cut rate foreign software engineers that are unfamiliar with aviation. If a doctor has a great day, they get recognition, money, prestige. If an actor has a hit movie, they become a millionaire. If an engineer has a great day, nothing happens. Because nothing failed. Maybe a plastic plaque. Maybe a gift card. Maybe a “good job” in an email. That’s the job. Engineers don’t get applause. They're best days are greeted with silence. And silence usually means everything worked. Kind of wild how society celebrates performance but forgets infrastructure. AI produced the image and helped with formatting.