August 1884: The prospects of young engineers

Today’s graduate engineers are often accused of being blighted by book learning when they should’ve spent more time on the tools.

Despite years of study, these young professionals are sometimes accused by readers of this publication of not even acquiring the most basic theoretical knowledge.

The situation wasn’t so different in 1884 when The Engineer ran a piece bemoaning the quality of training for mechanical engineers, directing its opening salvo at college taught ‘scientific training’, which was considered ‘of no bread-and-cheese-earning value whatever’.

“A young man attends science classes; or he goes to a science college, and spends two or three years learning all that can be taught him,” wrote The Engineer. “At the end of that time we shall suppose that he gets, by good luck or favour, a berth as manager, we shall say, of a department, or even of works, of moderate dimensions. Before a week has passed away he finds that all his scientific training is entirely useless to him. It is valuable no doubt; so was the bag of doubloons, found by Robinson Crusoe on his island.”