Technical engineer

Technical engineer is a professional title created in several countries for professionals that were awarded a short-cycle 2- to 4-year undergraduate degree (associate degree or bachelor's degree) in a technical engineering field. Technical engineers are neither full chartered engineers nor professional engineers, and are usually allowed to perform a limited number of well defined tasks in engineering and industry. Engineering technicians apply scientific and engineering skills usually gained in postsecondary programs below the bachelor's degree level or through short-cycle bachelor's degrees. However, some university institutions award undergraduate degrees in the field of engineering which may confer the title of technical engineer to the student, who is, however, eligible to become a full chartered engineer after further studies.

Technical engineering degrees are generally offered by non-university higher education institutions like technical colleges, technical institutes, industrial schools, polytechnics, and community colleges. University institutions having 4-year programs usually do not offer technical engineering training, but undergraduate courses in science and engineering, are useful for obtaining a job as a technical engineer. Many 3 and 4-year colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in engineering, but graduates of these programs often are hired to work as technologists or applied engineers after further studies, not technicians. In some countries, there were vocational education schools that may have also confered the title without awarding any degrees.

Iberian Peninsula

In the Iberian Peninsula, both Portugal and Spain use the title for the professionals who were awarded a short-cycle degree in engineering by polytechnics or technical engineering institutes, and it is called "engenharia técnica"/"ingeniería técnica".

ee also

*Engineering technician