Arizona Man Sues State Agency Over Right To Call Himself an Engineer

McGruber quotes IEEE Spectrum: Greg Mills, co-owner of Southwest Engineering Concepts, is suing the state of Arizona's technical registration board to protest being fined for working without an engineering license, which Mills maintains he doesn't need because it doesn't pertain to the type of work he performs.

It's the latest case pitting engineers against state licensing agencies that by some accounts have become more aggressive in attempting to regulate who can call themselves an engineer, even as the use of that term becomes more widespread. Meanwhile, licensing proponents maintain it's necessary for the public interest and point out that Arizona statutes have clear definitions of what an engineer is...

The central issue is Mills' right to call himself an engineer despite not being a state-licensed professional engineer. Mills, an IEEE Member, has worked as an engineer for three decades, at first for aerospace and tech companies. For the last 10 years, he and his wife have co-owned a three-person engineering consulting firm that makes electronics prototypes and other equipment for startups and small and mid-sized companies that can't afford to hire in-house engineering staff...

Mills is represented by the same public interest law firm that helped an Oregon engineer win a similar suit against that stateâ(TM)s engineering licensing agency.

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