Abbreviation for Engineer?

[Ginalyn]

Thanks ladies. I left it out! My mom won't see how I addressed my envelopes (hehe!).

[pugmomjenn]

You know now I see new graduates signing their names with their degree listed behind it. Perhaps I'm just too modest, and unless I'm a Dr. or something I wouldn't want a title behind my name. However we all know some people are funny about things like that...thus chocalate and vanilla so we all have a choice!

[lolkitteh]

I am an engineer, and have worked globally. The answer is simple if your invite is going to an American engineer living in N. America. Not as simple if the invite is going to someone outside of American culture.

 

If your invite is going to an American engineer living in N. America, I would leave it out. In the U.S., using the title "P.E." for a licensed engineer is like a "C.P.A" which is a title really only used on business cards to denote professional competency, and relevant only in a professional sense. And as pointed out previously, if someone is an engineer, s/he is not necessarily a P.E., which denotes a professional certification. Even if someone is a P.E. in the U.S., you would not address an invite to "Mr. John Smith, P.E.", just as you would not address an invite to "Mr. John Smith, C.P.A."

 

In other countries, being an engineer does in fact carry the respect of a formal title, such as "Engr. John Smith" or "Prof. Dr. Engr. John Smith" (yes, some cultures even tack on multiple titles) So if you are facing a situation of addressing an invite to someone who comes from such a culture, I'd weed out what the formality is for that specific case.