Yeah, the debasement of meaning is annoying - vice-president is one I hate. Another one that surprises me from the US is "licensed nail technician".
I have a bachelor of engineering title I can use with my name, but that is another distinct type of bullshit.
In New Zealand one relevant legal certification is CPEng which you can apply for after receiving your degree and working for a few years: https://www.engineeringnz.org/join-us/cpeng/ And apparently our government agreed in 2022 to introduce a new licensing regime for engineers doing safety-critical work.
But in an international world, how relevant are certified individuals? When I purchase a stove from a US brand and it catches fire, there needs to be other liability/retribution/corrective systems to deal with the problem. It matters little to me who signed off on the product in the US.
Can I import custom structural steel beams? How many New Zealanders have signed off on this steel construction: https://ccc.govt.nz/the-council/future-projects/major-facili... We need a new stadium because the last one broke. Unfortunately it wasn't insured due to some cockup at the city council (which I suspect had zero retribution on the people that cocked up - I wonder if they signed bits of paper?).
Over-credentialisation is a problem too - where is the right balance? The shift to everyone needing credentials is fucked. My friends (nurses, teachers) literally weep at the absolute trash they have to "learn" for their credential. I also vividly remember the crap I needed to disgorge to get my degree.
I don't know what the answer is, but I honestly believe most credentials are pointless waste and adding more credentials is not actually effective. Neither do I believe that that the anarchy of libertarian free markets are a workable answer.
I have a bachelor of engineering title I can use with my name, but that is another distinct type of bullshit.
In New Zealand one relevant legal certification is CPEng which you can apply for after receiving your degree and working for a few years: https://www.engineeringnz.org/join-us/cpeng/ And apparently our government agreed in 2022 to introduce a new licensing regime for engineers doing safety-critical work.
But in an international world, how relevant are certified individuals? When I purchase a stove from a US brand and it catches fire, there needs to be other liability/retribution/corrective systems to deal with the problem. It matters little to me who signed off on the product in the US.
Can I import custom structural steel beams? How many New Zealanders have signed off on this steel construction: https://ccc.govt.nz/the-council/future-projects/major-facili... We need a new stadium because the last one broke. Unfortunately it wasn't insured due to some cockup at the city council (which I suspect had zero retribution on the people that cocked up - I wonder if they signed bits of paper?).
Over-credentialisation is a problem too - where is the right balance? The shift to everyone needing credentials is fucked. My friends (nurses, teachers) literally weep at the absolute trash they have to "learn" for their credential. I also vividly remember the crap I needed to disgorge to get my degree.
I don't know what the answer is, but I honestly believe most credentials are pointless waste and adding more credentials is not actually effective. Neither do I believe that that the anarchy of libertarian free markets are a workable answer.