We make the world go round is exactly what the ring is _not_ about. For one, software developers /engineers would be nothing without the computer engineers building the systems the software runs on, and the computer engineers would be nothing without the electrical engineers and device physicists who develop the electrical components from which computers are built... and on and on it goes (turtles the whole way down). Engineering is all about interdisciplinary cooperation, even bridges these days are filled with computer systems for monitoring.

The main idea of the ring is to remind you of your solemn duties as an engineer:

- To put the safety of the public who use systems you engineer first

- To put monetary compensation second to doing quality work (the reason the ring is worn on the pinky finger far away from your gold wedding band - which it will destroy)

- To encourage the next generation of engineers and help them attain mastery

- To encourage those you work with who are not engineers to become technically proficient if they so desire.

>- To put monetary compensation second to doing quality work (the reason the ring is worn on the pinky finger far away from your gold wedding band - which it will destroy)

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this incorrect? The ring is to be worn on your dominant hand as to have it rub against the engineering drawings you create/stamp in a more traditional sense of the engineering discipline (before computer aided design).

We were instructed to wear it on the dominant hand. I know with 100% certainty this is true but the reason why is not so certain.

The ring will cut through a wedding band made of gold over time. Because of this, it is acceptable for a left handed engineer to wear his ring on his right pinky when necessary.

It is true, but at the time they came up with this tradition left handed people didn't really exist :P That is to say if you were left handed you were made to be right handed.

We were instructed that the ring was to be worn on the dominant hand so that it could rub on the page while writing or drafting and serve as a reminder of our obligation. We were also told that the beveled design and iron metal was meant to cut into and destroy gold rings.

There wasn't ever any talk of left-handed married engineers, I assumed that this edge case was not thought of by Mr. Kipling.

If I remember the ceremony correctly ('98) it was to be worn on the pinky finger of the working hand to serve as a reminder that like our work, steel is cold and unforgiving.

It's the code of ethics that put our priorities as society, our profession, our employer, and ourselves.

There was one more layer of symbolism to the ring that was mentioned in the super-secret ring ceremony (which is well-documented on wikipedia). New rings have rough edges due to the bevelled decoration; over time it smooths out, symbolizing one's maturing as a professional.

I heard a friend-of-a-friend story that described a senior engineer who lost his ring and had to get a replacement. He complained that he "felt like a kid" with his fresh ring and was apparently found in the metal shop later grinding down the edges.

I think you may be missing the point. These rings are given to graduating engineers not as a beautiful object of congratulations for their achievements, but as a token designed to remind them of the burden they have taken on.

[This poem](http://www.tricolour.net/som.html) is part of the Canadian ceremony (or was at mine, anyhow), and describes the aforementioned burden. It may be because it strokes an engineers' ego a bit, but I enjoy it.

Ah so the IT equivalent would be something like a ceremonial pager duty model or something?

For most of us, people don't die when we fuck up.

They do. It might not be direct or even obvious, but when you make a tool that a person relies on, people a harmed when it fails (or perhaps even works). Our death tolls might be small, but it is naive to believe that any product does not have a price in blood. It is our responsibility to understand it, and to make sure the benefit is worth it.

To waste someone's time is to deprive them of a little bit of life.

Only if they're not enjoying it.

I'm well aware of Therac, though Boeing was my representative example. Thus why I said most.

Software Engineers get them too! Sadly, Computer Science students won't get them.

This depends on the university. At UofT, for example, "software engineering" is actually taught outside of the engineering faculty, and is not CEAB approved... and therefore doesn't qualify.

Yes, at MST/UMR the Comp Sci degree isn't applicable to engineering. I don't recall if computer engineering is/was because it's taught by the EE staff and Comp Sci staff.

Even if you had an engineering degree you still didn't get the ring. I believe you had to go to some sort of ethics classes before we'd be given the opportunity to purchase the ring.

Actually, Computer Engineering is taught by the Engineering faculty at UofT.

Software Engineering is still a specialization under the Computer Science degree, and is taught by the Arts & Science faculty.

Sorry, I study at the UofA and we have a "software option" within the Computer Engineering program. Students graduating from this branch will get the iron ring. I just assumed that Software Engineers elsewhere got them too.

CS at UCLA gets them :)