<p>Does it mean "computer engineering"?
Does it mean "chemical engineering"?
Does it mean "civil engineering"?
Are there just too many disciplines of engineering that start with the letter "C"?</p>
<p>I've always referred to the three as CompE, ChemE, and CivE. So... are the people who refer to any or all of them as "CE" not hep with the lingo, or do y'all rely on context to get your point across, or do you not remember about the other two when you type "CE", or what...? I mean, it's cool, and acronyms are all well and good, and I can nearly always figure out which discipline is being discussed from context, but it's kind of confusing. </p>
<p>So, in the interest of non-confusion, I move that we strike "CE" from our collective vocabulary of acronyms and instead use non-CE abbreviations that more effectively indicate the particular discipline that we're discussing.</p>
<p>Who's with me?</p>
<p>(Things like the CE vs. CS thread are okay, because I doubt you're comparing civil engineering and computer science. Context! Bravo for context. Still, it brought my attention to a point I'd been meaning to mention.)</p>
<p>Civils own the "CE" abbreviation. They get it by virtue of size (civil is the biggest of the "C" disciplines) and age (civil is one of the two oldest engineering disciplines). </p>
<p>Chemicals own the "ChE" abbreviation. It's not as short as CE, but is still distinctive and easily recognized.</p>
<p>For example, consider the following points:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As everyone knows, the respective professional societies are: ASCE and AIChE</p></li>
<li><p>The State of California puts a "C" prefix in front of your license number if you are a Civil PE, and a "CH" prefix if you are a Chemical PE. So these abbreviations are codified in California law, and aibarr (as a Californian) is obliged to respect them.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>It's up to the computer engineers, control systems engineers, and corrosion engineers to come up with standard abbreviations for themselves. California uses the "CS" prefix for control systems engineers, and the "CR" prefix for corrosion engineers, and these seem like reasonable choices (there is no equivalent prefix for computer engineers, as they are not licensed). I would suggest CSE for control systems engineering, CrE for corrosion engineering, and CpE for computer engineering.</p>
<p>Isn't construction engineering typically classified as a subdivision of civil engineering? Oh, and I have never ever seen somebody use CE as acronym for anything else but civil engineering.</p>
<p>EDIT: uhhhh... never mind about the last part. I just saw the CE vs CS thread, lol.</p>
<p>Yeah, I always click on something that says "CE" and it's inevitably somebody saying something about either chemical engineering or computer engineering, and I go, "Oh, well, I don't know anything about that engineering discipline..." and then I feel all sad.</p>
<p>But I don't want other people clicking on <em>this</em> thread and feeling sad! I'm sorry, chowdy!! I inserted a clause saying that your thread was okay, because it had good context, and I could 'get' it from the subject line.</p>
<p>There are a lot of engineering disciplines, and so it's understandable that students might find the abbreviations confusing. But if you want to sound like a "pro", then the following usage is recommended: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The term "EE" means electrical engineering. It doesn't work for environmental engineering. </p></li>
<li><p>The term "ME" means mechanical engineering. It doesn't work for manufacturing, mining, or materials engineering.</p></li>
<li><p>The term "CE" means civil engineering. It doesn't work for chemical, computer, control systems, construction, or ceramic engineering.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>EECE stands for electrical engineering and computering engineering. By itself, EE means electrical engineering. I can understand people thinking CE stands for computer engineering.</p>
<p>Many schools do have departments with names like "Electrical and Computer Engineering" or "ECE", which implies that Computer Engineering is CE. Of course, by the same logic, many schools have departments with names like "Civil and Environmental Engineering" or "CEE", which implies that Environmental Engineering is EE. </p>
<p>There are some places (e.g. Montana</a> Tech) where the abbreviation "EE" means environmental engineering. But this is confusing to most other engineers, just as "CE" for computer engineering is confusing to most other engineers. The best way to be clearly understood is stick to the traditional, long-established usage: EE = electrical, CE = civil.</p>
<p>When I was an undergrad (years ago...lol), EE was strictly Electrical Engineering and CE was for Civil.</p>
<p>Computer Engineering was always CompE, but then again...when I was an undergrad, Computer Engineering was an "option" under EE, not it's own major.</p>