"How to become an Engineer in France ? A small Historical study of the origins of the French engineering degree: Governance, scientific and technical legitimacy or identity?"

What kind of Work and legitimacy has an Engineer in France ? Does he rely on Technical and scientific knowledge ? Would he be recognized thanks to the practical experience accumulated day by day throughout the years working in an organization ? Would it be because of his Education and Graduation background ? This proposal aims to present some explanations learned from the study of the History of Engineers, especially those who have worked in the Steel Industry. One key issue, for instance to select good engineers, has been the Diploma.
The late recognition in 1934 of the engineering degree in France by the Commission des titres d’ingénieurs continues to be discussed. Should it be seen as a manifestation of the backwardness of French capitalism or, on the contrary, should this particular chronology be seen as a testimony of its specificity? The community of graduated engineers seems to be marked by great heterogeneity. How can we explain the specific place of the diploma in the visibly unfulfilled emergence of an integrated group?
The text raises three set of explanations. Firstly, this story can be understood via a first axis centered on “governance issues.” Secondly, the establishment of a diploma is the result of a set of choices in terms of training contents and methods. Thirdly, the gradual introduction of a diploma from the 19th century onwards seems to be understandable as a form of consecration of an identity or a culture that distinguishes a social category, engineers, which is growing rapidly among this new industrial capitalism. In the steel Industry, the work of Engineers and their legitimacy evolved throughout the 20th Century, especially after WWII.