Don't Be An EE-diot

You know, I'm not a person that gets irritated easily. But one thing people say that gets on my nerves is "Shouldn't you know? I thought you were an electrical engineer," applying it to anything that they feel like asking me about. This was an actual conversation that happened last year with my aunt:

Aunt: What kind of batteries do I need for my cell phone?
Me: I dunno, good ones?
Aunt: Which ones are good?
Me: What kind of cell phone do you have?
Aunt: I don't know
Me: Well, just go to Best Buy or something and show them your phone. I don't know what kind of batteries you need.
Aunt: Shouldn't you know? I thought you were an electrical engineer

Well, that is probably an extreme example. But almost without fail, someone will say that idiotic thing to me at least once a month. Why doesn't my watch work? (Don't know) Aren't you EE? How come my car is making funny noises? Isn't it somehow related to electrical engine-ering? Why did Enron fail? It was an electrical company, you know right?

Granted, there are plenty of things that I should know, having taken 4 years of EE classes, but either forgot or never understood. There is a certain scope of what is reasonable to ask a college graduate in relation to his major. Just because someone graduated with an Econ degree, doesn't mean he is a walking ticker that can provide you with the current exact price of IBM's stock or the last 36 month trend of the Producer Price Index. Similarly, an EE Bachelor's degree doesn't automatically make me an expert in Windows XP or a fantastic web designer. We cover a lot, but we don't learn every single thing that is technology/computer related.

Now, if you were working for Intel, I might expect you to be able to tell me a little about high speed processors. Just like if you were a plumber, you should know about pipes and a mechanic should know about engine oils, etc. But that's because it's what you do for a living. Honestly, there's only a limited amount of practical things you learn in college, and most aren't even taught in class.

So yes, next time you feel like asking me to fix your calculator, stop and take it to a real expert. Or just go get a new one. Or learn to do some freaking math yourself. Thank you, that is all.