Professional engineering ethics

All professions have ethical codes of conduct.

“Avoiding injury to others by false and malicious action” evidently doesn’t necessarily mean avoiding injury to others by true or benevolent actions, if you can picture that.

The two professional societies that civil engineers are most often associated with are the National Society of Professional Engineers and the American Society of Civil Engineers and each publish their own codes of ethics. Comparing the fundamental canons of each reveals that they are very similar, but not uniform.

The National Society of Professional Engineers is the oldest of the ethical codes, and focused on licensed engineers. Because most licensed professional engineers are civil engineers, it seems sensible that the NSPE and ASCE codes should contain several similar provisions. Both codes emphasize the importance of prioritizing public safety ahead of all other interests, which is consistent with an understanding of civil engineering as being in the service of civil society.