PragueBuzz!

I recently discover a Czech superficiality, the zealous care for title and formality in the form of “Mr. Engineer.”

Surprisingly, an Engineering degree (US’s Master equivalent) can get you a lot of things in the Czech Republic given people’s strange reference toward it. It’s typical to see “Engineer” printed in the identification cards and on the front doors and some people actually greet these engineers by “Mr. Engineer.” A friend of mine considers changing his ID card to add “ING” (Engineer) to his name thinking that it will help him professionally and socially.

Who knows? The “Mr. Engineer” is not only a superficiality of the Czech but of the other parts in Europe. I visited Croatia, and the first thing I noticed was the “Ing” print on my friend’s front door.

I know this is tradition, but I can not help detesting this ridiculous formality practice. Maybe, it was because I was born and raised in a culture which ate, slept and lived through titles and formality. They did everything in their power, including literally buying and selling, for a shot of a title in a piece of paper.
Everything changes in the US; formality is thrown out of the window and titles are no longer important. Persons are judged by what they can offer and not by the titles on their name tags. Don’t believe me? Wiki Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell and a bunch of no-title Silicon Valley startups’ founders. And would two Google’s founders care too much if we forget to address them by “Mr. Engineer?”

But then, this is good ol’ Europe.

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