I’ve been troubled lately by the impressive academic credentials of some people. And how that’s all that is sometimes seen when an expert is needed to investigate an accident or failure in the built environment.

(Academic: Very learned but inexperienced in practical matters. (Merriam-Webster dictionary)

In some ways, worse still when these folk are the lecturers in continuing education courses in different fields of study and vocation.

For example, in recent years, a couple of cross-Canada lecturers renown in their fields of study but not displaying much experience getting their hands dirty and mud on their boots. (Ref. 1) Also quite heavy talks on their fields of study.

More recently, a series of continuing education courses for professional engineers. The backgrounds of the lecturers were good but no mention of practical experience. Interesting too, that one academic’s background wasn’t that long, for sure not decades; one short decade if that.

For that matter, quite apart from field experience, I wonder how many of our academic lecturers have read literature like in the Appendix? I particularly enjoyed reading about quite humble experts – sans academia – referred to in some of the books.

Back Down East (in Nova Scotia, Canada), I’ve acquired a lot of respect over the years for technologists. Two were key in my investigation of the cause of a large industrial building failure and determining how to fix it. Interesting too, that one technologist had an impressive doctorate in surficial geology but was working as a technologist getting his hands dirty while settling in Canada.

I remember in England when I was preparing to do a master’s degree in geotechnical engineering there were two options: A degree from Imperial College in London that had a theoretical bent and a masters degree from Birmingham University that had a practical bent.

Guess which one I opted for? And why I get cranky today when I read lengthy academic qualifications of people – with clean hands – who are bringing professional people up to date on recent changes in their fields of practice?

References

1. Billam, John, Phd, Lecturer in geotechnical engineering, Birmingham University, England 1974. Dr. Billiam’s comment back then that Canadian engineers are noted for going in the field and getting their hands dirty and mud on their boots.

Appendix

1. A-Z Guide to Expert Witnessing
2. Cross-Examination: The Comprehensive Guide for Experts
3. How to Write An Expert Report

(Posted by Eric E. Jorden, M.Sc., P.Eng. Consulting Professional Engineer, Forensic Engineer, Geotechnology Ltd., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, April 29, 2026. ejorden@eastlink.ca)