--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It has been said that an engineer is a…" description: "\"It has been said that an engineer is a man who can do for ten shillings what any fool can do for a pound; if that be so, we were certainly engineers.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg" --- # It has been said that an engineer is a man who can do for… ![“It has been said that an engineer is a man who can do for ten shillings what any fool can do for a pound; if that be so, we were certainly engineers.” quote by Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg) > “It has been said that an engineer is a man who can do for ten shillings what any fool can do for a pound; if that be so, we were certainly engineers.” [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Engineers achieve more with less resources, highlighting ingenuity; the statement humorously elevates engineers above others. **In simple terms:** Engineers do more with less money, showing cleverness. Key Takeaway Value efficiency and ingenuity. Themes engineering efficiency resourcefulness humor Mood pragmatic lighthearted Type quotational inspirational When to use this quote - project management - budget planning - product design - startup culture Key Concepts economics innovation skill Questions to Reflect On - How can we apply engineering efficiency elsewhere? - What are the limits of cost‑saving tricks? A Different Perspective The comparison may undervalue non‑engineer contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Certainly Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainly-engineers-4322946/) [Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineer/) [Engineer Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineer-man-1988762/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineers/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pounds/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Said Engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-engineer-1652008/) [Ten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten/) ## Related quotes > [“I don’t want you transferred, lad. I’m thinking what’s best for you. You do your work, sure,” he said. “But an engineer doesn’t stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-goodman/i-don-t-want-you-transferred-lad-i-m-thinking-what-s-best-for-you-you/) [David A. Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-goodman/) > [Thousands of engineers can design bridges, calculate strains and stresses, and draw up specifications for machines, but the great engineer is the man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-grace/thousands-of-engineers-can-design-bridges-calculate-strains-and/) [Eugene Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-grace/) > [Man is not a farmer, or a professor, or an engineer, but he is all. Man is priest, and scholar, and statesman, and producer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/man-is-not-a-farmer-or-a-professor-or-an-engineer-but-he-is-all-man/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I've always been an engineer devoted to the potential of advanced technologies. Like most engineers, I have a keen sense of curiosity and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-kao/i-ve-always-been-an-engineer-devoted-to-the-potential-of-advanced/) [Min Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-kao/) > [My ma is an economist. My dad is a software engineer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suraj-sharma/my-ma-is-an-economist-my-dad-is-a-software-engineer/) [Suraj Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suraj-sharma/) > [I come from a pretty scientific family. My sister is a neurologist and my brother is an engineer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-winstead/i-come-from-a-pretty-scientific-family-my-sister-is-a-neurologist-and/) [Mary Elizabeth Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-winstead/) > [ The \[engineer\] should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for it is by his judgement that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/the-engineer-should-be-equipped-with-knowledge-of-many-branches-of/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [God is a hacker, not an engineer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-crick/god-is-a-hacker-not-an-engineer/) [Francis Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-crick/) > [ It's \[programming\] the only job I can think of where I get to be both an engineer and an artist. There's an incredible, rigorous,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hertzfeld/it-s-programming-the-only-job-i-can-think-of-where-i-get-to-be-both/) [Andy Hertzfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hertzfeld/) > [An engineer cannot participate in irrationality ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/an-engineer-cannot-participate-in-irrationality/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [ A lawyer’s either a social engineer or … a parasite on society … A social engineer \[is\] a highly skilled, perceptive, sensitive lawyer who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-hamilton-houston/a-lawyer-s-either-a-social-engineer-or-a-parasite-on-society-a-social/) [Charles Hamilton Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-hamilton-houston/) > [I never knew what an engineer did for a living when I was a kid. I still don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/i-never-knew-what-an-engineer-did-for-a-living-when-i-was-a-kid-i/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I was a kind of a one-man army. I could solder circuits together, I could turn out things on the lathe, I could work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-allen/i-was-a-kind-of-a-one-man-army-i-could-solder-circuits-together-i/) [James Van Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-allen/) > [I'm an engineer by trade, and what engineers do is they go and build, and they don't think a lot about storytelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kalanick/i-m-an-engineer-by-trade-and-what-engineers-do-is-they-go-and-build/) [Travis Kalanick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kalanick/) > [It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) ## More by Nevil Shute > [ The thing most worth doing in this modern world \[is to\] create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/the-thing-most-worth-doing-in-this-modern-world-is-to-create-jobs/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“By 1948 I was safe on my feet and able to get about quite normally, but I was thirty-four and life was slipping past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/by-1948-i-was-safe-on-my-feet-and-able-to-get-about-quite-normally/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“You could have done something with newspapers. We didn't do it. No nation did, because we were all too silly. We liked our newspapers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/you-could-have-done-something-with-newspapers-we-didn-t-do-it-no/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Until we’re dead, we Service people, the world will always be in danger of another war. We had too good a time in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/until-we-re-dead-we-service-people-the-world-will-always-be-in-danger/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [If what they say is right we're none of us going to have time to do all that we planned to do. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/if-what-they-say-is-right-we-re-none-of-us-going-to-have-time-to-do/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [She looked at him in wonder. "Do people think of me like that? I only did what anybody could have done." "That's as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/she-looked-at-him-in-wonder-do-people-think-of-me-like-that-i-only/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [I'm glad we haven't got newspapers now. It's been much nicer without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/i-m-glad-we-haven-t-got-newspapers-now-it-s-been-much-nicer-without/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,” he said, “from whence cometh my help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/i-will-lift-up-mine-eyes-unto-the-hills-he-said-from-whence-cometh-my/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [Aircraft do not crash of themselves. They come to grief because men are foolish, or vain, or lazy, or irresolute or reckless. One crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/aircraft-do-not-crash-of-themselves-they-come-to-grief-because-men/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [When I was first sent from H.M.S. King Alfred to be interviewed by Goodeve in the Admiralty, I was furious. The War seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/when-i-was-first-sent-from-h-m-s-king-alfred-to-be-interviewed-by/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [You cannot argue stupidity, you just have to accept it patiently as one of those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/you-cannot-argue-stupidity-you-just-have-to-accept-it-patiently-as/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Only by an act of treachery to those who believe in us can either of us escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/only-by-an-act-of-treachery-to-those-who-believe-in-us-can-either-of/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Here they go cruising for a fortnight up in parts where everyone is dead of radiation, and all that they can catch is measles!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/here-they-go-cruising-for-a-fortnight-up-in-parts-where-everyone-is/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“Security was now a thing of the past though it took a conscious effort to remember it; with no enemy in all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/security-was-now-a-thing-of-the-past-though-it-took-a-conscious/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [Without work men are utterly undone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/without-work-men-are-utterly-undone/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) [Explore all 39 Nevil Shute quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) [Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It has been said that an engineer is a man who can do for ten shillings what any fool can do for a pound; if that be so, we were certainly engineers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nevil Shute" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-man-who-can-do-for-ten/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-man-who-can-do-for-ten/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/nevil-shute-16517_can-do_it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-m_2120464.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It has been said that an engineer is a man who can do for ten shillings what any fool can do for a pound; if…” — Nevil Shute", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nevil Shute", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It has been said that an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-man-who-can-do-for-ten/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/it-has-been-said-that-an-engineer-is-a-man-who-can-do-for-ten/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```