Peter Berghold <xxxxxx@berghold.net> wrote:

> In the Traveller universe there has to be folks both working downside
> and upside that do maintainence on very comlex systems on starships to
> keep them running.
>
> How are they referred to?

I think the answer is likely "all of the above," in practice, depending upon the starport agency or the spacefaring service (and the culture of the wider society in which they operate) but, generically, I would call people who "do maintenance on very complex systems on starships" ~technicians~ (these folks will have various skills such as mechanic, electronic, computer, communications, gravitics, engineer and robotics).

> On board a US Navy ship you had technicians that maintained the
> computers and you had enginemen that maintained (you guessed it) engines
> except there were folks working on the main power plants (we had 4) and
> ship's propulsion systems (gas turbines) collectively referred to as
> engineering.  My father in law was referred to as an engineer not a
> mechanic because he kept the high pressure steam generators working in
> Boston. FIL did not have an engineering degree but nonetheless was
> referred to as an engineer (officially Stationary Engineer)

When I used to work as an aerospace engineer we would joke about getting our "engineer's hat," which was an old-fashioned railroad "engineer's" (i.e ~operator's~) cap. On the other hand, the unionized folks who actually assembled the aircraft were typically called "mechanics" whether they bucked rivets, installed avionics systems, or tested engine performance.

There will be lots and lots of culturally-specific ways to refer to folks in these roles, including position titles that again will vary with organization.

> How do such titles map in Traveller?   Some of the systems a starship
> use would be fairly complex requiring a high degee of education but
> still you'd need "grunts" to turn screws and tighten large nuts and in
> some cases weld up hull plates.

Generally, it would seem like there are five sorts of roles: 1) the person who might serve as an Engineer on a smaller starship, like a Free Trader or Scout; 2) a "junior" engineer on a larger merchant liner or naval starship; 3) a "senior" engineer on the same ship who also oversees the work of the "junior" engineers; 4) a "junior" technician at a starport facility; and 5) a "senior" technician in a supervisory position at the starport. Again, these folks will have varying position titles determined by their respective organizations and a wide variety of skills used in their roles. These skill mixes will likely also vary with tech level, with skills like gravitics and robotics becoming more common at higher tech levels.

Cheers,

David
--
"Oh, you didn't tell [the Captain] how long it would ~really~ take, did you?" - Montgomery Scott (Ronald D. Moore), ~Star Trek: The Next Generation~, "Relics"