<p>Ah, as an engineer myself, I think I know where they're coming from, since my friends have made this joke to me before. If I'm right, this isn't an in-series joke, or even one related to anime &amp; manga at all:</p>
<p>There's a running joke that (male) engineers are hopeless at romance and can't pick up women, likely originating from the fact that engineering is a profession that has a very skewed ratio of male to female participants. While the number of female engineers is increasing over time, the difference in numbers is still comfortably large enough for the joke to be made.</p>
<p>I expect the joke they're making is that since he is no longer an engineer (&quot;I used to be an engineer&quot;), a girl can finally accept his feelings.</p>
<p>Naturally, this has some traction on the internet - here are some examples I've found over my time:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/K2Le7.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/K2Le7.jpg" alt="Engineering2" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/oNc7f.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oNc7f.jpg" alt="Engineering3" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2015-08-02T17:01:47.837Z
2023-04-29T07:53:42.367Z
2023-04-29T07:53:42.367Z
Matt
<p>I'm currently reading a hilarious manga called <em>Clockwork Planet</em>.</p>
<p>When I'm reading a given page, some guys <em>tsukkomu</em>s (comments) on that page with &quot;I used to be an engineer once.&quot; Basically, this pic depicts a scene that the main male character expresses his love to the main female character and gets accepted.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yNRICl.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yNRICl.jpg" alt="Love expressing scene" /></a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This scene is pretty good, but I still don't understand why some guys say &quot;I used to be an engineer.&quot; I've googled it but got no appropriate answer. Therefore, I'm very confused. Would you like to give me an explanation for this weird sentence?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-02T15:07:47.450Z
I really don't know, but maybe it's a variation on http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-took-an-arrow-in-the-knee
Toshinou Kyouko
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-02T17:20:21.227Z
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about anime or manga, but about a user comment referencing a meme.
nhahtdh
<clockwork-planet>
What does "I used to be an engineer once" mean?
# What does "I used to be an engineer once" mean?
Posted by: username_0 on 2015-08-02
I'm currently reading a hilarious manga called *Clockwork Planet*.

When I'm reading a given page, some guys *tsukkomu*s (comments) on that page with "I used to be an engineer once." Basically, this pic depicts a scene that the main male character expresses his love to the main female character and gets accepted.

> [![Love expressing scene](https://i.sstatic.net/yNRICl.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/yNRICl.jpg)

This scene is pretty good, but I still don't understand why some guys say "I used to be an engineer." I've googled it but got no appropriate answer. Therefore, I'm very confused. Would you like to give me an explanation for this weird sentence?
**Tags:** clockwork-planet
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I really don't know, but maybe it's a variation on http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-took-an-arrow-in-the-knee  
> **username_2**: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about anime or manga, but about a user comment referencing a meme.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2015-08-02. Score: 2 | Accepted answer
Ah, as an engineer myself, I think I know where they're coming from, since my friends have made this joke to me before. If I'm right, this isn't an in-series joke, or even one related to anime & manga at all:

There's a running joke that (male) engineers are hopeless at romance and can't pick up women, likely originating from the fact that engineering is a profession that has a very skewed ratio of male to female participants. While the number of female engineers is increasing over time, the difference in numbers is still comfortably large enough for the joke to be made.

I expect the joke they're making is that since he is no longer an engineer ("I used to be an engineer"), a girl can finally accept his feelings.

Naturally, this has some traction on the internet - here are some examples I've found over my time:

[![Engineering2](https://i.sstatic.net/K2Le7.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/K2Le7.jpg)

[![Engineering3](https://i.sstatic.net/oNc7f.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/oNc7f.jpg)
---
