[ Engineering vs a Public Service ]

In the main, engineers serve the public. It’s our duty, our responsibility, our ethical obligation, to serve the public interest, particularly in the view of public safety.
Bridges, roads, pipelines, buildings, process plants, airplanes: engineers involved in design, building or operating these assets in the public realm are, simply, in service to the public. Sometimes, serving the public, in the name of safety, overrides (or should override!) the wishes of our clients.
With the degree, and this positioning as one who primarily serves the public, if this makes you proud and confident, you're an engineer. If not, maybe you’re not.