I know a couple of people who have stopped wearing it since graduation despite still doing engineering work. It's a little disappointing.
Really? I always thought it was so you would see it when you where about to sign off on drawings so you would do one more mental check in your head to make sure you are doing proper due diligence.
I guess it's the same idea:)
There is also a thing about it being as far away from your 'gold' wedding band as possible, signifying that your primary goal in work should be the work... not the gold.
The ring itself wears down over time, obviously, and I've heard some symbolism about "rough edges" going away as you age associated with it. I've even heard an anecdote about a senior engineer who lost his ring and got a replacement. He was seen in the machine shop taking a belt sander to it because he "felt like a kid."
The symbolism about other rings is that the mofo is steel and rough, meaning that you can't really wear another ring next to it without damaging it (unless you have another steel ring). The symbolism is about the pursuit of good engineering trumping the pursuit of wealth.
I'm sure the fact that hardness of the ring makes it capable of (and good at) opening beer bottles is entirely unintentional.
They're Canadians.
That's also why it has the rugged "hammered" look. It's rough because the ring is not jewelry, it's meant to be rough to remind you of the symbolism.