The Erosion Of The Status Of Software Developers As Professionals • Hacker News Board

Re: The Erosion Of The Status Of Software Developers As Professionals

#101

Post by herge » Wed, Feb 12, 2014, 9:17 PM UTC

walshemj wrote: post #70

herge wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But once you're persona non-gratta, it's impossible to get back into the good graces: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Glass

Journalists are only professionals in the same way hookers are. As Baldwin said “Power without responsibility — the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.” Will any of the NOW hacks who hacked phones have a problem getting a new job NO. Was Rupert Murdoch stripped of his newspapers as a result of the NOW scandal NO

Stephen Glass tried to get into the California Bar Association but was rejected, probably because of his past history as a reporter for The New Republic. Don't know what that has to do with either hookers or Rupert Murdoch.

Re: The Erosion Of The Status Of Software Developers As Professionals

#102

Post by gopher1 » Wed, Feb 12, 2014, 10:15 PM UTC

His only evidence of this so-called erosion of status is that anecdotally some non-technical folks got management jobs in tech companies and some journalists were ignorant about programming.

I'm sorry but I don't consider this to be a very compelling argument.

With this level of evidence it would be just as easy to argue that programmers today are given a higher status, and not looked down upon as geeky, despite the fact that it's easier than ever to learn about and become a programmer.

Re: The Erosion Of The Status Of Software Developers As Professionals

#103

Post by walshemj » Thu, Feb 13, 2014, 5:50 PM UTC

Mvandenbergh wrote: post #78

walshemj wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really I worked at a top 5 civil consultancy and the majority of engineers where not chartered it takes quite a few years of professional work to achieve that status. and its more about "who you know not what you know" to quote my dad

Sure, but those people are still working towards accreditation, they're part of that system in a way that most software engineers are not.

True but a lot stop or drop out as did I did I started as the mech eng professional apprentice doing day release - I also looked at going down the experience route for the BCS but they keep changing the rules and did not seem to do anything worth while.

Re: The Erosion Of The Status Of Software Developers As Professionals

#104

Post by BrownBuffalo » Thu, Feb 20, 2014, 2:51 PM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #71

morganherlocker wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you are software engineer - you have the PE / FE exams. In some states its even illegal to call yourself a softare engineer... Is this actually illegal in any state, and is it actually enforced in any state? I would bet that 99% of people who have the title "Software Engineer" have not taken those exams, and most have a CS degree.

Searching for that I found that the Software Engineering exam for PEs was introduced in 2013. I doubt that any states require it yet, if they do it's probably a provisional thing (way too many people that should qualify that won't because they haven't taken the exam yet, that's time and money to get certified, be stupid to require it after only 1 year of availability). EDIT: Exam information (pdf): http://cdn1.ncees.…

Then let me clarify. Software Engineering PE / SE was before the certification (as you state) known primarily as Eletrical Engineers with Computer Science concentrations. My university only offered a CSE specific degree in the last 10 years (I believe, anyway).

Re: The Erosion Of The Status Of Software Developers As Professionals

#105

Post by BrownBuffalo » Thu, Feb 20, 2014, 2:57 PM UTC

bmj wrote: post #81

walshemj wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really I worked at a top 5 civil consultancy and the majority of engineers where not chartered it takes quite a few years of professional work to achieve that status. and its more about "who you know not what you know" to quote my dad

I am not an engineer, but have a good friend who is an engineer doing nuclear reaction cooling systems. He worked in the industry for close to ten years before getting his PE, and only did it because his employer asked him to (I believe it helped them get a contract). Based on my conversations with other engineers, other industries (ME, EE, CE) seem to operate in the same way--some employers don't require the exam at…

Right, because PEs usually play out in higher-level industrial "type" projects. Government, I think requires PE/FE in a lot of situations. The other part of this, is that you take the PE/FE exam TWICE when you leave college. One is right after college, and then you work under a PE for 5 years (if I'm not correct) as a "mentor" then take it again after 5 years. You have to be registered under this PE, as well. The certification is like the other applied engineering disciplines - where it says you are accountable for what you make. But you already seem to know this from side conversations.