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Right... The world is full of engineers without certifications. Did the guy who designed the circuitry of my TV have a PE? How about the guy designing the intak

by flogic 17y ago

Right... The world is full of engineers without certifications. Did the guy who designed the circuitry of my TV have a PE? How about the guy designing the intake manifold of my car? What did your friend do in those seven years before he got his PE? Probably engineering. Software developers are engineers. Whether we do it well or poorly is besides the point. As far as I know the cert only affects legal responsibility when signing of on a design. So uner that PE there are probably a number of other engineers without PE's doing the grunt work.

yardie 17y ago
The guy that designed the circuit for your TV, or his boss, would have to be accredited. The reason the PE title exists at all is so some idiot with a basic understanding of electricity doesn't design a death trap. The PE isn't some exam you pay $50 and take. You take it when you're ready. You can be an engineer without the PE, but you can't certify your own work unless you have a PE. Everything you mentioned has either been design, approved, or inspected by someone with the title.
- flogic 17y ago
  Right but we still call those non-PE'd engineers engineers. And in many cases the "isn't a hazard" aspect is only a tiny part of the design.
- yardie 17y ago
  What they do is engineering so they are called engineers. Software is very different from what an engineer requires. As Toyota is learning at the moment. Mistakes can be extremely costly. Not in firetrap way, but in the end product. You design a product that will have a permanent physical form. You only get one shot to get it right. It's how AutoCAD and Solidworks can justify their existence. Engineering is all about rules, you are constrained by them. Software is about everything except rules. Software development is one of the few professions that has a creative and methodical aspect. There is very little preventing me from writing the next great app. I just need the creativity to get me there and the methodology to keep me on track.
  - flogic 17y ago
    I'm not sure creativity or rules are a good distinction. People can engineer lots of things in different ways and software can have plenty of rules.

by flogic 17y ago

yardie 17y ago

The guy that designed the circuit for your TV, or his boss, would have to be accredited. The reason the PE title exists at all is so some idiot with a basic understanding of electricity doesn't design a death trap. The PE isn't some exam you pay $50 and take. You take it when you're ready. You can be an engineer without the PE, but you can't certify your own work unless you have a PE. Everything you mentioned has either been design, approved, or inspected by someone with the title.

flogic 17y ago
Right but we still call those non-PE'd engineers engineers. And in many cases the "isn't a hazard" aspect is only a tiny part of the design.
yardie 17y ago
What they do is engineering so they are called engineers. Software is very different from what an engineer requires. As Toyota is learning at the moment. Mistakes can be extremely costly. Not in firetrap way, but in the end product. You design a product that will have a permanent physical form. You only get one shot to get it right. It's how AutoCAD and Solidworks can justify their existence. Engineering is all about rules, you are constrained by them. Software is about everything except rules. Software development is one of the few professions that has a creative and methodical aspect. There is very little preventing me from writing the next great app. I just need the creativity to get me there and the methodology to keep me on track.
- flogic 17y ago
  I'm not sure creativity or rules are a good distinction. People can engineer lots of things in different ways and software can have plenty of rules.