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"I need to preface this by saying that I have very little faith in the worldliness or general sense of Silicon Valley hardware engineers. I have seen a long his

"I need to preface this by saying that I have very little faith in the worldliness or general sense of Silicon Valley hardware engineers. I have seen a long history of extremely poor decisions from that part of industry, so I will assume they made all the worst decisions." Old school engineers designed bridges, dams, nuclear plants, transformers, etc. They took a serious oath and got a license. Software "engineers" -- and let's be honest, most are closet software engineers, even the "hardware" ones -- are not cut from the same cloth in approaching problem solving, to the major detriment of society. I never trusted them.

mahyarm 9y ago
It's about specs, budget and liability. Most people are engineering software tents and art pieces, because that is what the market wants and demands. They don't want to pay the price for non-tents. There is nothing wrong with software tents, you just have to realize what they are.
luord 9y ago
> to the major detriment of society. I never trusted them. That's going a bit too far, though. Software has accomplished a lot for society, even if the methods are still not standardized, which absolutely is a problem, and prone to failure.
ew6082 9y ago
As one of those engineers, I often wonder. In my line of work, if you don't have a stamp, you're not an Engineer. While NCEES offers a PE in software, how many in software actually take the PE exam? Is Professional Engineer even a thing in Silicon Valley?
- astebbin 9y ago
  As a Silicon Valley software developer, I haven't seen many credentialed engineers. The vast majority of my colleagues in software have a degree or two in Computer Science, but no formal engineering certification. The few I've met I would describe as "incidentally" credentialed, meaning they went to a school (commonly Waterloo) where it was a requirement for graduation.

mahyarm 9y ago

It's about specs, budget and liability. Most people are engineering software tents and art pieces, because that is what the market wants and demands. They don't want to pay the price for non-tents. There is nothing wrong with software tents, you just have to realize what they are.

luord 9y ago

> to the major detriment of society. I never trusted them. That's going a bit too far, though. Software has accomplished a lot for society, even if the methods are still not standardized, which absolutely is a problem, and prone to failure.

ew6082 9y ago

As one of those engineers, I often wonder. In my line of work, if you don't have a stamp, you're not an Engineer. While NCEES offers a PE in software, how many in software actually take the PE exam? Is Professional Engineer even a thing in Silicon Valley?

astebbin 9y ago
As a Silicon Valley software developer, I haven't seen many credentialed engineers. The vast majority of my colleagues in software have a degree or two in Computer Science, but no formal engineering certification. The few I've met I would describe as "incidentally" credentialed, meaning they went to a school (commonly Waterloo) where it was a requirement for graduation.