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According to my engineering professional association, it is that simple. They'd have no qualms stripping me of my license to practice engineering for knowingly

According to my engineering professional association, it is that simple. They'd have no qualms stripping me of my license to practice engineering for knowingly approving an unsafe design, regardless of what effect that decision would have had on my financial well-being. The big difference is that companies need professional engineers. Professional approval on certain things is required by law. I'm not sure that would be a good idea for software, but that is what makes the system work for professional engineers.

alexbanks 6y ago
> They'd have no qualms stripping me of my license to practice engineering for knowingly approving an unsafe design Presumably there would be repercussions at the government level if a company repeatedly demanded engineers do things worthy of stripping their licenses though, no?
- slavik81 6y ago
  This varies by jurisdiction, but perhaps I oversimplified. There is another reason that doesn't happen. The individual engineer doing the work needs a license, but the company itself also needs a permit to practice. The permit must be held by an engineer, who is personally responsible for the engineering that occurs under their permit. So, the permit holder needs to worry not just about their own ethical behaviour, but that of all engineers in the company. They are incentivized to ensure the company will hold the public safety paramount, or to walk away if they cannot (thereby leaving the company without a permit). If the company has a pattern of misbehaviour, it may be difficult to obtain a permit.
  - alexbanks 6y ago
    _Exactly_. Tech companies regularly exist purely based off of illegal business models (they call them _Disruptions_). So, yes, we agree, if there are repercussions for a company regularly breaking the law, then engineers can and should refuse work that has negative legal or moral repercussions. But in the world of tech, that's not the case.

alexbanks 6y ago

> They'd have no qualms stripping me of my license to practice engineering for knowingly approving an unsafe design Presumably there would be repercussions at the government level if a company repeatedly demanded engineers do things worthy of stripping their licenses though, no?

slavik81 6y ago
This varies by jurisdiction, but perhaps I oversimplified. There is another reason that doesn't happen. The individual engineer doing the work needs a license, but the company itself also needs a permit to practice. The permit must be held by an engineer, who is personally responsible for the engineering that occurs under their permit. So, the permit holder needs to worry not just about their own ethical behaviour, but that of all engineers in the company. They are incentivized to ensure the company will hold the public safety paramount, or to walk away if they cannot (thereby leaving the company without a permit). If the company has a pattern of misbehaviour, it may be difficult to obtain a permit.
- alexbanks 6y ago
  _Exactly_. Tech companies regularly exist purely based off of illegal business models (they call them _Disruptions_). So, yes, we agree, if there are repercussions for a company regularly breaking the law, then engineers can and should refuse work that has negative legal or moral repercussions. But in the world of tech, that's not the case.