4 ms·

What if I read WebMD a lot and have the same skills without paying extortionate amounts of money for medical school? "Engineer" is a protected title much like

by chroem- 12y ago

What if I read WebMD a lot and have the same skills without paying extortionate amounts of money for medical school? "Engineer" is a protected title much like "Medical Doctor," and for good reason. Outside of web development, when things break people die. No matter what way you spin it, it's impossible to apply that same level of gravity to apps and websites. Engineering is serious business and the amount of rigorous preparation and training that engineers must go through to earn their title matches that. Please think about that next time you're at 50,000 feet on a transatlantic flight.

dsacco 12y ago
You're conflating software engineering with mechanical engineering. It's not the same as mechanical engineering, or even medical school. You can absolutely learn all of software engineering, inside and out, without a formal education. All the gravity applied to software that peoples' lives depend on? It can be designed, developed and debugged with or without a formal education. Almost every argument in this thread bears a similarity to yours, but software engineering is not the same as traditional engineering. Comparing it to trades or crafts which demand physical inspection of a skillset and an in person mentorship is not valid. EDIT: Upon closer inspection of your comment, it seems as though your position is that software engineering should not be called engineering at all, because it does not require the same rigor as the other disciplines you mentioned during training. If that's the case, I agree with you. I take issue with people demanding that a title be tied to education when education is not demonstrably required for the skillset...but I also think "engineer" isn't necessarily an appropriate term for what "software engineers" do.
TheCoelacanth 12y ago
Except that in the US, where many, perhaps even most, of the people on this site work, it is not a protected title. You can not claim to be a "Professional Engineer" or to be a supplier of "engineering services", but there are no restrictions on calling yourself an "Engineer".

by chroem- 12y ago

dsacco 12y ago

You're conflating software engineering with mechanical engineering. It's not the same as mechanical engineering, or even medical school. You can absolutely learn all of software engineering, inside and out, without a formal education. All the gravity applied to software that peoples' lives depend on? It can be designed, developed and debugged with or without a formal education. Almost every argument in this thread bears a similarity to yours, but software engineering is not the same as traditional engineering. Comparing it to trades or crafts which demand physical inspection of a skillset and an in person mentorship is not valid. EDIT: Upon closer inspection of your comment, it seems as though your position is that software engineering should not be called engineering at all, because it does not require the same rigor as the other disciplines you mentioned during training. If that's the case, I agree with you. I take issue with people demanding that a title be tied to education when education is not demonstrably required for the skillset...but I also think "engineer" isn't necessarily an appropriate term for what "software engineers" do.

TheCoelacanth 12y ago

Except that in the US, where many, perhaps even most, of the people on this site work, it is not a protected title. You can not claim to be a "Professional Engineer" or to be a supplier of "engineering services", but there are no restrictions on calling yourself an "Engineer".