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Are Programmers Engineers?

Posted by timothy on from the let-the-french-academy-decide dept.

The Llama King writes "The Houston Chronicle has an interesting story about a debate in the Texas Legislature over whether programmers are really engineers. A quote: " 'It's one of the silliest issues we're having to deal with this session, but it's also one of the most important,' said Steven Kester, legislative director of the American Electronics Association, an organization of computer companies." Are you really an engineer? Or just a code-monkey?"

2 of 963 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It all depends ... by Skyfire · · Score: 5, Interesting

    yeah, but you do the same stuff as the code-monkey in the cubicle next to you that took courses for 6 months to a year at the local commmunity course

    --
    Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
  2. By their meaning... by Duncan3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    By their meaning, clearly most poeple are not engineers. That's a clear cut one.

    7/8 of the people working as "coders", that read "Java for waiters" clearly are not engineers either. Also clear cut.

    4 year degree with something on the EE//CS line (I'm right in the middle) and a dozen years in the real world... if you have the degree, and you have the insurance covering your work by yourself or by proxy - which i'm gonna call "licensed" then yea, you're clearly an engineer by THEIR meaning.

    But nothing is more insulting then being considered in the same job category and resume pile as waiter-turned-coder-last-weekend.

    I'd love to see Texas lay the law down on the clueless, and license those of us that really do this for a living. Then all those waiters and such can go back to doing things they can do well.

    --
    - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/