Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!super!pcolsen
From: pcolsen@super.ORG (Peter C Olsen)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Programmer Licensing?
Keywords: software safety, government regulation
Message-ID: <16842@super.ORG>
Date: 18 Nov 89 02:51:47 GMT
References: <39400056@m.cs.uiuc.edu> <242@cherry5.UUCP> <4600@ae.sei.cmu.edu> <1487@redsox.bsw.com> <1989Nov13.223935.28321@hellgate.utah.edu>
Sender: news@super.ORG
Reply-To: pcolsen@super.UUCP (Peter C Olsen)
Organization: Supercomputing Research Center, Bowie, Md.
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Recently Sandra Loosemore wrote about Utah's requirement to be 
to register as a Professional Engineer before practicing before the
public commented that there is no specific PE examination for 
software engineering.

She's probably right, but there are two additional points to consider.

First, there {\em are} other examinations in closely related fields ---
the electrical and industrial engineering examinations both address
``systems analytical'' problems of the same type faced in software
engineering.  Some problems may be even more specific --- when I took
the Principles and Practices exam (the ``PE'' exam as opposed to the 
``EIT'' exam), I worked a question which (as I recall) required the
analysis of a FORTRAN program to determine if it would meet the 
design specifications for solving a ``toy'' problem in E.E.

Second, and more important, the purpose of the PE examination is 
{\em not} to demonstrate detailed mastery of engineering trivia, 
but rather to prove your acquaintance with the {\em fundamental}
principles and practices of good engineering.  Ten years ago I
took the examination and registered as a mechanical engineer, but
my career has taken me away from the conventional practice of 
M.E. and into, first, the numerical analysis of algorithms supporting
M.E. (primarily computational fluid mechanics) and then into the 
design and implementation of more general software for other
applications.  Throughout this transition, I have found that the 
{\em principles} of good engineering have been generally applicable and 
that my early training in them as a mechanical engineer has made me 
a better software engineer today.

Peter Olsen P.E.  pcolsen@super.org