Being an engineer is the profession in which knowledge of the mathematics and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind. (Kenyon, 1993) Engineering technology is that part of the technological field which requires the application of scientific and engineering knowledge and methods combined with technical skills in support of engineering activities; it lies in the occupational spectrum between the craftsman and the engineer at the end of the spectrum closest to the engineer. Engineering services exhibit great variety. Engineering firms may design ships, boats, machines of any kind including machine tools used in factories to produce other products; advanced weapons, public works such as bridges or public utilities, petroleum extraction systems, airplanes, or any of the components of such products. (SIC, 1987) The engineering industry derives income, employment, and growth from a broad range of services for a broad range of clients.
As more and more sophisticated hardware and software ease the requirements for labor in other industries, computers are developing impressive capabilities for use in both engineering and software development itself. This is where software engineers come in. Nonetheless, the practitioners of the branch of engineering concerning the development of software are in a conundrum whether to professionalize their discipline through licensing. In my own point of view, there would be advantages and disadvantages for taking such action.
To illustrate, an attempt to professionalize software engineers would comply with how Winter's description of a profession stating that it is an occupation with certain characteristics" (1988, p. 21). As of the moment, software engineering merely provides occupation for its practitioners. If analyzed closely, licensing software engineers would provide a standard level of competence among the engineers. Moreover, one could ensure that every licensed software engineer would be able to comply with the quality of products that they will consequently develop. However, software development closely complies with the current trend of the advancement of technology. At this point, one would ask how difficult (if not impossible) a task is of establishing a set of standards that would gauge a discipline with this kind of dynamism. One could also deduce with the fact that licensing these engineers would, in a way, limit the potential of software developers considering the restrictions that will eventually exist since having a license means they are as well answerable to the government. In this light, licensing a dynamic industry such as the software engineering would only stunt its growth, particularly in innovating existing programs. Although the professionalization of its practitioners would be beneficial for the government since it could regulate the proliferation of perverted software and protect intellectual property rights of the individual engineers, one could not discount the fact that software development is a technology that needs constant innovation and improvement of existing programs in order to provide an output that is considerably superior than what has been already applied in the market.
Reference:
Kenyon, R. (1993) The Coming Revolution in Engineering and Engineering Technology Education: A New Paradigm for the 21st Century. Education Vol. 113 Issue 3
Standard Industry Classification Manual (Washington, DC, Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, 1987), p. 401.
Winter, D. (1988) The power motive in women and men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol. 54, p. 510-519.
Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.
No comments:
Post a Comment