I've never understood why some people use the term "software engineer" when there are many, more appropriate titles for this profession. Something as simple as "software developer" conveys the same thing and better describes what vast majority of "software engineers" do.<p>There's also this, from the article:<p>>“Professional engineers are held to high professional and ethical standards and work in the public interest,” it said. “The public places a high degree of trust in the profession and these layers of accountability and transparency help keep Canadians safe.”<p>I cannot agree more. Such standards and concerns are found within a minority of software development roles (critical, risk, etc.); the majority of work in this field does not hold to the same account which is fine for the type of work.<p>Nobody is demanding <i>all</i> software developers be held to the same standards as professional engineers; there is no movement to force everyone wanting to write software be required to go through the same education and development as professional engineers. Again, there are plenty of other, more correct terms to use.<p>I would like to see a more concerted effort to bring back and/or develop new standards and criteria for genuine professional engineering in software. People who desire such a career will have something to pursue. Everyone else can continue to being software developers ... which is <i>fine</i>. Simple.
I agree with the regulators, we should start requiring an engineering license, holding software developers accountable for their work. Standards ought to matter for software just as much as it does for buildings and bridges. Potentially billions can end up depending on a particular software whose safety and privacy can be at risk if the software is unreliable.
Paywall bypass: <a href="https://m.slashdot.org/story/405941" rel="nofollow">https://m.slashdot.org/story/405941</a><p>Somebody already took somebody to court over this in Alberta and the court threw them out so Alberta is one of the few places in Canada where software engineers are legally recognized<p><a href="https://www.itbusiness.ca/news/it-industry-wins-round-in-engineering-name-debacle/4133?amp=1" rel="nofollow">https://www.itbusiness.ca/news/it-industry-wins-round-in-eng...</a><p>They are simply acting in bad faith and are a vexatious litigant.
Engineering is about the process you follow to create outcomes, not solely the result. This relates to creating a result of a known quality in a predictable, known time and budget.<p>Move fast and break things is not an engineering paradigm and few software projects ever meet quality, budget and schedule expectations.<p>If an engineer failed in the manner some software projects do they might well be unemployable and possibly incarcerated, eg UK Post disaster for just one.
I think it is good to ensure the usage of "engineer" only by person's holding an engineering degree.<p>But I find it an overreach and probably money avid assholes, the guys that tries to force employers of engineers to be members of a bullshit association like the apega!
The misuse of the term engineer has been creeping in tech for a while now. Sales Engineer immediately comes to mind as a title that should be renamed. I think that there should either be separations between job title and professional designations, or requirements to hold a job title that includes a designation. A good example is the technologist role. From what I can tell, those roles require a technologist designation in the specific field. The argument could be made that if Apple started calling their Genius Bar staff technologists, it would devalue the designation.
Software Engineer is just a job-title like "Accountant". We should also have "Certified Software Engineer", which is not a job-title, but accreditation. Like "CPA" is. You can do accounting without being a CPA, but it helps your clients know you know something about what you are doing.
I think "software engineer" should be reserved for those doing traditional engineering work in regulated fields such as aviation, medical devices, and mission critical systems; and require an engineering degree and licensing. Software developer can be for other types of software development.
I always cringe when people use the words 'engineer' in the realm of software development. They are accredited, licensed, and bound to some professional creed. We're none of those things.
Not really. If we held the title to engineering standards, maybe like the guys that make SpaceX stuff, SQLite could be called "software engineers".