As technology evolves and becomes a bigger part of everyday life, so too does the need for technology professionals. Licensing software engineers in canada by david lorge parnas engineering are selfregulating. First, they spend considerable time researching, defining, and analyzing the problem at hand. The second involved deep conversations with dennis frailey and don bagert, who have written in support of licensing certain software engineers for many years. Licensing software engineers communications of the acm. The acm is not supportive of licensing as proposed in texas. Check the requirements of your state licensing board. The idea for the licensing exam came from five organizations who partnered in 2009 to form the software engineering consortium. The pe software exam is an 8hour exam with 80 questions. With regard to the term software engineer, many states, such as texas and florida, have introduced license requirements for such a title that are in line with the requirements for more traditional engineering fields. While each state licensing board has its own laws regarding engineering licensure, there is a general threestep process for licensure candidates. Learn how to get your washington state engineer s license.
In other states, software engineers may not use the title engineer. Find out how to update your washington state engineers license. In his july 20 communications column, acm president vint cerf revisited the controversy of licensing professional software engineers in the u. He regards licensing as a political issue, and he regards the debate about licensing in software engineering as noble, but shallow. Finally, a pe path for software engineers national society of. By definition, licensing is required for those whose work impacts safety, health, or welfare. The first was a book about the tumultuous history of implementing medical licensing in the u. To achieve certification, you must pass a 60question, multiplechoice exam that covers application design, the platform, data modeling, user interface, logic, data management, reporting and analysis. It raises the question though of whether code that has been put on the internet or passed around through other means is in the public domain or not, which im sure is a huge debate in itself. A civil engineer can use wellunderstood analysis to prove that astructure will be safe. The principles and practice of engineering pe software engineering exam was offered for the first time in april 20. Acms position is that our state of knowledge and practice in software engineering is too immature to warrant licensing. Licensing software engineers, communications of the acm 10. Licensing software engineers in canada communications of.
It is a compilation of 10 useful articles that have appeared within the last few years. Licensing and software engineers louisiana tech university. I have been a licensed software engineer in canada where its the law that you have to be licensed to use the title engineer for almost 10 years. Licensing software engineers is in the works ieee the. Learn how to get your washington state engineers license. Licensing authorities have asked computer professionals to work with them. But mandating a pe for software engineers is a huge mistake. Software engineers design and guide the development of programs that computers use to.
National council of examiners for engineering and surveying. Education generally, engineering licensing boards require p. Jun 16, 2008 but mandating a pe for software engineers is a huge mistake. Licensing would give false assurances of competence even if the body of knowledge were mature. Find out how to update your washington state engineer s license. This exam is the only missing item in the path to licensure for software engineers, says ieee fellow philip laplante, who chairs the consortiums software engineering licensure examination. The principles and practice of engineering pe exam tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. Software engineering professionalism is a movement to make software engineering a profession, with aspects such as degree and certification programs, professional associations, professional ethics, and government licensing. He views getting into the debate as the primary responsibility of computing professionals. Ensure software compliance, optimize software spend, and always be auditready with an advanced license management solution.
Afterall, most software projects are pretty benign. Engineering it offers consultation on hardware and software purchases, and assistance with software licensing for engineering applications. Licensing software engineers licensing software engineers frailey, dennis j. Each state will be responsible for coming up with its own guidelines. A year in numbers, the official ncees source for engineering and surveying licensure statistics. The texas scheme has been criticised, however, because it does not take into account the differences between software engineering and other engineering discipines. Licensing asme s license agreement is a legal document protecting the rights of our customers and asme.
But the acm later withdrew its support because the ieee intended the swebok to be required for licensing. The legal basics of software licensing techrepublic. If so, should you take the computer engineering pe exam or the software engineering. Then, to retain their licenses, pes must continually maintain and improve their skills throughout their careers. As i read the many comments on a software engineering licensing i m reminded of the debate on the merits of the go to statement that raged in this publication three decades ago. Gov is a registered service mark of the commonwealth of massachusetts. This page outlines actions that engineers canada is taking to reduce the risk of staff and volunteers contracting or spreading this disease. Your engineers, being part of that open source community project, would know that and would automatically choose gplv2 in the absence of such a mandate. The novel coronavirus sarscov2 and the disease it causes covid19 continues to spread across the globe and canada. Should you become a licensed professional engineer. Software engineers tend to agree that mandates will have the most impact on those who develop embedded software systems. Software engineer is a professional who applies the principles of software engineering for designing, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of computer software whereas software developer is a professional who builds software which runs across various types of computer. Professional licensure for computer engineers and software.
Depending on where you register, fees may be paid directly to ncees, a state licensing board, or a designee of the board. However, licensing can be influenced, for the two potentially good results from licensing of software engineers are because licensing forces to define, codify and organize the field and has the. Safety licensing of software engineers software engineering. This issue has been one that divides the profession since reasonable cases can be made both pro and con. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years postcollege work experience in their chosen engineering discipline. Engineer is an aspirational title in software development. Reprinted in engineering times 24, 1 national society of professional engineers jan.
No, software engineering should not require professional certification. While the ieeecs was in favor of licensing software engineers, the acm was not. Software engineering texas board of professional engineers. Licensing software engineers december 1999 communications. Generally, the requirements for licensure as a professional software engineer are. You may be prompted to contact your state licensing board or foreign entity directly. Software engineers would have to study years of calculus, physics, and chemistry to pass exams, which many computer science graduates are unqualified to pass. Find out how to renew your washington state engineers license.
Licensing the field of software engineering is too immature. Enabling engineers to make these decisions is wise and efficient. The licensure process for engineers, which leads to the p. Ncees discontinued the pe software exam after april 2019. As yet there are no analogous techniques forsoftware. Surprisingly to me, the concept of regulating the practice of software engineering in situations where public safety is involved has been met with significant resistance and controversy. Professional engineers ontario, mayjune 2001, 3639. Licensing software engineers is in the works ieee is helping develop the.
Licensing software engineers in canada, communications of the. Pdf licensing software engineers in canada david parnas. This page outlines actions that engineers canada is taking to reduce the risk of staff and volunteers contracting or. The software engineering code of ethics and professional practice was developed by a computer professionals for social responsibility. Licensure is required if an engineer wishes to work as a consulting engineer or needs to sign or stamp engineering documents for public agencies or for a firm which offers engineering services to the public. Software engineering is a direct subfield of engineering and has an overlap with computer science and management science. Software engineering is the systematic application of engineering approaches to the development of software. Software engineer licensing software engineer insider. The journey to license software engineers as professional engineers began in 1998 when the texas board of professional engineers licensed don bagert as. Visit the engineering licensure section, and select your exam location for more information about your registration fees and payees. Many software engineers in the industry are graduated computer science students. Our desktop replacement program provides a modern and consistent desktop experience for all administrative staff in the college.
It is also considered a part of overall systems engineering. In june of 1998, the texas board of professional engineers added software engineering to its list of recognized engineering disciplines, making texas the first state to issue licenses to software engineers. Then, they develop software programs to resolve the problem on the computer. Read the latest issue of licensure exchange, the ncees publication dedicated to opinions and ideas regarding the licensure of engineers and surveyors. Aug 12, 2014 no, software engineering should not require professional certification. This doesnt mean that all software engineers will be subject to licensing. Find out how to renew your washington state engineer s license. Holding a bachelors degree in software engineering from an abetaccredited.
The debate on licensing of software engineers has been a personal journey for me. Familiarize yourself with your state licensing boards unique registration procedures before. Software engineers would have to study years of calculus, physics, and chemistry to pass the exams. Licensing software engineers is in the works ieee spectrum. A professional engineer is an individual who has been granted by a governmental authority the right to use that tide and to offer.
Software engineering canadas association of information. Should there be professional licensure for software engineers. Nov 05, 2015 the term is probably a shortening of software engineer, but its use betrays a secret. This article focuses on the licensing of software engineers. If you are not familiar with the subject of professional licensing for software engineers, you can read a good synopsis here. Every customer is required to sign a license agreement at the start of their site license. Hotly debated but plainly inevitable, the topic of licensing software engineers in the united states is examined in a new ebook, the best of ieeeusa insight. Then, only licensed engineers would be legally able to hold certain jobs in companies which the licensing board deemed must be help by a licensed software engineer, similarly to how teaching positions at your local public school can only be help by licensed teachers. Since computer software engineering includes a variety of tasks and job descriptions, the first step aspiring software engineers may need to do is to research the. There is no restriction on anyone describing themselves as an engineer or working as an engineer in the uk. Unfortunately, licensing is a political issue and not a technical one, so finding an answer is difficult, and it will never be possible to prove any course of action is the right one. Licensing improving software quality stanford computer science. To become licensed, engineers must complete a fouryear college degree, work under a professional engineer for at least four years, pass two intensive competency exams and earn a license from their states licensure board.
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