Replies

OK...I wasn't saying that professionals in the compuer related fields CANNOT be extremely accomplished and well-educated. It is apparent that you are both, and I think that's fabulous.

The software/computer science field is so new in comparison to civil or mechanical engineering. Perhaps that is why there are more alternate routes to achieving prominence in the field. It is quite rare for someone without a degree in CE or ME to become a PE (although legally it is possible in a few states). In my area, at least, if you want a job as a mechanical or civil engineer, you're only taken seriously with an accredited 4-year degree. Having patents and being self-taught just doesn't cut it. Many of the laws regarding who can legally call themselves an "engineer" are pretty old...they don't take into account that in computer-related fields, it is possible and quite common to have good skills and abilities without a degree. PEs are usually civil engineers...I know less than a handful of MEs with a PE, and no EEs who have one. The laws are designed with MEs and CEs in mind.

I still don't think that most of the "software engineers" out there, who are often simply high school grads who took a VB class at the local community college, are actually engineers. Yeah, they can code like mad...but when it comes to traditional "engineering" activities, they have no clue. I worked my butt off to get my engineering degree, and it's cheapened when antisocial code monkeys who couldn't design their way out of a paper bag insist on calling themselves "engineers" on a business card. They're "programmers" or something similar, not engineers. The computer engineers that I know AREN'T the ones doing the coding...they're designing the systems and having the coders do the coding (that IS their job...).

I, for one, would be all for revamping the PE process to include Computer engineering. It could include people who HAVE been self-taught, and who have made significant contributions to the field (based on a board review). This capability for a PE without a degree exists in some states now.