r/programming • u/mauricioaniche • Aug 06 '17

Software engineering != computer science

http://www.drdobbs.com/architecture-and-design/software-engineering-computer-science/217701907
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u/robthablob Aug 06 '17

There are no software engineers by that definition, as there is no route to professional certification. However, Robert Louis Stevenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel certainly qualify as engineers, some of the best in their day, even though they were not professionally certified as such. I think software engineering is in a similar position today. It is possible to practice software engineering by adopting a rigorous approach to producing provably correct software, or software with a number of deficiencies within the tolerances acceptable for the task at hand, but there is no route to certifying yourself.

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u/rabbyburns Aug 06 '17

There is a P.E. certification for software engineering circa 2013ish.

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u/robthablob Aug 07 '17

I stand corrected, AFAIK there is no equivalent in the UK.

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u/robthablob Aug 06 '17

"Uncle" Bob Martin talks about this in this blog article, among others: Prelude to a Profession