Software Engineering - Profession

Profession

Legal requirements for the licensing or certification of professional software engineers vary around the world. In the UK, the British Computer Society licenses software engineers and members of the society can also become Chartered Engineers (CEng), while in some areas of Canada, such as Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, software engineers can hold the Professional Engineer (P.Eng) designation and/or the Information Systems Professional (I.S.P.) designation. In Canada, there is a legal requirement to have P.Eng when one wants to use the title "engineer" or practice "software engineering". In the USA, beginning on 2013, the path for licensure of software engineers will become a reality. As with the other engineering disciplines, the requirements consist of earning an ABET accredited bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering (or any non-ABET degree and NCEES credentials evaluation), passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, having at least four years of demonstrably relevant experience, and passing the Software Engineering PE Exam. In some states, such as Florida, Texas, Washington, and other, software developers cannot use the title "engineer" unless they are licensed professional engineers who have passed the PE Exam and possess a valid licence to practice. This license has to be periodically renewed, which is known as continuous education, to ensure engineers are kept up to date with latest techniques and safest practices.

The IEEE Computer Society and the ACM, the two main professional organizations of software engineering, publish guides to the profession of software engineering. The IEEE's Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge - 2004 Version, or SWEBOK, defines the field and describes the knowledge the IEEE expects a practicing software engineer to have. Currently a new SWEBOK v3 is being released and we may probably expect it in early 2013. The IEEE also promulgates a "Software Engineering Code of Ethics".