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Engineering vs. IT: Emphasis on certification misses the point badly
Engineering is the application of science to practical problems. The Engineeer is an applied scientist.

Software development is an endeavour largely devoid of science but full of arbitrary standards and conventions which do not carry the weight of physical reality.

The rest of IT concerns itself with technician's concerns, such as configuration.

As an Electrical Engineer, for 2 decades and more I have made a living crossing the gap between the arbitrary and bureaucratic concerns of software development and the demands of physical reality. There has been a nearly continuous demand for such.

Certification will not help. Engineers in many disciplines are not certified. Certification helps technicians, but ignores that engineers CREATE NEW TECHNOLOGY and do not simply memorize existying technology. The only certifications of worth to engineering concern a proper understanding of physics, and in EE for example the EIT does not address microelectronics physics and is not applicable to my range of activities.

IT is now dominated by certifications, and full of people who think like technicians. Rather than creation of new technology from physics and specification IT is dominated by adherance to the creation of others.

I for one will remain a creator not a follower to the extent possible.

A more important concern is the mental orientation of practitioners. Myers Briggs etc. indicate that only 1% or less of the population are suitable engineers. The others will underperform throughout their career. IT is full of folks from sub-optimal mental orientations for its demands. If one wants to improve IT, eliminate these persons unsuitable to such activity. This is a far more reliable indicator than the presence or absence of some simple certification which compliance to may be duplicated by any engineer with a copy of the standard and the time to apply it.
Posted by: mkern   Posted on: 05/06/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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AndAlso  rapson | 04/27/04
False sense of security  Chad_z | 04/27/04
Plus many MSCE's can't do the work.  maxo_z | 04/27/04
No need to even memorize the questions  voska | 04/27/04
No help as long as bean-counters exist  AbsolutelyNot | 04/27/04
many of the best developers I know  V Sanders | 04/28/04
That's because 'professionalism' can't be certified  escoles@... | 04/28/04
Offshoring jobs = Cheap-o wages bottom line  Enterprise Analyst | 04/28/04
As far as I'm concerned...  dpayne@... | 04/28/04
Redhat certified can't do the work either  Enterprise Analyst | 04/28/04
Not a microsoft bash- it was a MSCE bash.  maxo_z | 04/28/04
RHCE  SC-man | 04/29/04
Certification  Tinkerer62 | 05/06/04
I don't need no stinking badge!  DavidSommers | 04/28/04
re: I don't need no stinking badge  egurski | 04/28/04
MCSE's are not the same continued  Enterprise Analyst | 04/28/04
No- Computing Degrees have a different issue.  maxo_z | 04/28/04
You must have a complex  Enterprise Analyst | 04/28/04
Complex?  bluescreen_z | 04/29/04
Certifications are worthless  voska | 04/29/04
They're getting that way  AbsolutelyNot | 04/29/04
Certification  Tinkerer62 | 05/06/04
That is actually the correct approach  JeremyBarker | 05/02/04
How true  Mark Miller | 05/03/04
Huh, they're still doing that?  Mark Miller | 05/03/04
You Got to Be Joking  siliconrebel | 04/28/04
It's Good For One Thing  wbs00001 | 04/29/04
Education and Certifications  SC-man | 04/29/04
But people do not get new hearts every 3 years.  maxo_z | 05/03/04
I would also say the same about OO programming  WyldOne | 04/30/04
OO Programming  wbs00001 | 05/02/04
Software is now rushed out to meet market pressures  louiebergsagel@... | 04/30/04
I agree. Very real-world  Mark Miller | 05/03/04
Certification  Marlene_z | 05/04/04
Engineering vs. IT: Emphasis on certification misses the point badly  mkern | 05/06/04
One type of certification will work: licensing  mkern | 05/06/04
Licensing  Tinkerer62 | 05/07/04

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