Re: Professionalism

[dgary@ecsvax.UUCP (D Gary Grady)]

In article <851208185443.106615@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA> Eachus@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA writes:
>
>. . .  The need for
>professional software engineers is here.  There are a lot of areas where
>poor  software  could  be much more harmful than the recent problem with
>this  mailing  list.   Responsible  people are going to insist that this
>work  be done, and supervised, by professionals.

You miss the point.  The argument is not against competence or
professionalism, but against the usual idiot, ineffective efforts aimed
at ensuring such.  I don't doubt enthusiasts of multiple choice
certifying exams, degree requirements, and continuing education programs
are well-intentioned; I just think they're nuts.  I don't object to the
end but to the means.

Is anyone really stupid enough to think that sitting in a classroom for
x number of hours is necessary OR sufficient to learn something?  That
two people with the same amount of education and experience are
necessarily even similar in competance?  The only way to determine if
someone is a competent, conscientious programmer is to look at the
results of their work, WHICH IS PRECISELY WHAT COMPETENT EMPLOYERS DO
RIGHT NOW.  Replacing this with blind trust in some sort of
certification program is going to make things much worse, not better!

There is one case where certification might make sense:  Independent
consultants [disclaimer: I am one].  But I would hope such certification
would be based on demonstrated ability, not on a silly mix of education
and experience requirements and a multiple choice test (as the worthless
CDP is set up, for example).  This is not sour grapes:  I have been
programming since 1970 and I usually do in the 99th percentile on
standardized tests.  I just recognise how utterly irrelevant that is to
any real-world performance, with the exception of quiz shows.  (Maybe we
should certify contestants? :-)
-- 
D Gary Grady
Duke U Comp Center, Durham, NC  27706
(919) 684-3695
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