From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,bf72ca9e8a6b3cf X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: kenner@lab.ultra.nyu.edu (Richard Kenner) Subject: Re: Software Engineering in Florida Date: 1999/11/07 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 545490713 References: <1e0rgtb.6j187t1hibcsaN@[209.132.126.64]> X-Trace: typhoon.nyu.edu 941972494 128.122.140.194 (Sun, 07 Nov 1999 06:01:34 EDT) Organization: New York University Ultracomputer Research Lab NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 07 Nov 1999 06:01:34 EDT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1999-11-07T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <1e0rgtb.6j187t1hibcsaN@[209.132.126.64]> claveman@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) writes: >I was told several years ago, by someone who should know, that the >Florida legislature had codified the term _engineer_, limiting it to >practitioners of the classical engineering disciplines. The upshot was >that anyone who called himself a software engineer was breaking the law. > >I like to mention this in a lecture on software design that I often >give. Does anyone know if it's still true or has the definition been >expanded to include software? It's not that straightforward. You're talking about Section 471. For the text of the definition subsection, see http://www.leg.state.fl.us/citizen/documents/statutes/StatuteBrowser99/index.cfm?mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0471/SEC005.HTM Basically, it says you are not allowed to use the title of "registered engineer" unless you are certified. It also says that you can't represent yourself as an "engineer" unless you are certified. *But* the definition of "engineer" is precisely that in that section (which I agree does not include software engineering). However what that means is not what you state. Indeed, it's almost the exactly opposite. It is certainly perfectly legal in Florida to call oneself a "software engineer". Indeed, if software *were* included in 471.005(6), you could *not* do that without being a licensed "software engineer".