Software engineers are everywhere! Software engineers develop the low-level firmware that drives our gadgets, the application code that allows us to interact with our devices, the software that manages the internet, satellites, medical devices, automobiles and the list goes on and on. Despite the abundant and ever growing software developer ranks, there seems to be a mystery; the professional software engineers are missing!
Professional software engineers are those engineers that have successfully passed the NCEES Professional Engineering exam in the Software track. The mystery surrounding the missing professional software engineers is that after examining the latest exam data (located at http://ncees.org/engineering/pe/) it is obvious that very few engineers are taking the software exam. In fact, only 9 engineers took the exam when it was offered back in April! More than three times that many test takers took the Agricultural and Biological examination! Unfortunately, Computer Engineering didn’t do much better either with only twenty-one examinees. So, what exactly is going on?
There are at least three different reasons why Software and Computer Engineering might have fewer would be licensors. First, software engineers may not be aware of the advantages for getting their Professional Engineering license and therefore just aren’t showing up. Becoming a Professional Engineer has many advantages such as:
• Recognition in the work place
• Commanding a higher salary
• Access to opportunities that may require a PE license
• Less hoops to jump through when serving as an expert witness
Second, developers may not even realize that the Software and Computer Engineering exams even exist! The Software exam was only added as an option within the last three to five years. Third, developers might feel that they are better suited to take the PE exam through a different track such as electrical engineering. Fourth, software developers might not meet the NCEES requirements to take the exam. Some developers may not have degrees from A.B.E.T. certified universities. Other developers may not be able to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE) which is the precursor to the PE exam. Finally, there may just not be a need to have a PE license for software developers. In many circumstances, just being able to bang out code is all that any employer really requires (scary in many circumstances).
Despite all these potential reasons for the low turn-out for the Software exam, the exam covers some critical areas that every developer should master such as
• Requirements
• Design
• Construction
• Testing
• Maintenance
• Configuration Management
• Engineering Processes
• Quality Assurance
• Safety, Security and Privacy
Working towards a PE license is a great way for developers to stand apart from the pack. The path to the PE license is not easy but once a developer is finally ready to take the exam, they may want to explore the exams available to them and select the Software examination. Don’t forget that once an engineer has a PE it doesn’t matter which test they took to get it, just that they have their PE. As software developers, we need to up our game to resolve the missing professional software engineer mystery.
