Professionalism in the computing field
- 1 January 1975
- journal article
- Published by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) in Communications of the ACM
- Vol. 18 (1) , 4-9
- https://doi.org/10.1145/360569.360578
Abstract
The term professional means different things to different people; nevertheless, there are certain general technical and social standards normally associated with a professional. Further, the term is more generally applied to the practitioner rather than to the researcher. But within the rather broad definition specified, the computing practitioner is, as yet, not regarded as a professional. Each of the four types of institutions—academic, industry, government, and the professional society—that educate, employ, regulate, and mold the practitioner contributes to the “nonprofessional” status of the computing practitioner. The roles of these institutions are examined, various shortcomings are noted, and recommended changes are suggested. In the last analysis, professional status is not bestowed; it is earned. However, universities and industry, specifically, can make certain improvements to help the computing practitioner achieve professional status.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- The role of computer science education in certification of computer professionalsACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 1974
- ACM president's letter: the roles of ACM IV. ACM and its members: relevancy and responsibilityCommunications of the ACM, 1973