Why might Computer Science not be considered a profession? What exactly is our discipline? In this respect, doctors and lawyers have it easy.
In a formal sense, Computer Science is not a professionalized discipline. There are certainly arguments that could be made for and against professionalization. It is easy to imagine a discussion of this sort to fall victim to black and white reasoning, but of course it is likely more nuanced than to simply state we should professionalize or not; there is the issue of degree.
Perform some research sufficient to help answer one of the fundamental questions of this course – would the professionalization of our discipline be a good thing or a bad thing? As a starting point, consider answering a subset of the following questions:
- Why might Computer Science not be considered a profession?
- What exactly is our discipline? In this respect, doctors and lawyers have it easy.
- What should we call ourselves? Yes, it is this fundamental – see comment about doctors and lawyers above.
- What is your perspective on the professionalization of this discipline?
- Is what we do more than just a job?
- Where do you think we should be heading with respect to professionalism?
- If you were to assume our discipline was to professionalize, it would be necessary to codify what is obligatory and what is prohibited as a professional. This would normally be done through the mandatory adoption of a code of ethics. Is the CIPS Code of Ethics sufficient?
- Can you envision being bound by a “universal” code regardless of where you were employed? What challenges might exist with respect to enforcement? Would you want to work in a professionalized environment that effectively enforced these codes?
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