Ask HN: Are there any regulatory bodies for software developers?

I work for an Accounting firm as a Software Developer. To become an Accountant (in the UK), my understanding is that one has to pass a number of exams in order to attain certain accreditations. Having passed these, one's expected to uphold certain quality and ethical standards.

As a developer I've witnessed some very questionable decisions and even flagrant abuses of privacy, security and general good practice. Is there any organisation that regulates what we do?

7 points | by trwhite 1360 days ago

6 comments

  • uberman 1360 days ago
    The answer to the ultimate question of is there any organization that regulates software developers is:

    "No, there are no industry-wide/state-wide "graduate into the field" type awards/tests as there are in fields like accounting, actuarial science, engineering, law, medicine..."

    There are however a plethora of pseduo-meaningless (imho) certificates that people can get related to software development.

    Given that many software developers are self taught this is probably the way many would like to keep things. I personally think that professional certification akin to passing the state bar exam might be a good thing and much more valuable than a pdf saying I was jedi-master of new-company-database-tech or one from cool-bootcamp approving me for emerging-front-end-library.

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    • trwhite 1359 days ago
      > I personally think that professional certification akin to passing the state bar exam might be a good thing and much more valuable than a pdf saying I was jedi-master of new-company-database-tech

      I agree. I imagine it would be a good thing for everyone involved, including employers.

  • s1t5 1360 days ago
    No, there isn't and that's a good thing. I can't imagine a group of people collectively having the thought "Hmm how can we be more like accountants?".
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    • tcbasche 1359 days ago
      Yes heaven forbid we have some sort of accountability or set of professional standards
    • trwhite 1359 days ago
      Why is that a good thing?
  • happy_path 1359 days ago
    I think the question is not if there are any regulatory body for Software Engineering. The question should be: Do regulatory bodies and legal accountability of software engineers would have stopped software projects to fail? i.e. would a regulatory body be useful?

    Judging from the several cybersecurity incidents of these last days and the Boeing 737 software fiasco, I'd say yes. However, that should pair a spectacular increase in salary in the accountable software engineers category (because of the insurance they would have to pay). Something similar like doctor's medical insurance against litigation.

    Is the world ready for that? I don't think so.

  • pickle-wizard 1360 days ago
    For a while in Texas you could become a Professional Engineer in Software Engineering. I don't know anyone who has one it.

    I just checked and the exam was discontinued in 2019 due to low interest.

  • Jtsummers 1360 days ago
    Not at the individual level. Certain kinds of software have to seek certification before use or deployment (particularly aviation), but the developers themselves don't require any kind of certification to work on it.
  • 2rsf 1359 days ago
    AFAIK if you want to immigrate on a work visa to Australia as a software engineer you'll need to pass an assessment by the AUSTRALIAN COMPUTER SOCIETY
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