David Lang wrote:
On Tue, 16 Sep 2014, Miles Fidelman wrote:
David Lang wrote:
From a discussion on what makes a "Professional" writer, but I
think the
definition is a good one.
?professional? means 1) someone whose work can determine his
client?s life and/or liberty, and 2) who usually deals with clients
on a one-on-one basis, where the client is unlikely to be able to
judge the quality of the work at least until it?s too late to make a
difference. These two things define the level of trustability in the
competence of the professional that is required.
I would probably add to #1 "or end up costing a very large amount of
money" defined as a large multiplier of what the client is paying
for your service.
Our work sure qualifies under the first point, and while large shops
have checks in place, Snowden has shown that even the NSA can't
prevent a rouge Sysadmin from doing series damage, and is no
different than a large Engineering or Law firm that can attempt to
put in similar checks, but can't possibly hope to prevent all problems.
I was under the impression that "professional" usually referred to:
- paid for one's work (vs. amateur)
- educational credentials
- usually, but not always, licensing (as in doctor, lawyer,
professional engineer - with software engineer being in the "not
licensed" category)
- responsible to a professional code of ethics
The problem is that none of these criteria have really worked when
applied to Systems Administration
Paid for one's work is too broad (it covers teens building the
little-league website)
We don't have any education credentials (and in this field, I don't
think we should)
One could make a case for years of experience, apprenticeship, that sort
of thing. The classic trade guild (and union) approach to levels of
experience.
Licensing is a sticky subject, in large part because of the question
of why should you need to have a license (which this new definition
addresses). Every time the subject has been discussed it devolves into
a "why do we need licensing", "because professionals are licensed" loop.
As much as I don't like the idea of licensing, when it comes to EE and
Computer Science - a few recent software-related air mishaps have
started to convince me that maybe, just maybe, we should have something
like professional engineering licenses for folks who design
life/safety/mission-critical things. At the very least it adds some
level of accountability.
code of ethics may be part and parcel of an organized profession, but
a code of ethics doesn't make a profession (especially when it can't
be enforced by excluding those who don't comply)
As I said, this came up in a discussion on defining what a
"professional" writer is, with one of the other suggestions being "A
writer is a Professional when their income from writing forms a
dependable portion of the household budget"
Knowing a lot of writers, my sense is that you're considered
professional if you've been published and paid for it. There are an
awful lot of professional writers who work at other trades. Example: my
wife wrote a paid column for a local newspaper for 8 years - most people
consider her a professional writer/columnist. Then again, I've written
two books, numerous columns, and spend most of my paid professional time
writing proposals. I consider myself a professional systems
architect/engineer (and that's my educational background) - but a lot of
folks seem to see me as a writer.
So there are very clearly a lot of uses for the term Professional.
Many people in LOPSA have expressed interest in raising System
Administration from professional (as in making your living in the
field) to Professional (as in Engineer, Lawyer, Accountant, etc).
Just one man's opinion, but I would see that involving some change to
the qualifications, condition of employment, etc., akin to what is
expected of Engineers, Lawyers, Accountants etc. And note that you cited
three fields that generally require a college degree in the field, and
two that require licensing.
I guess we might also ask to what degree the roles are comparable. At
least from where I sit - as an engineer (but not a PE), who's done a lot
of systems administration at various times - systems administration
(both the nature of the role and the tasks) has always struck me more
akin to the roles of nurses and engineering technicians -- which are
valuable professions, but of a different kind than engineers and
lawyers. And also, in some cases, require education and licensing. As
to traditional engineers (the kind who drive engines.)
(now ducking and covering)
Miles Fidelman
--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In
practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra
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