Is the term "software engineering" a misnomer? That question has long been debated within the computer science, programming, and software engineering community. Naysayers point to the software activity's large trial-and-error component and its notable lack of solid intellectual and ethical underpinnings. On the affirmative side, ACM and the lEEE Computer Society recently joined forces to move software engineering toward professional status. Currently, software engineering is not one of the 36 engineering professions recognized and licensed in the United States. This situation is more serious than you might think, because 48 states have laws on their books that prohibit anyone who is not licensed from using the term "engineer" in describing his occupation and work. >
['Capers Jones']
Legal status of software engineering