Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
of professional status for “computer people” was a goal shared by almost
everyone in the computer industry: occupational programmers, aspiring
computer scientists, computer manufacturers, software development
fi rms, human resources departments, corporate managers, and regula-
tory agencies.
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The real question was not whether the industry should
professionalize but instead what form this professionalization should
follow. The model of the research scientist or the scientifi cally informed
software engineer were both powerful paradigms of professional devel-
opment, but as we shall see, they were by no means the only models
available; the certifi ed public accountant was, for many data processing
personnel, an even more compelling example of autonomous profes-
sional expertise. The point is that the emergence of computer science as
an academic discipline can only be understood in terms of the larger
pursuit of professional status.
