Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Visible Technicians
Neither version of the professionalization narrative, whether they culmi-
nate in failure or success for programmers, are entirely satisfactory when
applied to computer programmers. Despite their best efforts to establish
the institutional structures of a profession, computer programmers were
never able to achieve widespread professional recognition. They were
unable, for example, to develop two of the most defi ning characteristics
of a profession: control over entry into the profession, and the adoption
of a shared body of abstract occupational knowledge—a “hard core of
mutual understanding”—common across the entire occupational com-
munity. They failed to suffi ciently convince employers of the value of
professionalism, and were divided among themselves over issues involv-
ing academic standards and certifi cation requirements. Complaints
about the lack of professional standards among computer programmers
continue to play a central role in discussions about the nature and causes
of the software crisis. Despite the widespread adoption of the rhetoric
of software engineering, most computer programmers are not engineers
and would not identify themselves as such. Although the question of
professionalism continues to be a live issue in the programming com-
munity, in general computer programmers are not considered to be
professionals.
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So if they are not professionals, managers, or clerical support staff,
what exactly are computer programmers? What does their unique history
tell us about larger patterns in work practices and the organization of
labor in the late twentieth century?
Perhaps the most useful way to think about the computer programmer
is as a technician. As the organizational theorist Stephen Barley has
pointed out, technicians are a relatively recent addition to the pantheon
of occupations.
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Although technicians do not fi t easily into the interpre-
tative framework of either labor history or the sociology of professions,
they represent the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. labor force. They
include such occupations as radiological technicians, science technicians,
engineering technicians, and medical technicians. Their work transgresses
traditional occupational boundaries; according to Barley, technicians
“often wear white collars, carry briefcases, and conduct sophisticated
scientifi c and mathematical analyses. Yet they use tools, work with their
hands, make objects, repair equipment, and, from time to time, get
dirty.”
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They are usually—albeit at times grudgingly—granted a great
