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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday July 02 2017, @06:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the unionize-now dept.

Computing is notorious for not having a worthwhile professional association. Some practitioners join the IEEE, the IET or the ACM. However, membership typically costs hundreds of dollars per year and offers little practical help to computer professionals working in small companies. If you're working for government or a large corporation or you're a super programmer in a well funded start-up then you probably have a union or you don't need a union. However, if you're the sole techie in a small business, appreciation for your dedication is just the start. What happens when you're asked to do something unethical or illegal? Where do you turn when a job goes sour? How do you avoid the problem? How can you avoid really toxic employers?

Rather than paying hundreds of dollars per year for talks and conferences, you require local experts who have first-hand experience of local employers and local employment problems. How can this be achieved reliably and cost-effectively? This is where our expertise should shine. Firstly, union entry should be at least as stringent as the conceirge union. Secondly, there should be a web-of-trust within each metropolitan region (and ideally between regions). In the best case, the network distance between all members should be four or less. Thirdly, an obligatory website should incur less hits than SoylentNews and therefore an upper bound for costs can be established for a volunteer effort. Essentially, it should be possible to run a union from donations of US$3000 per year or significantly less. Indeed, the major cost to members would be food and drink expenses when informally meeting other members.

So who wants to join a computer professional union with sensible fees and obligations?


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 03 2017, @09:47AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 03 2017, @09:47AM (#534396)

    A professional is possessed of specialized knowledge and/or expertise, that is not easily available.

    So it is not enough that he possesses the knowledge, he has to be possessed by it? In that case, I'd prefer not to be a professional. ;-)

  • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday July 03 2017, @04:59PM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Monday July 03 2017, @04:59PM (#534492) Journal

    not enough that he possesses the knowledge, he has to be possessed by it?

    Yes, this is an important aspect of being a professional: it is what you are, not just what you do. A profession is not just a job. Part of this means you are never off-duty, and another part means you can never really quit, you can only become non-practicing.

    In that case, I'd prefer not to be a professional. ;-)

    Exactly, professions are not for everyone. And since the training (what is sometimes termed the "Déformation professionnelle" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9formation_professionnelle [wikipedia.org] ) can be an investment of years, it takes quite a bit of commitment, and washout rates can be high.

    Daniel Day Lewis nailed it in a little known movie, "Eversmile, NewJersey". A motorcycle riding itinerant dentist is being seduced by whore in an Argentinian bar. But he says, "But I, am a Dentist!"