Janet Rochester, BSC, MS, MBA, is a Senior Member of the IEEE. She was one of the four graduates of the first class in the Master's program in Science and Technical Communication from Drexel University. She is a Lead Member of the Engineering Staff at Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics and Surveillance Systems in Moorestown, NJ. Most of her work consists of writing and editing computer hardware and software specifications for the radar system of the Aegis radars installed on Navy ships, but she also sees these documents through the production process, in paper format and electronically. Janet has been active in the IEEE Professional Communications Society, serving as the Program Co-Chair for the annual conference in 1993, and as an AdCom member for nine years. She is currently serving as the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect of the Philadelphia Section of the IEEE. She is a member of the Board of Governors of the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology.

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BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL

The extensive education undertaken by engineers prepares them for entry into the profession, but it does not make them professionals. Engineers become professionals by exemplifying the attributes of a profession, for example, education, authority, community sanction, ethics, culture, and service orientation. These attributes have been defined with the independent practitioner in mind rather than the engineer working in industry. This paper views the attributes of a profession with the engineer in industry in mind and shows how engineers can demonstrate these attributes appropriately in an industrial setting. In doing so, engineers enhance their professionalism and their profession.

02/06