There is a good reason for that.
There isn't that much to software engineering. I don't see any reason why it can't be taught as a year-long or maybe associates degree level at a community college. There just isn't four years worth of work in there. Not even close, really.
Computer engineering (it's not a science), on the other hand, is a much larger field, and requires some work in mathematics, hardware, and algorithms. This is where data structures (including database design), compilers, numerics, and so on come in.
There is no way in hell I would hire a "software engineer" that didn't know data structures including relational and the newer non-relational systems.
I do not think there is a snow balls chance in hell you could take the average Joe that doesn't know a single thing about how technology works and expect them to be a software engineer anybody would want to hire after a year of schooling. They'd be an intern doing crap work for hardly any pay.
Granted we hire software engineers with or without a formal education. The education itself carries no value to me what does carry value is if they can do the job, and more importantly, if they can do the job better than I could.
1.) phone interview
2.) quick meeting in person with just me
3.) if I like them, ask them to do a development project that I estimate will take someone 8 hours IF they are good
4.) If that work is work we'd actually want to use then we proceed with another round of interviewing including team members.
5.) Sometimes I'll throw in ANOTHER interview with other members of management to get their sign off before an offer.
It's a very effective process and nothing you put on a resume will predict the outcome of how they do. Whenever I shortcut this process based on the recommendation of how skilled the person was I regret it severely.
The best engineer I have -- amazing at managing himself, four times the output of his peers, always writing damn good software. It just shocks me each time I look at his work. I picked him up in a pile of resumes, looking for an intern to do tedious work, and he was 18 years old. It took about a week before I quit giving him intern work and started giving him the problems that were too hard for our other guys to figure out. He puts in about 30 hours a week for us while going to college full time and still out performs everyone. We'd pay him a senior level software engineer salary right now if he decided he didn't want to continue the formal education.
Granted he didn't get to where he is from school, or from a year of effort, it took a lifetime of interest in technology and sacrifice of other things his peers were doing to get his skill set.
![brian]](/community/data/avatars/m/21/21096.jpg?1456258959){kind=avatar}
