Polishing the Badge

After a professional has obtained initial education, gained some experience, and, possibly, received a license, most professions impose a continuing education requirement. The specific requirements for each profession vary from state to state. In Washington State, certified public accountants are required to earn 80 continuing professional education (CPE) credits during the two years preceding renewal of their certificates.^[11] Attorneys must obtain 15 continuing legal education (CLE) credits each year. Physicians in New Mexico must obtain 150 hours of continuing education every three years. Engineers in Washington State do not have any continuing education requirements; engineers in some other states do.^[12]

Continuing education helps to ensure that professionals stay current in their fields, which is especially important in fields with rapidly changing knowledge such as medicine and software engineering. If professionals stop learning after completing their initial education, time will render their education less and less meaningful.

Continuing-education requirements can be focused so that professionals are required to learn about important developments in their fields. If software engineering ever does discover a new silver bullet, continuing-education requirements can ensure that all licensed or certified software engineers learn about it.