Computing has been an academic and industrial discipline for barely two generations. In this time, a worldwide community numbering millions of computing practitioners has emerged. Does this community now constitute a profession of computing? If not, is it in the process of becoming a profession? Does the emergence of the engineering profession provide an analogy for computing? Useful insights can be obtained from a close look at some aspects of professionalism: academic preparation, body of knowledge, codes of ethics, and professional status.