Old, but fun read that argues that today’s programmers are not like typical Engineers and shouldn’t really call themselves that as Engineering requires certification, is subject to government regulation, bear a burden to the public, etc.
Make me
You should stop calling yourself an engineer unless you drive a train
Weird hill to die on.
There is a big difference between a software engineer and a software developer/programmer. In the same way there is a difference between a civil engineer and a builder.
A software engineer is the one who scopes the project. They define the feasibility, the limitation and exeptions, the tools to use, as well as costing and time planning and management.
The programmers are the ones who work to this scope and utilise the specified tools and technologies to create the product.
I have a degree in software engineering and all of this was covered. From writing scoping documentation, to time and costing with Gantt charts. This is the actual difference.
I’ve always used “software engineering” to refer to the other stuff that comes alongside actual development, like version control, testing, CI, debugging, code review, release management etc.
You’ve forgot the actual “engineering” parts which distinguish programmers from engineers: requirements engineering, software architecture and complex problem solving
You’d think that’s how it is but in reality they list software developer roles as software engineer just because they think it sounds better.
In my opinion, software engineering has about another 50 years before it matures to the point where it is a “proper” engineering profession.
Engineer is a protected title in the UK. You can be a software engineer, if you are qualified to be.
