Addendum: can someone tell me what's wrong with using software developer as a description of what we do?, why do we need to borrow other professions titles?, it's because we want more respect?
I would guess that's the short version of it. I would surmise that 'engineer' basically means to do a hell of a lot more rigorous logic testing of the software and hardware products and would therefore also get paid more. Then comes along these fancy little startups who want to hire away that talent but don't fully understand that the word 'engineer' is a protected word in but do know the context basically suggests more responsibility. So then they make leading roles 'engineers' and supporting roles 'developers'. Then it snowballs from there because software isn't _nearly_ as rigorous as a civil engineer or mechanical engineer where the word means that you're legally responsible for the lives at stake.
I honestly think that software "engineers" should be legally liable for the lives at stake though.
Generally I think an engineer as someone that does design. Key part of that is some sort of analysis. That can be ad hoc, standards based, or formal.
Most of the time software feels like craft to me not engineering. Otherwise I'm more on the side that a license an engineer doesn't make. There are engineers without degrees designing and there are fat fuck PE's that just sign their name over and over for $300/hr.
inetknght|6 years ago
I honestly think that software "engineers" should be legally liable for the lives at stake though.
deadcat|6 years ago
I'm not an accredited engineer, so I feel I have no right to the title.
It really annoys me that some manages at work call themselves Release Train Engineers.
Gibbon1|6 years ago
Generally I think an engineer as someone that does design. Key part of that is some sort of analysis. That can be ad hoc, standards based, or formal.
Most of the time software feels like craft to me not engineering. Otherwise I'm more on the side that a license an engineer doesn't make. There are engineers without degrees designing and there are fat fuck PE's that just sign their name over and over for $300/hr.