Programmers aren’t necessarily engineers tho, software engineers are, but not all programmers are software engineers. Even then, lots of people are trained as SEs and then just end up programmers.
this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2023
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"Software engineers aren't real engineers because they don't work on physical engines."
-An absolute dumbass telling me this to my face years ago while literally designing a software solution for (hardware) engineers on a manufacturing line
Nah. Software engineers aren't real engineers because they aren't liable for their poor design decisions.
As a software engineer I'll never kill anyone with a bad practice or mistake. You right my G. You right.
Never say never. AI is generating code from your code.
And here I am spending money generating HD AI images of cats in space playing guitar and fishing... I need help.
You just made me remember this pasta:
There is no such this as "reverse engineering". That is the stupidest and most pathetic lie ever.
Please stop being disrespectful & insulting to Engineering. You know nothing about what Engineering entails. Engineering means designing, building and producing real mechanical systems, like turbojets and vehicular engines. It has nothing to do with clowns sitting behind a keyboard and decoding/programming/deciphering etc.
Software dev is easy and for young kids and teens. And it has absolutely nothing to do with a serious and real subject like Engineering (Mechanical Engineering is the ONLY Engineering). Quit making false claims against engineering you. And stop being disrepectful to real engineers (Mechanical Engineering is the ONLY Engineering, PERIOD).
In some professions (not software), you have to take formal training and pass a series of tests to be certified as an “Engineer” for that profession. People who hold those titles are sometimes protective of the word. It’s kind of like “Doctor” to them.
What’s the difference?
Programmer just writes code.
Software engineer designs the system that is to be coded.
It’s like the difference between an architect and a construction worker.
Edit: or maybe structural engineer and construction worker would be better. Architect may be more like a UX designer.
Speaking of which, systems architect is something else a programmer can be.
My work says I'm a, "security architect II". I believe he physical world manifestation of that would be... the guy that plans where the security guards should stand? Actually, I'm "II" so I'm probably more like the guy who gets escalated to when the guys that do do that need help 🤷
Programming is just one part of the whole process of creating software. There's more than just writing code. There's also planning, design, architecture, testing, deployment, maintenance, etc. All that is engineering. Unsurprisingly, people with software engineering training tend to have a more complete idea as to what goes into it all.
Calling yourself "engineer" impresses more people and gets you higher wages.
Let’s say I’m a carpenter, and occasionally I open up a cad program and draw up a wrench or lathe chuck and have it cut out of sheet steel. Yes, I did some engineering but I’m not really an engineer.
Likewise let’s say I’m an artist. Maybe I write code now and then to program my automatic paint mixer or whatever.
Code to build something: engineer
Code to use something: programmer
To me, if you wrote/maintain/design a scaled system with uptime and latency requirements, that's a software engineer.
If you're laying out buttons and implementing business logic, you're a programmer. (This was me).
The title of Engineer is heavily protected in some countries. You'd get the title of Developer or Analyst or something along those lines.
Engineers have legal liability for the designs they approve. Software developers do not. We can use whatever words we want but most of the people who have decided to apply the word engineer to software dev, don’t even know what the word means.
When a bridge collapses, the PE who signed off on the drawing is going to end up in court. Even the most spectacular software failure will never blow back on the programming staff.
There was actually some movement to try and get this kind of thing setup for software at one point. I think with IEEE, but it fell through. Software can have life or death consequences too, and it’s time we start treating it as such.
If you want me to call you an engineer, develop and FE and PE exam. Require that all commercial software have source code and docs signed off on by a PE who is legally accountable for harm caused by the software.
This doesn’t happen because the people who own software companies DO NOT WANT IT TO. And accordingly, I do not want to use the word engineer to describe their staff.
Meanwhile ddg search suggestions:
- Programmers are also human
- Programmers are wizards
Programmers are wizards
Yes. Thanks for noticing, DDG.
Puts on my robe and wizard's hat.
I’m the mightiest sorcerer of the lands.
easily scared
Patrick:
ᕼᴼ𝙤ᴼ𝐨 Visual Basic for Applications
oᴼoᵒ Dim i, j As Integer
... tired of being stereotyped
I like to call myself a software aviator since were just making stuff up
... but they'll soon be back, and in greater numbers.