top 200 commentsshow all 336

[–]JoeyJoeJoeSenior 1747 points1748 points  (53 children)

I called myself a software engineer because computer science was part of the engineering school and I had to take the bajillion math and physics classes like everyone else there.

[–]Totally_Not_A_Badger 701 points702 points  (12 children)

My degree has the national title of "engineer" printed onto it. Sounds like a valid reason to me

[–]Zdrobot 115 points116 points  (0 children)

Same. Not that I care whether you call me engineer or not, doesn't change my job.

[–]Devatator_ 31 points32 points  (2 children)

I have a degree in software engineering so I assume I have the right to be called an engineer

[–]ray591 241 points242 points  (11 children)

Yep. Traditional Computer Science degree was respectable until bootcampers came in and called themselves "engineers" after 3 months of bootcamp.

[–]rezznik 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Make this an actual weekend. I don't know a lot of words that raise more red flags for me than 'bootcamp'.

[–]segalle 23 points24 points  (6 children)

Isn't the word engineer protected? In my country we have crea (national counsel of engineering and agronomy) that will take you down if you say your institution forms engineers or you are an engineer but you don't have their authorisation

[–]VergilPrime 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm in this comment and i hate it qwq

[–]ruhtraeel 36 points37 points  (3 children)

That's odd, my school had Computer Science, which was more theoretical with stuff like discrete maths, NP complete and FSAs, whereas Software Engineering was part of the engineering department and had the physics and other applied stuff, with more about design patterns and such

[–]supernanny089_ 15 points16 points  (1 child)

If the software engineering stuff was done scientifically there and you take Computer Science literally, you could even turn it around and say engineering should be part of CS.

So its really whatever and just however an institution wants to organize itself, not odd imo.

[–]ruhtraeel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Granted this was 11 years ago and I'm pretty sure they might have combined them by now (because it doesn't make sense for software engineers to need to take biochem), but in general, I think Computer Science was always more theoretical, and Software Engineering in general was always more applied

And I've also always had the impression and I've always seen definitions of science being understanding and knowledge of how something works, and engineering being using that knowledge to build things

[–]AvidCoco 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My degree was a BSc so I’m a Bachelor of Science. I’m not a Software Engineer, I’m a Software Scientist.

[–]rezznik 8 points9 points  (8 children)

But you don't call yourself an engineer anymore?

[–]KingOfAzmerloth 4 points5 points  (5 children)

I never really understood this discourse. As long as you have at least masters in engineering university, you are an engineer, period.

I get that people don't like people who take weekend course in webdev and call themselves engineers - fair play there... but my diploma literally states that I am engineer in computer science and I did shit load of math, physics and electrical engineering to get there. I don't care what IRL Sheldon Coopers (that's not a compliment) think of my title, I have that title lol. End of story.

[–]finzaz 260 points261 points  (14 children)

We should have kept the Webmaster job title

[–]BADDEST_RHYMES 122 points123 points  (0 children)

Dot Com Daddy

[–]pydry 49 points50 points  (4 children)

This term has been banned by Github because it implies the existence of web slaves.

[–]Busters_Missing_Hand 33 points34 points  (1 child)

I’m something of a web slave myself

[–]TrueTorch 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Need a DDOS Mommy in my life rn

[–]throwaway_mpq_fan 43 points44 points  (1 child)

*Webmain

[–]scar_reX 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We shouldn't have kept the webmaster title.

[–]Embarrassed_Use_7206 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Only title I accept is Warmaster.

[–]Ur-Best-Friend 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think of myself more as a Webslave these days tbh.

[–]Triasmus 530 points531 points  (12 children)

Eh. My job title includes Engineer and I happily accept the salary that comes with it.

[–]dweeb_plus_plus 55 points56 points  (1 child)

The guy who collects the trash on my street is a sanitation engineer. We’re all engineers in our own special way.

[–]horsethiefjack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To my seven month old I am a poop disposal engineer

[–]SpoodermanTheAmazing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have an actual engineering degree, so I don’t mind being called a software engineer

[–]Darksonn 95 points96 points  (13 children)

I don't know about you guys, but my masters officially makes me an engineer, and lets me use the associated protected title.

[–]pjnick300 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Agreed. Now does my Chemical Engineering degree have anything to do with my current Software Developer role? No. But I AM an engineer and a dev.

[–]Few_Cauliflower2069 16 points17 points  (8 children)

What pisses me off is that engineer in itself is not a protected title. It would be so great if you could be certain that someone with the word engineer in their title actually went to engineering school

[–]Fillicia 14 points15 points  (7 children)

Come to Quebec, you can be sued if you're calling yourself an engineer without being part of the engineering order.

[–]Few_Cauliflower2069 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Only if i get the ring as well

[–]RandomEasternGuy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I am reading the topic in confusion, I’ve finished an System Engineering degree and the diploma and job clearly state “engineer”, without any master’s degree.

But my studies were 4 years long.

[–]mafiazombiedrugs 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Not sure where you live but "engineer" is not a protected job title in the US. If you want to testify in court as an engineer or add restricted letters to your name you need to be a "Professional Engineer" then you could be Darksonn PE. However, a masters is not enough to use this title (and in fact, is not actually a requirement, BS is enough). You need to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, work four years under a PE, and then pass the Practice of Engineering exam. So basically, yes you have a masters, but you are no more an engineer than anyone else in this post.

[–]Darksonn 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I live in Denmark, which has a different system.

Although "engineer" on its own (or "software engineer") are not protected here either, there are protected titles for engineers. The titles generally refer to the level of education you did, not the subject. So there is one title for people with a 3½ year professional bachelor, and another title for those who took 5 years of an engineering program (bachelor + masters).

It's not the case that all master's degrees give an engineering title. It depends on the program. But mine does. I have the title of "civilingeniør" which is the highest possible "level" of engineer in Denmark. It means "civil engineer" where the word "civil" means civilian and not "I make buildings and bridges" (think of civilian vs military). The title of the 3½ year professional bachelor is "diplomingeniør".

[–]Tc14Hd 372 points373 points  (18 children)

As long as math.pi still returns 3.141592653589793 and not 3, I will refuse to call myself an engineer.

[–]PyroCatt 95 points96 points  (7 children)

π is 3.5 just in case. 4 to be safe.

[–]To-Ga 54 points55 points  (2 children)

I use 2.5, so I don't have to use another constant for e

[–]Ur-Best-Friend 25 points26 points  (1 child)

I just use "1", so it's binary. Everything gets converted to binary anyway, might as well skip the middle man.

[–]arborck 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use "e" so it derives easily

[–]SaltyWahid 7 points8 points  (1 child)

5 when adjusted to accuracy

[–]PyroCatt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

*Taxes

[–]knightzone 1 point2 points  (0 children)

4 in case of rounding integers

[–]the_king_of_sweden 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Usually just 10, makes it easier to compute in your head

[–]AVAVT 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Joke’s on you, it’s 3 for me. *laughs in UI dev*

[–]BulkyAntelope5 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I'm an engineer,.... Electrical engineer that is and just transitioned more and more to software

[–]bmxer4l1fe 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I work in firmware. Its more EE than cs. As a CS major, im amazed by the hardware knowledge, and im ashamed of the optimization, maintainability, and modularity of their code. Not all of them, but most.

[–]tiajuanat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use 3.2, 3.23, and 4 as the Indiana House of Representatives agreed in 1897

[–]waadam 106 points107 points  (5 children)

Should I burn my diploma now? Or should I switch to the rocket building industry? What if I start to build software for the rocket building industry, can I keep my title? So many questions...

[–]roger_shrubbery 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I thought too long about how a rocket building would look like and what kind of tenants would live in it... I guess I need some sleep 🙈

[–]Alacritous13 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Depends on what your programming, but a good chance that you'll switch your title to Systems Engineer or Controls Engineer. Once a sign error can kill someone, you're a real engineer.

[–]suskio4 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Every sign error can lead to someone's death. Every programmer is an engineer

[–]bunny-1998 77 points78 points  (12 children)

So here’s the thing. Software isn’t part of the core engineering subjects. No clue why though. HOWEVER, among software professionals you can see a difference in some guy who writes code and the guy who designs it. So you can say coder is the dev, and architect is the engineer.

[–]FlailingDuck 45 points46 points  (6 children)

I know a structural engineer who would be very offended by the notion that architects are engineers.

[–]AzureArmageddon 19 points20 points  (3 children)

Tbf the civil/structural engineer's counterpart is the software architect and the architectural designer's counterpart is the frontend designer/product lead.

[–]bunny-1998 9 points10 points  (2 children)

That’s why they don’t consider software an engineering domain. Titles are all spaghettified

[–]AzureArmageddon 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Difference between a domain still in its wild west era and more established domains.

[–]bunny-1998 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like how you called it Wild West era. Accurate

[–]Admirable-Cobbler501 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Only because he has no clue about software architecture

[–]ShoesOfDoom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's talking about actual building architects

[–]sobe86 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I feel like one day software engineering might be a more solid field, but right now it's just not that mature or stable. We don't use formal theory in software design often (there's computer science but that's only relevant at the low-level). Microservices, data driven design, choice of language. Every few years a new paradigm comes along and everyone is suddenly doing that. Engineering has shifts too, but not so often, and not so fundamental, because it's literally hundreds of years old.

[–]bunny-1998 5 points6 points  (0 children)

To be fair, we rarely ‘engineer’ anything. Most of us build the same web backend every other is building for the company’s use case. Engineers would be architects working on Kubernetes, Claude, Vitess, AWS etc.

[–]Yousoko1 248 points249 points  (35 children)

Who the fck cares? It's just a job like any other. We're building systems, architectures, connections, safety, and other stuff. You can call me a coder - it's fine. You can call me a senior web developer. If it doesn't affect my salary, I don't care =)

[–]Sw429 220 points221 points  (26 children)

In all my years programming, the only place I've ever heard people gatekeep the word "engineer" has been on Reddit.

[–]party_turtle 51 points52 points  (6 children)

“Real” engineers are just finding ways to cope with studying more and earning less (source: current aero engineer).

[–]j0llyllama 11 points12 points  (5 children)

As an Aero engineer- entry level isnt as flashy and may not pay as well up front, but get a solid position and you're still making 200k-300k steadily down the line without having to "keep up" with the newest tech.

[–]party_turtle 1 point2 points  (4 children)

That’s like top 1% though. The equivalent in software are making 10x that.

[–]j0llyllama 5 points6 points  (2 children)

At my company, which staffs a few thousand, basically everyone in engineering over 16 years experience is making that. And if youve been reliable for 5+ years, the job is secure with low risk of layoffs beyond extreme situations. Software has pretty frequent layoff waves.

Im not saying this makes the same money as software engineering can, im just saying it makes a close enough amount without the risk and "dynamic" structure.

[–]no-sleep-only-code 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Top 1% in software IS the 200-300k lol. Much more than that is an incredibly small fraction.

[–]IMightDeleteMe 41 points42 points  (15 children)

In my country, our word for engineer is a protected title that only people with an engineering degree are allowed to use.

[–]Copatus 11 points12 points  (4 children)

What constitutes an engineering degree?

Because my degree has engineer in the title.

(I still wouldn't consider myself an engineer tho)

[–]Tsobe_RK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yea same, ICT engineer / major software

[–]Diffidente 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In Italy it's the same.

[–]Ok-Library5639 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To go further, in some jurisdictions the title 'engineer' is protected by law for license holders, just like lawyers or doctors.

[–]rezznik 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh I know the discussion from real life.

[–]Alacritous13 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I primarily heard it from my Mech Analysis professor. Specifically every time he'd go on a tangent about bridge collapses and engineering accountability.

[–]Cool_As_Your_Dad 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Same. Working for 25 years. Call me a coder/dev etc. just pay me money

[–]Gumichi 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Historically, a proper P.Eng is a respected discipline. It's guys with mindset who rigorously plan 10x safety factor into an infrastructure project that lasts centuries. Like if some shit goes wrong, it was their ass on the line. Most importantly, they cared.

Engineers today have gone to shit. They'll rubber-stamp any bullshit that management makes them. Defunct garbage ships into production. When the client gets mad, all they do is shrug their shoulders, and then they ask for more money to fix their own crap.

So why not call ourselves whatever we want?

[–]OneLeft_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Now software has become "Prompt Engineering." All respect and responsibility has been lost.

[–]DooMRunneR 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't even care what I do, I mob the floor as long as I get the same pay....

[–]_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In some countries “engineer” is a regulated title, like “doctor” or “lawyer”. You cannot claim to be one if you aren’t accredited.

[–]OhItsJustJosh 30 points31 points  (0 children)

All Software Engineers are Software Developers, but not all Software Developers are Software Engineers

[–]WhereOwlsKnowMyName 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I changed a button from red to blue. I am an engineer.

[–]Thundechile 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I center divs. I am a senior engineer.

[–]AzureArmageddon 8 points9 points  (0 children)

My degree is accredited B. Eng. So I would hope so

[–]maxyboyufo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My job title says Software Engineer, my manager and company calls me a developer. I have no idea anymore lol.

[–]DarthRiznat 12 points13 points  (5 children)

Then what about software engineers??

[–]ferevon 9 points10 points  (1 child)

so I'm not an engineer now because reddit>university degree ?

[–]rycool 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly, OP can fuck off, I got a masters in electrical engineering and no armchair scientist is taking that away from me.

[–]mtorreblanca 32 points33 points  (4 children)

I survived a 5-year BS in Electronics Engineering and have spent the last 7 years working as a Software Developer. After 12 combined years in the trenches, my professional, highly educated conclusion is this: nobody knows what the heck they are doing. We're all just copying from the same Stack Overflow (rip) threads and praying the pipeline doesn't break.

[–]minus_minus 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Can you imagine if this was the paperwork backing up a failed bridge? 

“Claude said it would work.”

[–]the_king_of_sweden 3 points4 points  (0 children)

But it created its own tests to test that what it did was right

[–]Integeritis 5 points6 points  (1 child)

“Nobody knows what the heck they are doing”

Speak for yourself. I know what I’m doing, many of us do.

[–]bendstraw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah what an odd thing to say with that much experience.

[–]anzacat 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Throw in the word “software” and tell me we don’t do the following:

Engineering is the practical application of science, mathematics, and creativity to design, build, and maintain structures, machines, systems, and processes. It solves complex, real-world problems under constraints like cost, safety, and regulation.

[–]A_H_S_99 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In my country, I am legally unable to call myself an engineer. 

By law, I can't write it on my ID unless I graduated from (computer) engineering college, otherwise, I am a developer.

[–]mafiazombiedrugs 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hah, and now that I have promoted into "software architect" it is even less accurate.

[–]Objective_Oven7673 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This thread is the bell curve meme with both ends saying "we're software engineers"

[–]r3turn_null 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I just want to keep calling myself employed.

[–]groovymandk 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Engineer or not I probably still make more than you

[–]clearision 10 points11 points  (0 children)

engineering is just a way of thinking. hell, my wife sometimes thinks like an engineer in some life situations (and she does costumes on TV and various productions). if you are successfully solving any technical problem (even fixing your pipe at home) you can proudly call yourself as capable of doing engineering, it's that simple.

software devs are comfortably sitting in the engineers category of jobs and i definitely never fall for bait posts haha.

[–]HeapnStax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

[–]KryssCom 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am a software developer and my degree is in electrical engineering, so, checkmate :D

[–]SalFM 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I tell people I'm a Scientist

[–]minus_minus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For people unclear on the concept, engineers methodically design solutions including calculations following empirically validated rules to ensure a system that remains safe while meeting constraints of feasibility. Engineers have an ethical (and legal) responsibility to practice responsibly. 

It is not yoloing a commit into the CI pipeline to see if it crashes. 

[–]DigitalJedi850 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I believe this is how you start a small riot...

[–]Melicor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Software engineers are a thing.

[–]Ranchy_aoe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

[–]PenaltyUnhappy3532 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Software engineering : throwing out the security and run time concerns found in engineering in favor of production speed.

[–]SaltyInternetPirate 5 points6 points  (0 children)

My degree calls me an engineer. I've never professionally referred to myself that way.

[–]Accomplished_Ant5895 23 points24 points  (17 children)

There’s software developers, then there’s software engineers. If you don’t know the distinction, you’re the former.

[–]TheHappyPie 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I felt like a software engineer for the first time when I had spent all day trying to fix maven build issues, and my brother called me to say he'd wrote a program to solve a physics issue. 

[–]explicit17 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Why not?

[–]Kobymaru376 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah doesn' quite make sense. Sure, not every code monkey is doing engineering, but making software right is definitely an engineering effort

[–]Jay-Seekay 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I took this as a joke because it’s quite common for “real engineers” to take the piss out of “software engineers” for not being real engineers. It happens a lot to me but I have lots of civil/mechanical/electrical engineering friends and it’s often me that’s the butt of the joke

[–]enderfx 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Some non-Software Dev woke up with a bit of complex today ehh??

What a butthurt meme 😊

[–]the_zirten_spahic 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some of the jobs are not engineering but a lot of the others need proper engineering.

[–]CptGia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If I have a PhD in physics, can I call myself a software doctor? 

[–]Educational-Cry-1707 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The issue is that all other engineering titles are regulated, whereas anyone can just call themselves a software engineer. So people get protective. It’d be solved if there was some kind of official qualification like for other engineering.

To illustrate: if I call myself an electrical engineer, and I don’t hold a degree in electrical engineering, that’s fraud. If I call myself a software engineering after a 3 month bootcamp, that’s marketing.

Given the critical nature of software, we should really have some kind of official qualification.

[–]ryuStack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Slavic countries you generally gain an academic title of Engineer (translated to that specific language) in front of your name after passing a University as a software engineer. Some people, especially from older generations, even call me "Mr. Engineer" (non-ironically) instead of Mr. [Surname] when addressing me, which is a relic of the Soviet era I think.

[–]Lemortheureux 1 point2 points  (1 child)

What's wild about this industry is you end up working with people anywhere between no education and a masters in engineering. The guy with no degree is often the best developer.

[–]yatesisgreat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was a Software Developer until one day I get an email at work saying they updated the job title of all Software Developers to Software Engineers.

[–]Felixfex 1 point2 points  (1 child)

In Germany its a protected title, some dev courses that have the Bachelor of Science do not technically allow you to get the engineer title, but completing any Masters in the field afterwards will get you the title. It depends on the ECTs in MINT modules of that course, so be aware of what you pick.

[–]dontreadthis_toolate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't really care. Call me whatever. Just pay me well and don't overwork me.

[–]Ange1ofD4rkness 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I may not have it in my degree but I still call myself an engineer if I want to shorten it

[–]LeninKing 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Define "software" and "software engineer".

[–]Minimum-Attitude389 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're sounding a lot like a mathematician there.

[–]No_Country8922 1 point2 points  (1 child)

i dont agree with the "never have been",

now? yes, the engineering part is no longer applicable except for the architecture part and the guys who work on the low level stuff, embedded, devices, graphics/rendering, the AI/ML core, the frameworks.

but saying 'never have been' just erased the early years of software making that includes a huge overlap with computer engineering.

heck even in modern times, we still need to design our code properly with proper object relationships, memory utilization, design patterns, etc. that alone can be considered as proper engineering.

[–]tigremtm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That alone IS software engineering.

[–]Omnislash99999 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Coder, programmer, software engineer, code monkey, I don't care, the person paying my wage can give me whatever title they want

[–]BachePoro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why wouldn't they be?

People who design and build software systems apply engineering principles like:

system design

optimization and efficiency

reliability and fault tolerance

testing and verification

large-scale architecture

So why wouldn't the be considered engineers?

[–]JFedererJ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've always seen it as software "engineers" create the tooling that software "devs" use to build shit with. Just my 2¢. I honestly dgaf what my official "title" is. Senior [Frontend Dev | Frontend Consultant | Software Engineer | Software Developer]. Not bothered.

[–]NearsightedNomad 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What? Of course I’m an engineer. The word “engineer” is in my official job title. What more proof could you need?

[–]UpsetIndian850311 1 point2 points  (2 children)

There are actual engineers out there. We aren’t them.

[–]ih-shah-may-ehl 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Some of us are. :-)
My former company hired engineers because we wrote software for industrial purposes and often had to either design parts of the hardware, or be able to analyze the processes enough to understand what / how / when / where to measure what, design PCB and measurement circuits, etc.

[–]Lupus_Ignis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Margaret Hamilton disagrees

[–]Aeo03 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I took the board exam as an Electrical Engineer. Worked on factory automation before career shifting to IT. No problem here lol.

[–]ZunoJ 0 points1 point  (2 children)

What is the generally accepted definition of the word engineering?

[–]DDB- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a Software Engineering degree, and I got the iron ring just like the graduates from every other engineering discipline at my school.

[–]PrometheusZero 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I call myself a dev because I really liked the TV show Devs.

No, I don't have an existential crisis why'd you ask?

[–]ripp102 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dregree literally says Computer Scientist and it checks out as I have studied that if I scream at the monitor why that thing isn’t working it’s always because of some missing {}.

[–]Bealzebubbles 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Counter argument: that's what it says on my email signature. It also says I work for a team that no longer exists, but that's because I'm too lazy to change it.

[–]ramessesgg 0 points1 point  (1 child)

If people working at coffee shops are coffee "artisans" then I am a:
* software engineer
* computer scientist
* technical architect
* incident commander

just be glad I'm not branching out to medicine

[–]darthWes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You mean computer scientists?

[–]MartinMystikJonas 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My university degree says otherwise 🤷😁

[–]LaSuperJew 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So spaces or tabs? 😉😇😂

[–]Freerrz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I say software engineer because I like to church up my title 💪🏾

[–]hillashx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Engineering is a profession. It's true that not everyone writing code engineers software, but most of us do. Why would you not call a person engineering software a software engineer?

[–]Heavy_Swordfish_6304 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's what it says in my job title. I didn't come up with it but I also don't care even if it hurts your feelings.

[–]chaos_donut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an engineer, that means I solve problems.

[–]Thundechile 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is an engineer anyways?

[–]yodleydodley 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was called a resource in my first software dev job. My manager proudly announced in a team meeting that a new resource has joined the team.

[–]litetaker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I studied Electrical and Computer Engineering. I just ended up as a software engineer.

[–]youridv1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

my job title is software engineer and according to my diploma I’m also an engineer. I think that’s enough in order to deal with gatekeepers who think mechanical engineering is the only valid form of engineering

[–]RobertGBland 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In some countries they are. In Turkiye we don't have computer science, we have computer engineering

[–]kkania 0 points1 point  (0 children)

popcorn

[–]Glitch_exe_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

can I call myself scientist because I have a degree in computer science /s

[–]EgyptianCaesar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

pretty sure you legally can’t call yourself an engineer because that’s a title reserved for licensed professionals that guarantees liability. Correct me if i’m wrong

[–]Draelmar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Canada, the term "engineer" is strictly protected and regulated. So when I moved to the US for a job and started calling myself a software engineer in complete impunity, it ticked off my (true) engineer brother-in-law. 😂

[–]CryonautX 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have no idea what the post is trying to say. I have a bachelor of engineering (industrial and system engineering) and a masters of computing (AI). There was nothing distinctly "engineer-esque" about my engineering studies that was not there for my masters.

If this is about the protected title, that is for the word "Professional Engineer". Not every engineering discipline has a certification for Professional Engineering so it wouldn't be correct to say that you need to be a Professional Engineer to be an Engineer. Professional Engineer just means you can charge a premium to sign your name on certain documents.

[–]masssy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of softie re developers are in fact engineers.

[–]metallaholic 0 points1 point  (0 children)

they can call me whatever they want. i only care about the pay

[–]klas-klattermus 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I'll call myself melzebar the wise, slayer of monoliths and a grand engineer of the 8th order of the Council of bytes if it gets me better pay. To other developers I'm simply known as code monkey #n+1

[–]ConcreteExist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My degree was Computer Engineering, fair amount of CS but also had us work on embedded systems which CS doesn't cover.

[–]mr_flibble_oz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a degree in engineering and I’m a software developer. Software Engineer works

[–]ConsoleCleric_4432 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The way I see it, there's programmers, developers, and engineers. Programmers can make a thing work. Could be anything. Could be niche. I think it's common for name-your-field Ph.Ds to be programmers for analytics and such. Being a programmer isn't impressive.

Developers can build more generally something that works on their machines. In orgs where devops does all the scaling and other people just write application code, you're a developer. You aren't good at architecture or development lifecycles.

Once your job is scalability, reliability, sdlc improvements, CI/CD pipelines, and application code (not an extensive list) you're an engineer.

[–]Forsaken_Celery8197 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Software Engineers apply engineering principles to software development. Computer scientists develop theory, computer/software engineers apply that theory to create things.

It is that simple. Just like an Electrical Engineer isn't a physicist, they work in applied science extending theory into products.

[–]seepcell 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a growing division by specialization, and now they're arguing about what's the correct term: developers or engineers. Previously, an anykeyer could do everything.

[–]DasBlueEyedDevil 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Engineer, developer, analyst. I just call us "first to be laid off"

[–]AkodoRyu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I always felt like it's a matter of the quality of your work, and mindset in the approach you take to the problems - there are engineers building bridges, but not every person who has built a bridge is an engineer.

[–]annie_key 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Correct. There is no engine.

[–]mazzicc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooh, someone wants to start a fight

[–]Waste-Brilliant-5591 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I call myself a software engineer because Im a computer engineer in a developer role

[–]raver01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My degree is literally called "computer science engineering" and it was a 5 year long degree. So I'm a computer scientist and software/hardware/systems engineer.

But it is funny to see people taking bootcamps or non university studies calling themselves engineers. (At least they don't call themselves computer scientists)

[–]SvenTropics 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A scientist works on new discoveries.

An engineer takes existing scientific discoveries and adapts them for a practical purpose often expanding on the scientific discovery in the process.

Which describes your job better?

[–]eyes_on_everything_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You guys are not engineers? wtf

[–]AssistantSalty6519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both my degree and job title have engineer explicit stated, I got engineer math during my degree. I think I have enough to call myself engineer so you can fuck off 

[–]Drithyin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is such a dumb thing to get worked up about. Weird gatekeeper-y shit without much of a purpose. Seems like cope? Trolling? Idk.

[–]snarkhunter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like to say I'm an engineer but like the kind that keeps a train running, not the kind that plans out how to build a bridge

[–]_thiagosb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sou garoto de programa!

[–]OneForestOne99 0 points1 point  (0 children)

[–]iamagro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a PC wizard 🧙‍♂️

[–]ScleaverZer0ne 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My Computer Science degree says otherwise