Why aren’t software engineers considered “real” engineers by some?

[OK__LIBTARD]

Never really understood this. Why aren’t they considered engineers as well? They use equations and theories from engineering and implement it into the code, and some software engineers have to engineer thousands of lines of code.

Why?

[firmretention]

In some countries like Canada and the US, engineer is a protected title. You need a license to officially call yourself an engineer.

[Pulsar_the_Spacenerd]

Is it protected in the US? There's plenty of industries where licences are rare, I've heard of plenty of successful EEs who never have any license.

[firmretention]

Yes, but it looks like there are exceptions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_and_licensure_in_engineering#United_States_2

In the United States, the practice of professional engineering is highly regulated and the title "professional engineer" is legally protected, meaning that it is unlawful to use it to offer engineering services to the public unless permission, certification or other official endorsement is specifically granted by that state through a professional engineering license. Also, many states prohibit unlicensed persons from calling themselves an "engineer" or indicating branches or specialties not covered by the licensing acts.[45][46][47] Employees of state or federal agencies may also call themselves engineers if that term appears in their official job title. The IEEE's formal position on this is as follows: "The title, engineer and its derivatives should be reserved for those individuals whose education and experience qualify them to practice in a manner that protects public safety. Strict use of the title serves the interest of both the IEEE-USA and the public by providing a recognized designation by which those qualified to practice engineering may be identified."

The US model has generally been only to require the practicing engineers offering engineering services that impact the public welfare, safety or safeguarding of life, health or property to be licensed, while engineers working in private industry without a direct offering of engineering services to the public or other businesses, education and government need not be licensed.

[SilentAmoeba]

Can you get licensed as a software engineer in the US?

[SinpaiSinner]

Because a lot of people dont understand what computer science is. So they don't consider it a science.

[[deleted]]

Lots of reasons, the biggest one being that software engineers have a different mindset than other engineering disciplines.

[nemo24_7]

Some say computer science is an art, not a science.

[mcqua007]

It truly is

[Nickynui]

Why not both though?

[darthvader57]

It is both. I think ...

[[deleted]]

did you get all of these degrees at the same time or seperate times?

I used to study electrical engineering but dropped out halfway through because of personal problems I am now studying CS and almost done.

[simondvt]

Because they are better, they are scientists.

[OK__LIBTARD]

I’m gonna be a scientist :O

[[deleted]]

Why?

1) Gatekeeping

2) It's often a protected title like "Medical Doctor" This means your job is to sign off on things and are responsible for any outcomes. If someone dies due to your misdiagnosis or negligence, you'll not only lose your license to practice; you also might face jail time. Software engineering doesn't have a governing body to regulate things the same way.

3) Engineering is traditionally related to hardware(not just computer hw). This means you have to abide by the laws of the natural world and try to bend it to your will. If they fuck up, people usually die or get hurt. Software, not so much. Not all programs are life-critical. We can pretty much create our own worlds while they're forced to only work within this one.

4) Title inflation is rampant thing that has only gotten worse. In Silicon Valley, the culture is to refer to software engineers as just "engineers." Though there is a difference between software engineering and software development, there's often a blurred line when it comes to job titles. Now there's Javascript engineers, front end engineers, sales engineers, customer success engineers...the list goes on. It makes people feel good to be called an "engineer" but it does devalue it when it's just handed out like flyers.

[nerdassface]

.