this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2024
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Programmers: Stop Calling Yourselves Engineers (www.theatlantic.com)
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by drd@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world
7 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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.

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[–] leisesprecher@feddit.org 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

All this gate keeping is bullshit, but I do have to agree that we are really bad at actually engineering.

[–] Enkers@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I don't think gate keeping engineering is bullshit, software or otherwise. In fact I think it is one of the few eminently important things to gatekeep.

If computer systems have peoples lives depending on them, having accredited engineers that may be part of a chain of liability for their mistakes is a potentially life saving measure. It provides increased guarantee that someone will be held responsible, be it the firm, or in the case of bankruptcy, the individual engineer.

This provides a significant incentive to only sign off on work that meets all relevant safety criteria.

I'm not sure if that's how it works in software engineering, but it certainly should.

[–] rimjob_rainer@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 4 months ago

There is a huge difference between a "programmer" who just codes, and a software engineer, who studied computer science and learned the skills for problem solving as an engineer. The latter is protected in many countries.

[–] weker01@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

In Germany engineer is a regulated term. Computer scientists wanting to call themselves engineer or software engineer need to complete certain higher education programs. A B.Sc. program in CS is enough for example.

[–] antithetical@lemmy.deedium.nl 1 points 4 months ago

Same for the Netherlands.

[–] BetaDoggo_@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

Tech bros have ruined the prestige of a lot of titles. Software "Engineer", Systems "Architect", Data "Scientist", Computer "Wizard", etc.

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 months ago

If they didn't make you put a ring on it, you're not an engineer. Simple as.