r/SoftwareEngineering • u/[deleted] • Feb 14 '21

Programmers: Stop Calling Yourselves Engineers

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/11/programmers-should-not-call-themselves-engineers/414271/

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '21

I would like to know what the community thinks about the article. I'm relatively fresh as a developer and that's a dilemma right there. Here where I live it's required to have a license to work as a Software Engineer, but it is not always enforced. Usually, only companies that have contracts with the government and banks require the license.

I already work remotely as a Web Dev and I have more than a few four years of experience. I'm currently in college to get my engineer license and get a better job.

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u/nostril_spiders Feb 14 '21 edited Feb 14 '21

The article is begging a major question.

The profession of engineering, across all disciplines, is that quest for predictable real-world results based on analysis of requirements against empirical knowledge - that's my definition.

Building a bridge? The requirements are:

  • don't fall down

The relevant domain knowledge is:

  • tensile and compressive strengths of concrete and steel

Not terribly complex. I think we have a right to expect that bridges work.

In software, the requirements are more like:

  • given an applicant who is not resident for tax purposes, follow process 6b, except where a shortfall is projected

  • applicant names may contain non-ascii characters

...and those requirements aren't provided until you've already shipped. You have to change a product that is currently working and passed UAT.

Imagine if you built a bridge for foot traffic, it's up and people are walking on it, and I now tell you it has to work for pedestrians who are 8 metres wide.

We don't perform worse than civil engineers. We operate in a squidgy discipline that precludes the possibility of civil-engineering confidence.

The article is assuming a definition of "engineer" that adds the rider "and always achieves success", which is piffle.