Indeed. I think the problem is that "engineer" has come to have two meanings: "engineer" and "computer programmer." The defining trait of an engineer is that h

Indeed. I think the problem is that "engineer" has come to have two meanings: "engineer" and "computer programmer." The defining trait of an engineer is that he or she can't make innocent mistakes. If engineers sign off on a structure and it collapses, it's their fault; anyone who does that is civilly liable (i.e., able to be sued for damages), and, if memory serves, criminally liable as well if the mistake was negligent enough. That standard doesn't apply to computer programmers; programmers who want to be called engineers should try thinking about what their lives would be like if they, too, could be sued or imprisoned if they messed up. (They should also remember Paul Graham's point, at http://paulgraham.com/love.html http://paulgraham.com/love.html , that prestige is the after-effect of doing something well. Done well, anything -- even jazz or novel-writing -- can become prestigious. Done badly, anything can become disgraceful, and then it starts changing its name in order to pretend to be something less dishonorable. If you don't want to be called a programmer, it's because programmers are incompetent and personally disagreeable; do what you can to change that.)