It is a complex issue and there are a few different reasons for this. In the old days, there were analysts (the people who wrote programs) and programmers (the

It is a complex issue and there are a few different reasons for this. In the old days, there were analysts (the people who wrote programs) and programmers (the people who translated these programs to punchcards). We kept only the programmer title. Our field is vast, yet everyone is a programmer as far as people outside our field are concerned. Scientists could be physicists or astronomers, artists could be painters or actors, doctors may be pathologists or heart surgeons for example. A programmer can be self-tought, thus the title programmer doesn't imply any kind of official degree or a discipline. You could have a MIT diploma or just be a high schooler. I think the field developed (and keeps at it) too quickly and the social adjustments that should take place can't catch up. A job not only provides for you, but gives you a place in society. The title “programmer” is as generic as it gets.