you're pointing out ways in which the culture of software development/programming is different than the culture of other forms of engineering. my response to t

you're pointing out ways in which the culture of software development/programming is different than the culture of other forms of engineering. my response to this is simple: do you think that words matter? If so, which word do you think is most effective in communicating with people outside of the field? there's room for people to come up with radically different answers to those questions, but my answer is that "Software Engineer" matters when communicating with non-programmers. When talking shop with a fellow practicioner it doesn't matter much what word you use. This is just about communication with the outside.