4 ms·

A blanket ban on software developers lying about being engineers would be a good start.

by parfe 10y ago

dimino 10y ago
Is there a universally or even widely accepted difference?
- mLuby 10y ago
  The difference between software developer and software engineer is ~$10k. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Developer/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Developer/S... http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer/Sa...
  - stale2002 10y ago
    lol, you realize that none of the Google "software engineers" are accredited? Google Canada calls their employees software developers. Everyone would just call themselves a different name and life would move on as nobody cares.
- shanemhansen 10y ago
  There is a widely accepted difference in the US: the PE exam. Other countries make it flat out illegal to call yourself an engineer without the proper credentials.
saghm 10y ago
I'm not really sure what this would achieve, aside from a shift in the topic of smug comments like this
ythn 10y ago
At this point they are synonymous, so there's no point in trying to change the terminology any more.
serge2k 10y ago
That would accomplish nothing but make engineers feel better about themselves.
geebee 10y ago
Gotta ask you, though. How indignant are you about the recording studios using the term "sound engineer?" Or a hollywood post-production studio employing a "special effects engineer"? I personally would like to retire the phrase "software engineer". This is partly because I think it's very important for software developers to get out ahead of this and avoid giving the various PE accreditation bodies the notion that they have a claim on software. Civil, Mechanical, hell, even Industrial. Go ahead. But Software developers, if regulated, should stand apart from these fields. I'd rather see it regulated as a separate field, more like actuaries than a branch of engineering. In short, software developers should drop their claim to engineering, but engineers should drop their claim to software. Before you think this is a groundless concern, keep in mind that the patent bar has essentially legalized patents on mathematics while excluding mathematics as an acceptable background for reviewing patents. Seriously, the charter for the patent bar specifically mentions mathematics as coursework that does not qualify you to sit for this exam. The very low quality of patent review reflects this. I could see a PE takeover of software as being similarly destructive (actually, far more destructive). It does make sense as part of cartel building, though - expand your monopoly, restrict your competition. Regulate mathematics, exclude mathematics degrees. I could see something similar happening in software development, easily, with greater harm.

A blanket ban on software developers lying about being engineers would be a good start.

by parfe 10y ago

A blanket ban on software developers lying about being engineers would be a good start.

dimino 10y ago

Is there a universally or even widely accepted difference?

mLuby 10y ago
The difference between software developer and software engineer is ~$10k. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Developer/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Developer/S... http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer/Sa...
- stale2002 10y ago
  lol, you realize that none of the Google "software engineers" are accredited? Google Canada calls their employees software developers. Everyone would just call themselves a different name and life would move on as nobody cares.
shanemhansen 10y ago
There is a widely accepted difference in the US: the PE exam. Other countries make it flat out illegal to call yourself an engineer without the proper credentials.

saghm 10y ago

I'm not really sure what this would achieve, aside from a shift in the topic of smug comments like this

ythn 10y ago

At this point they are synonymous, so there's no point in trying to change the terminology any more.

serge2k 10y ago

That would accomplish nothing but make engineers feel better about themselves.

geebee 10y ago

Gotta ask you, though. How indignant are you about the recording studios using the term "sound engineer?" Or a hollywood post-production studio employing a "special effects engineer"? I personally would like to retire the phrase "software engineer". This is partly because I think it's very important for software developers to get out ahead of this and avoid giving the various PE accreditation bodies the notion that they have a claim on software. Civil, Mechanical, hell, even Industrial. Go ahead. But Software developers, if regulated, should stand apart from these fields. I'd rather see it regulated as a separate field, more like actuaries than a branch of engineering. In short, software developers should drop their claim to engineering, but engineers should drop their claim to software. Before you think this is a groundless concern, keep in mind that the patent bar has essentially legalized patents on mathematics while excluding mathematics as an acceptable background for reviewing patents. Seriously, the charter for the patent bar specifically mentions mathematics as coursework that does not qualify you to sit for this exam. The very low quality of patent review reflects this. I could see a PE takeover of software as being similarly destructive (actually, far more destructive). It does make sense as part of cartel building, though - expand your monopoly, restrict your competition. Regulate mathematics, exclude mathematics degrees. I could see something similar happening in software development, easily, with greater harm.