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Let me take the example of constructing a very difficult bridge... Engineer designs a very elegant solution to the bridge problem keeping in mind the weather o

by thungas 16y ago

Let me take the example of constructing a very difficult bridge... Engineer designs a very elegant solution to the bridge problem keeping in mind the weather of the place, the location, the type of foundation etc... He is also supposed to be looking at society & the way the bridge is going to impact the society and be able to design a solution to carry certain number of vehicles/people across the bridge etc... He is also aware of the different types of materials purely from a design perspective... Developer would be more like a mason who would come with enormous expertise on how to get the design implemented... He would know what kind of concrete would work with what kind of water or weather more than the engineer... The engineer would be aware of it but the developer would be able to really know the tool of the trade... Engineer would have understood it conceptually... Programmer would be good at execution... He will know what to get done in what order so that it can be done in the least amount of time in the best possible way... In the case of a bridge, a programmer would be the project manager... In the case of tech folks, I guess the line gets blurred as software development allows for incremental developments & testing cycles.. Imagine building a bridge in the same way of building a software shudders :)

cros 16y ago
You mention two important aspects of engineering that I think is missing from the discussion: the bridge (metaphorically speaking) between society and science and the detail of planning and problem solving to meet a large set of criteria. I've spent about 11 years "programming" and have recently returned to school to get an engineering degree and this is what has been sticking out the most to me. We are expected to do much more than just code in our engineering projects with a lot of weight being placed on how we come up with our solution and it's broader reaching effects. Finally, in Canada, we have a "professional engineer" designation (P.Eng). Once you have obtained an engineering degree you can spend an additional four years working under the tutelage of another P.Eng and take some more courses to get the designation. This designation sort of places the role of the engineer in the class of doctors and lawyers in the sense of having a duty to society. This, to me, is also a key separation.

by thungas 16y ago

cros 16y ago

You mention two important aspects of engineering that I think is missing from the discussion: the bridge (metaphorically speaking) between society and science and the detail of planning and problem solving to meet a large set of criteria. I've spent about 11 years "programming" and have recently returned to school to get an engineering degree and this is what has been sticking out the most to me. We are expected to do much more than just code in our engineering projects with a lot of weight being placed on how we come up with our solution and it's broader reaching effects. Finally, in Canada, we have a "professional engineer" designation (P.Eng). Once you have obtained an engineering degree you can spend an additional four years working under the tutelage of another P.Eng and take some more courses to get the designation. This designation sort of places the role of the engineer in the class of doctors and lawyers in the sense of having a duty to society. This, to me, is also a key separation.