I hold a Masters degree in Computer Engineering and actually did my share of digital logic design, MIPS assembly, programming interrupt handlers, circuits and o

I hold a Masters degree in Computer Engineering and actually did my share of digital logic design, MIPS assembly, programming interrupt handlers, circuits and other things that supposed give you a large e-penis. I also work as a software engineer. My title is not "computer programmer" (although I certainly program), professional programmers (e.g., "programmer/analyst" in an IT organization of a bank) typically encode domain-specific business requirements (e.g., "if the job code is 0123 add $0.75 to hourly rate") into internal applications. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a vital role and will soon be a part of most any white collar job. I'm not a scientist. I don't build mathematical models and validate them experimentally (typically via simulation): it's an important and difficult job, but it's not what I do. I build software systems by applying mathematical models to solve technical challenges. This is a lot closer to engineering than it is to science or programming in the traditional sense of the word. Of course, I also don't care: you could call me a "a computer janitor" and I would still love what I do.