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I have some university degrees in (non-software) engineering. Engineering school is pretty far from a vocational program, but engineering students often mistak

I have some university degrees in (non-software) engineering. Engineering school is pretty far from a vocational program, but engineering students often mistake it for one. When I was in industry, it was easy to spot the people who'd made that mistake -- they couldn't engineer their way out of a wet paper bag. Engineering is applied science, and if you don't understand the science, you're going to have a heck of a time trying to apply it. The difference between engineers and scientists is that scientists know how to make new science, and engineers know how to make new things using science.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago
Yes, exactly. Chemical engineers needs to know chemistry, but they need to know more. They need to know "how do we make this stuff, efficiently, at scale, without blowing up the plant." They're not going to get that from the chemistry department. So, does a software engineer need to know some computer science? Absolutely, but they need to know more than that. They need to know how to efficiently produce working software at scale. And, to return to my previous post, starting with Haskell could still get you to a software engineering education, as opposed to a computer science education. But it feels to me like the initial direction is aiming at a CS education, not at a software engineering education.