I think the tragedy here, is that people need to view themselves as "programmers" (by which I assume they mean software engineers) to feel valuable. It's like a

I think the tragedy here, is that people need to view themselves as "programmers" (by which I assume they mean software engineers) to feel valuable. It's like a paramedic / EMT arguing that they are "surgeons" because they perform some surgical procedures in the course of their work; that the bulk of surgery is cutting and stitching. The reality is that there is more to being a surgical doctor than performing surgery, yet a paramedic is still saving lives. Rather than everyone trying to put themselves in the "programmer" box, and everyone saying "anyone is a programmer". Maybe the technicians need to see / be shown how vital what they do is to the business.