I suspect almost nobody who does the work of a data/ML engineer has a degree in engineering. Most are computer scientists or statisticians or mathematical scie

I suspect almost nobody who does the work of a data/ML engineer has a degree in engineering. Most are computer scientists or statisticians or mathematical scientists. Too few formal engineers choose this path for others to dwell on the term 'engineer'. The main advantage of using the data engineer label is that it describes what you do now so that others will understand. It doesn't describe your academic past, only your professional present. What's more, titles like data/ML scientist/engineer are still too new and ill-defined for anyone to worry too much about the exact work implied or the underlying credentials. 'Engineer' is just an attempt to imply that the role involves more involvement in production than exploration.