I don't think there's a consistent definition of "software engineer." At one place where I worked, you automatically got the "engineer" title if you had a bache

I don't think there's a consistent definition of "software engineer." At one place where I worked, you automatically got the "engineer" title if you had a bachelors degree. This was also true for the distinction between "designer" and "engineer" in the hardware engineering disciplines, and "manufacturing engineer" in the plant.