I see many commenters suggesting that the distinction is a subtle one of ability and scope. This is interesting to observe and definitely not what I had anticip

I see many commenters suggesting that the distinction is a subtle one of ability and scope. This is interesting to observe and definitely not what I had anticipated in the responses. In my experience the titles are interchangeable in practice. I can see how one might make a spirited argument that there should be a meaningful difference and how that could be useful in hiring. Taking a look at Google Trends for both terms it is interesting note seeming regional preferences: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=software%20engineer,software%20developer https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=software...