The "correct" answer is that Margaret Hamilton coined the term "software engineering" while working on the Apollo program back in the 1960's. As a way of declar

The "correct" answer is that Margaret Hamilton coined the term "software engineering" while working on the Apollo program back in the 1960's. As a way of declaring that software people can have the same level of rigor and respectability as hardware people. This branding finally caught on in the 2010's. However, to talk about the "real" answer, let me start by saying that I've been doing this for a little over 20 years now. When I first started out, my job title was "Computer Programmer". After awhile, my title (and those of all my peers) changed to "Software Developer". After a laughably short period of time, it stretched into "Senior Software Developer". After I'd been doing that for some years, my job title changed to "Software Architect". After awhile, the industry decided to stop pretending that most architects do full-time architecture for a living. So my job title changed to "Staff Engineer", and then "Principal Engineer" when I started making too much money. I don't know that the day-to-day activities of my job have actually changed all that fundamentally. I have a LOT more influence with Product Managers and executive leadership than I did in my early years, and I find myself doing more mentorship and informal leadership. But by and large, I think this industry just changes job titles every so often because: (1) it wants to stay trendy and copy whatever Google is doing, and (2) technology and H.R. play games with each other over salary bands. So I wouldn't meditate too deeply on it. At least we're not ops or QA. It feels like those poor souls re-brand every six months, chasing after pay parity with the devs.