I don’t think this phenomena is unique to Europe. I completed my degree in Mechanical Engineering, even though I was pretty sure near the end I was going to rem

I don’t think this phenomena is unique to Europe. I completed my degree in Mechanical Engineering, even though I was pretty sure near the end I was going to remain a programmer. The ability to bridge the two domains was appealing. So my plan was to exist in that place where software meets real world things. There have I worked for most of my career, the exception being a 6 year stint in tools/IDEs. The sentiment you describe has existed to some degree or another in all of my work. Software is always the “newcomer” to the game. Older electrical and mechanical hierarchies have usually come to pass. And so software ends up being managed as a “necessary evil”, by individuals who believe that their experience in other technical disciplines empowers them to manage and lead technical disciplines that are actually different.