Still is. The French got that right. To me the term "Engineer" means that someone holds an Engineering degree. And that degree allows me to make certain assump

Still is. The French got that right. To me the term "Engineer" means that someone holds an Engineering degree. And that degree allows me to make certain assumptions about what the Engineer knows. For instance, I expect anyone holding such a degree (wherever they studied) and claiming to be a software engineer to have: - A solid background in mathematics, at least applied. - A solid background in Computer Science (algorithm, data-structures, discreet math) - A solid background in Applied Computer Science (networking, operating system, build system, electronics, databases). I expect them to have built a few non-trivial projects. - A knowledge of project management (what's a Gant chart, waterfall, agile methodologies) and economics (able to read financial statements and understand basic accounting and corporate structure) not CFA level of course. - Communication abilities (I expect them to have written papers and technical reports as part of their degree). Two out of these five elements are domain-specific; the rest is universal across engineering disciplines. Note that you don't need an engineering degree to know all that; John Carmack would tick all these boxes. But he's an exception.