>Having a set of defined rules to follow is not engineering It is a part of being an engineer, but it is not the entirety of the profession (I'd probably use t

>Having a set of defined rules to follow is not engineering It is a part of being an engineer, but it is not the entirety of the profession (I'd probably use the word Standards rather than rules). I think the software world has standards to for things like networking etc - does it count as a programmer following a set of rules if he writes networked software? Maybe... >The real meaning for engineer is someone who builds complex stuff that require years of learning and practice for the majority of the population. I don't think this really fits either. Throughout my career I have spent very little time building anything, a large amount of the work is optimizing existing problems/products/processes (this is where tradeoffs the GP mentioned comes in) "How can this be made cheaper, How can it become more efficient, How can it be made lighter etc." If I had to come up with my own definition it would be something like "Engineering is solving technical problems within an applied set of Constraints" - That probably does not apply to a surgeon - but could be applied to software.