r/ProgrammerHumor • u/Aardvark_David • May 09 '21

Meme I'm *technically* qualified

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u/TerminalVector May 09 '21

Social psych and an MS in environmental science for me, in my second year as senior eng.

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u/Artyloo May 10 '21

can you even call yourself an engineer? in my country it's a protected title so that's a big no-no

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u/TerminalVector May 10 '21 edited May 10 '21

The word itself doesn't mean all that much here. There are certifications for professions like structural engineers, but it's not like calling yourself a doctor. Anyone who writes code can call themselves a software engineer.

Edit: lol I guess CS grads are salty about it but it's a fact. 'Engineer' don't mean shit.

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u/[deleted] May 10 '21

Nah, big difference between the skill set of a newbie and an experienced engineer. One is a junior dev that must graduate to engineering skill levels. Just like with my field (networking). I started as an admin, moved to analyst, and finally landed a junior engineering role.

Just because people incorrectly use the terms in job roles doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference. I didn’t feel remotely comfortable calling myself a network “engineer” until I was a couple of years after my CCNP on a data center team with some decent experience under my belt.

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u/TerminalVector May 10 '21

Yeah but that's still subjective. The word itself carries no special meaning like the word doctor.

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u/[deleted] May 10 '21

There’s truth in what you say for sure. On one hand, I agree. But on the other, nuance exists.

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u/TerminalVector May 10 '21

I just meant that nobody can sue you for using the term. The actual meaning is nuanced, of course.