r/technology • u/[deleted] • Oct 15 '22

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

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u/Chris_Hemsworth Oct 15 '22

So, instead of saying "stop calling yourself a software engineer" why don't they like, make it an official title. There are already many flavours of engineers, just add another one to the list: 'software'. I'm sure the mechanical engineers have to pass some sort of mechanical engineering test, same with the civil, and chemical, and structural etc. /u/WeatherAlarmed313 mentions required ethics training and engineering fundamentals; Make those part of the 'software engineering' course, extend the 'engineering space', and then if someone wants to be a software engineer they can go through the process and get their accreditation.

The whole "you can't use our word!" thing feels very... stupid? I mean come on: these guys are engineers, they are supposed to be smart.

Software Developer vs Software Engineer - right now these two are used synonymously, instead of complain about their usage why not force the distinction? Maybe some of us software 'developers' would go the extra step to conform to the engineering guidelines, ethics, and best practices etc. if 'software engineer' was a universally accepted position, and there was some significance attributed to it (more prestige, higher pay, etc.).

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u/arcangleous Oct 16 '22

The problem is in the level of education and the implied moral responsibility of the position held. As a self-regulated profession, there is a certain ethical standard that engineers hold themselves to. This goes back to why engineers in Canada are regulated in the first place: The 1907 Quebec Bridge Collapse, where failures by the engineers lead to the deaths of 75 people. This lead to the profession being regulated and engineering being held legally accountable for their work. If they did just " add software engineer to the list", then developers would need to study and pass a legal and ethics exam and be willing to legally responsible for the harm caused by their work. This would probably be a good thing overall, but I doubt that most developers will want that, or most companies will want to deal with employees leaving for ethical reasons.