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Programmers: Stop Calling Yourselves Engineers (www.theatlantic.com)

submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) by drd@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Old, but fun read that argues that today's programmers are not like typical Engineers and shouldn't really call themselves that as Engineering requires certification, is subject to government regulation, bear a burden to the public, etc.

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[–] AnAmericanPotato@programming.dev 8 points 3 days ago

I know this is from 2015, but even then, it was a bit late to make this argument. This was already mainstream enough in the 90s to be the punchline in syndicated comic strips. By 2015, we already had "customer experience engineers" (i.e. tier-1 helpdesk). The ship has not only sailed, it has sunk.

Anyway, the phrase originated in an era when programming was very different from what it is today, when most programmers came from a background in electrical engineering or something along those lines.