Programmer vs software engineer
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
I describe myself as a computer engineer. Initially I did so because my college degree was in computer engineering (Wright State University[^], class of '84). We were the bastard step-child of the computer science and electrical engineering programs, who put us through their hardest classes in the hopes we'd give up and go away. For a few like myself, it didn't work. Now I use the term because most of my work is in process control software, which uses one or more computers to automate or control industrial equipment. I do that via programming (writing software) and software engineering (programming according to a set of guiding principles and best practices), which makes me both a programmer and a software engineer.
Software Zen:
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Current job title is "Software Development Engineer, Staff". We pretty much do it all. We have Business Analysts who do no coding but come up with the requirements and tell us what the forms should look like. For the most part as long as I get a steady paycheck and benefits I really don't care what they call us as long as it's nothing derogatory. Scott
CodeZombie62 wrote:
as long as it's nothing derogatory.
That's always nice. Don't call me Lead Jackass. :) I actually take the approach that Pete mentioned in his reply.
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Happens to all of us. I'm in my fifties now, and Google, stack overflow, and text books are open constantly as I work. Still got all me own teeth, tho'. :)
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
I'm a literate programmer. Good luck categorising that.
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
In the state of Texas and many others, you need to be a registered, Professional Engineer (P.E.) to have "engineer" anywhere in your job title. Architects that design buildings are picky about these things as well. What does MCSE stand for today? E used to stand for Engineer, but now it stands for Expert.
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I think I'm a software engineer, because that gets me cheaper car insurance than programmer. Have I mentioned how car insurance is a giant scam yet...?
No, but go ahead, sounds interesting.
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After graduation I joined an aerospace engineering firm on their graduate training programme. A 2 year period of courses, working in various departments in the company, and honing my software skills. My mentor told me on day 1 "you think you're a good programmer, which you probably are, but you're not an engineer, we're going to train you for that", I thought "what does he know?" I learned so much. Programming is actually a much smaller part of software engineering. It's about the application of rigorous standards and processes to whatever you do, while applying a formal set of constraints. It's the ability to flow down system requirements to individual testable functionality, and tracing that all the way through to final acceptance. I spent 3 years in the systems engineering department. This was a collection of individuals with various specialisations; mathematicians modelling scenarios, and developing complex algorithms, for example. I worked on bid prep and requirements gathering and analysis. Meeting stakeholders and identifying their user requirements, then translating these to system and functional requirements, to be flowed down to software engineers, while also creating the associated test framework so that each requirement could be tested, and the whole thing formulate a system acceptance process. Much of my time was spent using software like DOORS. Subsystem interfaces and dependancies were probably the most challenging part (software eng. can be thought of, in it's purest form, as developing a series of interfaces). As I became more senior, I became a graduate mentor, for what was now a 4 year graduate training programme, leading to CEng. I remember using the quote my mentor used above for each of my graduates, and guessed they thought exactly the same as me when I was a graduate. I've met many developers who think they're engineers, and they just hack some code and knock up a bit of documentation (slight exaggeration there). Process never enters their mind, and that's he most important part of engineering. Engineering in the UK is not really recognised as one of the professions, which is bizarre. It's fixed up with technician, or mechanic. In the US, I believe you have to be registered. I worked for some time with a German firm, and there, they are considered a proper profession. My father's best friend was a successful architect, and said that in many countries, engineers are revered more than architects. In Germany, if you are introduced to somebody as an engineer, they'll want to
Yes, that is exactly how I see it too.
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Happens to all of us. I'm in my fifties now, and Google, stack overflow, and text books are open constantly as I work. Still got all me own teeth, tho'. :)
Glad I am not the only one! :) He funny thing is though, despite this, we produce great products. Focus. Maturity. Keep it simple. All the attributes of experience I think.
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Happens to all of us. I'm in my fifties now, and Google, stack overflow, and text books are open constantly as I work. Still got all me own teeth, tho'. :)
I'm 68, down several teeth (my dad never left me anything but his crappy brittle teeth), and teaching myself C# as I convert my VB6 code to it. It does not get any better.
Getting old is hell, but it does beat the alternative...
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
Same, but software engineer seems more scientific. :-D
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
Not to get serious about this, But... When I worked for EDS, we had to change our titles from Software Engineer because, in Texas, an engineer could be held criminally responsible for defects. Believe it or not.
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
My wife seems to think Software Engineer sounds better.
Alex
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
I consider myself as a Developer. This includes Analysis and Modeling as well as Programming :)
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
Programmer. "Software Engineer" is a contradictory term. If engineers designed machines the way programmers write software, civilization as we understand it would collapse in a couple of hours.
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
I think of myself as a brilliant technological magician. I tailor my information to the crowd I am addressing. For most people I just say "I write software" because they're not likely to understand (or even want to know) anything more anyway.
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I'm 68, down several teeth (my dad never left me anything but his crappy brittle teeth), and teaching myself C# as I convert my VB6 code to it. It does not get any better.
Getting old is hell, but it does beat the alternative...
I thought I was the only one here that fits this description... glad for the company!
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I thought I was the only one here that fits this description... glad for the company!
There's a lot of us out here.
the not so silent majority...
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
Hmm.. I remember when we had PAPER terminals for editing our code, in a souped up version of EDLIN called TECO (Text Editor COrrecter). Rewrite your code, no syntax checking. Desk check it. Submit for compile, and come back the NEXT DAY to see if it compiled... Then we got Green screens. Pretty much the same, but fewer trees were killed. Boy things have changed. Being a programmer required the patience of Job. I am embarrassed to admit how often I use autocomplete because you can no longer keep track of the methods on every class you come in contact with... We will always expand our efforts to the point of failure, and then develop newer tools!
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I continually have to check the details of syntax and stuff when programming. Things like print format specifiers, the syntax of things I havent used for a year or so, and use a calculator to work out bit masks and check my bit wise logic. I can never get it right in my head. I dont remember details. I dont pride myself on that. I spend my time and energy on the big picture. Designing and understanding complex mechanisms. The architecture. The guts of the machine. So I think of myself as a software engineer, not a programmer. How about you lot?
Gates, among others, wasn't a "graduate" when he started; was he a "programmer" or an engineer? Depends on what circles you travel in. To my users, I'm The IT Guy ... or that s.o.b. They string up mechanical engineers when bridges fail; when was the last time a "software engineer" was hung? A "software engineer" "should do no harm" (my take); the "engineers" at VW didn't get that.
"(I) am amazed to see myself here rather than there ... now rather than then". ― Blaise Pascal