> It is weird that software engineers are the only engineer-types that are supposed to be able to do their job with just a computer and a built-in editor.

Not really. We aren't actually engineers. Someone appropriated the title and misused it, and now there's no putting that genie back in the bottle.

Even then, software engineers tend to have more control over the work process than other roles.

I would have agreed with you 20 years ago. Now, the cloud architecture stuff is real engineering.

there are genuine software engineers, yes.

I have yet to meet or work with one.

Engineering is expensive, and most software developers rightly default to a pragmatic craftsman's attitude. Build something people can use and iterate on it based on feedback.

When there aren't lives at stake, it's usually the right call.

Software development is the only field I can think of where the making of the tools of the trade is wholly encapsulated by the field itself. Maybe blacksmithing. In such an environment, it makes sense. We make our own tools, and for the most part the most powerful of those tools end up being given away for free. To other people who both use the tools, and have the capacity to improve them. Who then give them away for free.

It is not a coincidence that software development tooling is one of the only fields that has has been thoroughly eaten by open source. It's because the user-developer circle is complete. A mechanical engineer probably doesn't have the skillset to improve the CAD program they're running. A software developer probably has the skillset to improve VIM.

Woodworkers make many of their own tools.