I do not give a shit about a label and have none in a software field. Just MSc in physics. I design and implement products and I have long list of clients happy with my work. This helps me find new contracts. You can call me a shrub if you wish. I still get paid.

> I do not give a shit about a label and have none in a software field. Just MSc in physics. I design and implement products and I have long list of clients happy with my work. This helps me find new contracts. You can call me a shrub if you wish. I still get paid.

Don't bother, the people you are answering to, the "engineers", are concern trolls who want to become gatekeepers that will force you to have an "software engineering license" they control to do your job, that's their ultimate goal, they are corporatists.

Imagine needing a freaking license to deploy an app, Communist China style, These people are cunning and come to every thread where somebody screws up to push their anti free market agenda. Don't waste your energy arguing with them, call them out.

In Europe calling yourself an enginner without having a proper title can send you to jail, because an actual Engineer has civil duties and accountability on civil causalities.

Never heard that term. Who calls themselves a "hard" engineer?

It seems it's a play with soft-ware hard-ware, implying electric and civil engineering.

No one, but there are PEs.

The frivolity with which "Engineer" titles were co-opted by tech has always been distasteful to me. It felt intended to claim all of the prestige with none of the rigor, accountability, or social responsibility.

I want a software PE program so bad. I've done my best to hold myself to the same ethical standards, but if there isn't a legal bite behind negligence, you just get shoved aside.

Unless you work in regulated sector where lives / critical infra literally depends on your code no employer will pay for "PE level ethical standard" development. Too expensive. So your PE will be of very limited value unless you want to prohibit people without PE making a living writing software in general. But if that is what you want my take is - GFY.

> (Hardware) engineers do this, though.

Broadcom exploits over the years would disagree. So would Samsung's hardware encryption. So would TPM. So would BadUSB. So would everything related to Bluetooth. Et cetera.

No matter what kind of engineering you do, don't try to predict the future. Engineer towards ease of maintenance and ease of update/deployment instead.

I don’t think that’s true.

None of the engineers I have hired or worked with assume such liability directly.

Usually, their firms limit liability to the price of the contract. I assume insurance does otherwise.

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