Programmers should not call themselves engineers (2015)

Re:Programmers should not call themselves engineers (2015) by kgeist on Wednesday August 23, 2023 @02:07AM (#37232364)

When people argue about precise meaning of words they often ignore the fact that words can be polysemantic (in fact, most words are). It's totally fine that the word "engineer" in "civil engineer" and "software engineer" has different meanings.

Meanings of "engineer" according to Merriam-Webster:

1. a member of a military group devoted to engineering work

2. crafty schemer

3. a designer or builder of engines

4. a person who is trained in or follows as a profession a branch of engineering

5. a person who carries through an enterprise by skillful or artful contrivance

6. a person who runs or supervises an engine or an apparatus

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Re:Programmers should not call themselves engineers (2015) by toxik on Wednesday August 23, 2023 @02:09AM (#37232373)

So clearly 2 applies to Scheme, 3 game engine programmers and kernel hackers, 5 most of us, and 6 almost all of us.

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Re:Programmers should not call themselves engineers (2015) by throwawaaarrgh on Wednesday August 23, 2023 @02:10AM (#37232381)

guess I'll start adding "Doctor" before my name now. if anyone questions it I'll say it has a different meaning when I use it

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Re:Programmers should not call themselves engineers (2015) by kgeist on Wednesday August 23, 2023 @02:16AM (#37232410)

Etymologically, "engineer" originally meant "one who designs, constructs, or operates military works for attack or defence".

I guess at some point some folks were also grumpy that the word was generalized to people who had no relation to military :)

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Re:Programmers should not call themselves engineers (2015) by z3dd on Friday August 25, 2023 @04:42AM (#37259489)

it's a thing already https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy

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