Don't call yourself a programmer (2011)

Re:Don't call yourself a programmer (2011) by dsacco on Saturday February 07, 2015 @04:32PM (#9015377)

While I understand the sentiment, this is pretty insulting to a lot of people who bear the title "engineer" without having completed an engineering degree. You're not going to be able to win this, it's like being upset that the definition of "literally" has changed. Many people without degrees are employed by companies like Google and Microsoft with the title "engineer."

Some of my friends don't have college degrees at all, and they demonstrably understand computer science fundamentals, algorithm design and software development better than many or even most college graduates.

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Re:Don't call yourself a programmer (2011) by comrade1 on Saturday February 07, 2015 @04:37PM (#9015395)

Maybe it's like that in the USA, but it isn't like that in most of the world. 'Engineer' means something.

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Re:Don't call yourself a programmer (2011) by dsacco on Saturday February 07, 2015 @04:45PM (#9015417)

I can respect that. But to pose devil's advocate - why do you believe the education is special?

If we begin with a formal analysis, this sentiment begins with "Is it possible for an individual to learn everything required to be a fully competant software engineer without going to university?"

If you agree this is possible, that there is at least one human being capable of this, then the "special" meaning of engineer becomes limited to title and investment paid in a college education. It no longer is an absolute determination of skillset or intelligence.

There is data in favor of that statement. Google conducted a study that showed an extremely weak correlation between degree and hiring results, at least within its own company. And there are numerous examples of people who have accomplished quite a bit in the realm of legitimate software engineering without a degree.

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Re:Don't call yourself a programmer (2011) by onion2k on Saturday February 07, 2015 @04:45PM (#9015420)

Engineer is a description of what someone does, not what qualifications they have.

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Re:Don't call yourself a programmer (2011) by TheCoelacanth on Sunday February 08, 2015 @01:35PM (#9018027)

I don't see how what the rest of the world does is relevant to what people in the US call themselves. We don't expect you to follow our cultural norms. Don't expect us to follow yours.

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Re:Don't call yourself a programmer (2011) by vhost- on Saturday February 07, 2015 @05:37PM (#9015574)

But what _does_ it mean?

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