logoalt Hacker News

ed_elliott_asctoday at 12:54 PM3 repliesview on HN

Why don’t we just call ourselves programmers and save this semi-regular debate!


Replies

CuriouslyCtoday at 1:14 PM

Because that diminishes the work people do. A programmer takes logic and encodes it for a machine to execute. Being an engineer suggests solving problems and defining logic.

The engineer title is apt in my opinion, because if you look at construction as a parallel, the architect designs the shape of the building, engineers determine how to build it so it doesn't collapse, and builders actually make it real. Programming is like digital building, the architecture and implementation details are both separate.

ryandvmtoday at 1:40 PM

Because I haven't been allowed to program for 6 months. Now I'm just an AI manager.

IAmBroomtoday at 1:22 PM

Centuries of accumulated respect for the word "engineer", implying a specialization that can't be simply replaced with other skill sets. That is: prestige and therefore economic incentives.