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As someone not in tech, I have no idea how to refer to my tech friends' jobs (lemmy.world)

submitted 7 months ago by The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world to c/programmer_humor@programming.dev

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[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Yeah, it’s weird to me as an engineer that when I’m on Lemmy people use that word to mean programmer. Nah, I work in a factory and had to learn thermodynamics

[-] prime_number_314159@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

In my mind, the line is that an engineer is someone that can commit a crime by doing their job incompetently. If the only things at risk are your job and your pride, that's a different thing.

"I program all day, so there's a lot of trial and error. My friend is a negligent civil engineer, so there's a lot of error and trial."

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Ooh the EEs will haaaaaate that lol. I generally disagree with that statement but I also totally see it.

[-] merc@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

If you're an electrical engineer who works in a nuclear power plant and your incompetence leads to a meltdown, you're going to go on trial. Possibly also if you're doing software engineering for the control systems of that power plant.

If you're a software engineer who works on Lemmy, not so much.

[-] EncryptKeeper@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

It’s always been weird to me as someone who isn’t an engineer in degree or title why those with degrees in engineering think people shouldn’t use an accurately descriptive word like engineer when it’s perfectly appropriate just because it’s a little to close to the title of their licensed profession.

Engineer is a verb, to devise or contrive something. Simply, to design a construct. A programmer by definition engineers a program and is therefore by the rules of the English language, an engineer.

They may not be a Licensed Professional Engineer, but an Engineer they remain.