How often in the software industry is the title “engineer” a sop to give applicants a flashy title; and how often is there actual engineering involved? When I worked as an engineer some years ago, it seemed inconceivable that software development would become actual engineering because how could the engineering standards of care and professional liability ever be imposed? Today, virtually all software is either privately licensed or open source - there is no such thing as public software infrastructure under the development supervision of a professional software engineer (as far as I know). So I guess Mozilla can call their software developers anything they like, but it seems to be an ongoing cheapening of the engineering title - like why not call this position Chief of Software Surgery? Lead Software Counselor?
There is quite a big difference between a software developer and a software engineer. Most of the time, a developer just does what has been assigned to them. An engineer will be taking part (or completely doing) the architecture/design process as well.
Eh, as someone who’s first software job was as an “Associate Software Enginner” while still in school (undergrad), I’m pretty sure I can say it’s not that cut and dry. I’ve actually never had a software job that didn’t use the “engineer” title. I’ve found “developer” and “engineer” are used interchangeably.
I’m not a tech fella – just a refugee from the Reddit collapse trying to find my way in a social media environment that feels more authentic, less corporate, and more free. So – here’s wishing all of you good luck in this position but for me, I’m just amazed that a major browser has the Fediverse on the radar. Isn’t this kind of a big deal?
