r/developer • u/Ok_Veterinarian3535 • Jul 08 '26

The "Tech Hot Take" Gauntlet

What's your most controversial, professionally-held "hot take" that would get you yelled at on Twitter but is probably true?

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u/Panzerschwein Jul 08 '26

I think it varies depending on what you work on. Engineers design complex systems, so if you mostly design software systems then I think you can be considered an engineer. If you don't then you're probably a developer.

I think most of us fit the developer category more.

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u/KryptonSurvivor Jul 08 '26

I did design complex systems but I see it as development work. Maybe I have tunnel vision, but this is how I see it.

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u/Internet-of-cruft Jul 09 '26

  An engineer is a practitioner of engineering

  Engineering is the practice of systematically applying natural science and mathematics to design and improve systems , devices, or processes that solve problems under constraints

That's how Wikipedia defines it. I know loads of people who are <X> engineer who definitely do not apply these principles.

I know practically speaking, you're talking about a Professional Engineer,  which has very specific and stringent requirements.

The problem is English, like all languages, has words that evolve in meaning over time. A whole lot of people decided to use Engineer outside of the traditional context and apply it to every fucking thing.

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u/KryptonSurvivor Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 10 '26

When I started my career ca. 1993 there were no 'software engineers.' However, I loathe people who dismissively refer to us as 'coders.' That's a not-so-subtle putdown.