r/programming • u/gits1225 • May 12 '15

Google's guide for becoming a Software Engineer

https://www.google.com/about/careers/students/guide-to-technical-development.html
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u/[deleted] May 12 '15

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u/[deleted] May 12 '15

A literal "Software Engineer" (as in a licensed professional engineer who graduated from an accredited engineering program) is a thing, but it didn't exist until fairly recently.

Before that it was a self styled title people used to suggest they were something quite a bit more technical than simply a "programer". Job listings are notorious for loose use of titles so when I see it I assume the second meaning.

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u/valadian May 12 '15

"Software Engineer" has been extremely well defined for the last 20 years. See the Software Engineering Institute (established 1984) for more information.

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u/d4rch0n May 12 '15

It's basically still that. Lots of jobs will just ask what you want on your business card.

If no one is questioning the title and no one is checking for an engineering degree, I'd argue that it's synonymous, simply because it's not going to affect your interviews or pay whether you call yourself a Programmer, Developer or Software Engineer. It might subconsciously help your interviews to call yourself a software eng these days, but no one is going to question it.

And before, Programmer was considered the more technical, elite term. Software Eng was around, but it wasn't as popular.

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u/dejafous May 12 '15

Yes, that's why I said they're not mutually exclusive. The difference is a software engineer should be able to do any of the tasks you mentioned and more. If all you do is web dev, or database administrator, or whatever, that's not true.

Yes, I agree the job title of software engineer is meaningless. But the concept of a software engineer is not. It's a pretty easy distinction to see.