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Discussion on: What's the difference between a software developer and software engineer?

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Sam Ferree • Edited

Engineering, in any applied science, is (in my opinion), a profressional who places a high importance on:

  • Efficiency: Maximizing value, Minimizing Cost
  • Reliability: Does it break? How often? How hard is it to fix when it does?
  • Re-usability: This goes back to minimizing cost, by minimizing human capital. Don't reinvent the wheel.

I know some developers who would probably not want to be known as software engineers under these terms. I'm okay with that. These are what I value in software development, and why I refer to myself as an engineer.

I know plenty of people who mix solvents but aren't chemical engineers, plenty of people who use AutoCAD that aren't mechanical engineers, etc.