

Software Engineering is "best job of 2011" - ck2
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704723104576062173458318658.html#printMode

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ck2
Someone explain to me the difference between "programmer" and "software
engineer", because it sounds like it's just a padded label to make it seem
more fancy (and worth higher pay).

"Engineer" makes me assume college trained and more of a design/comprehend
systems from scratch but I suspect it's just hype in a label?

ah, wikipedia to the rescue:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_engineering>

    
    
      there is still much debate around what software engineering 
      actually is, and if it conforms to the classical definition 
      of engineering
    

Based on that, with all due respect to _Jesse Severe_ (from the article) he
sounds like a _programmer_ and not a "software engineer" if he is constantly
working on different jobs for different clients.

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rick_2047
I agree with most of your post, but not the fact that engineers cannot work on
different jobs for different clients. What would limit them? Many of the EE
freelancers are around working for different clients.

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ck2
Oh of course multiple clients but not constantly changing right?

I mean an "engineer" doesn't get hired to just fix a few lines of code or add
a function. That's a programmer, a hacker-for-hire.

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Apocryphon
Statisticians? Historians? Audiologists?

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rick_2047
But isn't "the best job" the job where you are most happy working? If I am
interested in pottery why the hell would I want a software engineering job
(whatever that means).

