[omg_ponies]

> non-CS engineers and scientists can write their own code

Having seen plenty of code written by non-CS engineers and scientists, my experience is that formally trained programmers have excellent job security.

Have you ever tried maintaining that kind of code base?

[G-delta]

>Have you ever tried maintaining that kind of code base?

I've never tried to maintain a code base written by non-CS people. In what context have you seen code by non-CS scientists?

>Having seen plenty of code written by non-CS engineers and scientists

There is a trade off between domain knowledge and programming style. Is it better to teach a BSCS 2 years of chemistry to work on your molecular modeling library, or hire somebody with chemistry experience who writes less maintainable code? Coding has become easier over the last 20 years, but the domain-specific knowledge has become harder. This trend favors the chemist over the BSCS.

[omg_ponies]

> non-CS engineers and scientists can write their own code

> I've never tried to maintain a code base written by non-CS people

...

[G-delta]

You do not need to actively work on a code base to know who does. The educational backgrounds of developers who work on software in non-CS fields are very easy to find online. There is no contradiction in these quotes. If your point is that non-CS people write bad code (and that at some point I have argued the opposite, which I have not), you still haven't explained why the market won't value the domain-specific knowledge of a non-CS person over a BSCS's programming knack.