[throwatdem12311]

> By this definition, anyone hired to be a code contributor, and not operating at the architecture level, isn't an engineer.

You say that as if it’s not true, but it is. And even then, still not always.

Engineer is a regulated term in Canada. If you’re not licensed, you’re not an engineer. If you say you are and acting as one in a professional capacity you are comitting fraud.

The amount of delulu Americans larping as engineers is always good for a laugh.

[pegasus]

So unless you're licensed in Canada, you're not an engineer? That's a very silly notion...

[throwatdem12311]

We recognized socially that people who engineer things need to have professional ethics and carry liability for their projects.

The whole reason we have engineers is because we used to let anyone call themselves that and lo and behold a bunch of bridges collapsed under load and killed people. Who could’ve thought?!

Almost 2/3rds of the professionals in my family are licensed engineers and we take it extremely seriously.

Canada has only been actually licensing software engineers for a short time compared to other disciplines - but the industry as a whole is due for a reckoning.

[pegasus]

Sure, and that's laudable, both for Canada and for your family. But most other countries don't have such a professional certification program, and since a ton of brilliant creators of software never had one, should we declare them fake engineers? People like John Carmack, Fabrice Bellard, Richard Hipp, Linus Torvalds... I think ultimately results speak for themselves. Surely there are plenty of middling licensed Canadian software engineers as well. Let's not police language like this.

[throwatdem12311]

It’s not about skill level it’s about accountability and ethics.

If a bug that Linus introduces into the kernel kills someone, is he held accountable? No, of course not the kernel is provided without warranty or any kind of guarantee of fitness.

He’s not an engineer.

He’s a programmer. A very very good one. But he’s not an engineer.