I'm in tech and "computer programmer" has always sounded to me like a grandma phrase. Like how all gaming consoles are referred to as "the Nintendo" or "the game station".

[–] [email protected] 22 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Has there been a programmer for anything other than a computer

[–] [email protected] 34 points 8 months ago (1 children)

angry domino logic programmer noises

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Do you program domino logic on a electric board or on a computer?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

https://youtu.be/OpLU__bhu2w?si=ZXToQKl8SbhZni5O

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago

Yes. And, by the way, "computer" was once the name of a profession, carried out by people.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago

Television programming? It’s a stretch, one might say a broad-casting of the term.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago

I remember telling my high school guidance counsellor I was planning on becoming a programmer. She looked at me, head tilted like a confused dog and asked what excited me about Event Programming (as in, planning and scheduling large in-person events).

That was the first time someone didn't understand what I did for work, and it was about 5 years before I started doing it.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 8 months ago (2 children)

That's funny, plain "programmer" would be my preferred term if it weren't for the fact that non-tech folks think it sounds like menial work. I've landed on "software engineer" because that's what my employer calls me and other people seem to understand a little bit, too.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

I was hired with the official title "software engineer," then I was noted in all unofficial org charts as a "SE/DE" (software engineer/data engineer), and recently my boss announced that I have had my title officially changed to "data engineer". My job functions have not changed the entire time I've been here. I write Python, SQL, KQL and Pyspark scripts and have to fuck around with Azure architecture sometimes. So there's not always clear delineation between these terms, anyway.

[–] odium 4 points 8 months ago

Lol, are you me? Job application said software engineer. 3 months after I was hired, it changed to data engineer with no changes to the work I do. I wasn't even notified, just noticed on a random day that the role on my profile on Teams had changed. I also do Python, SQL, and Pyspark scripts, but use AWS instead.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

I was hired as a Developer and a month or two in they changed our titles to Software Engineer because "It sounds better." I'd have to say I agree!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Here in Canada you can't call yourself an engineer unless you are a qualified and licensed engineer. So most people have to call themselves "developer". When you see someone calling themselves a software engineer it should mean something.