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Comment by Buttons840 | original | A family tree of software job titles
[−]Buttons840 · 2026-11-14 Sat 23:20 UTC · link
Software engineers keep software on the tracks like train engineers keep the train on the tracks. Nobody thinks the train engineer built the train...
[−]jelloroll42 · 2026-11-14 Sat 23:30 UTC · link
Do you think the "engineer" in software engineer is etymologically closer to train engineer than it is to electrical/mechanical/civil engineer?

I don't think so.

[−]layer8 · 2026-11-14 Sat 23:46 UTC · link
We should train engineers regardless.
[−]zx8080 · 2026-11-15 Sun 00:04 UTC · link
Isn't it maintenance, not engineering?
[−]hunter2_ · 2026-11-15 Sun 05:21 UTC · link
If you look up the etymology of engineer, you'll find ancient roots (Latin, etc.) many hundreds of years old which are primarily about contriving/inventing/designing clever devices and occasionally about operation thereof. And you can find that a definition regarding train operators was added less than 200 years ago. The train thing is just an offshoot that is irrelevant to other types of engineering.