Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-pcd!hpmcaa!kathyi
From: kathyi@hpmcaa.mcm.hp.com (Kathy Iberle)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: What exactly is a software engineer ?
Message-ID: <1700002@hpmcaa.mcm.hp.com>
Date: 11 May 89 15:15:08 GMT
References: <497@dekalb.UUCP>
Organization: HP McMinville Division
Lines: 21

Being new to this string, I'm a bit puzzled.  In my (possibly outdated)
experience, "programmer" usually refers to someone who has 2 years
education (an associate's degree) and whose job is defined as
implementing the detailed design done by a systems analyst.  I believed
this to be true in the DP world.  In the engineering or technical
programming world, it seemed that either you had junior engineers/
senior engineers (any of whom might or might not have an engineering
degree in any engineering discipline), or you had jack-of-all-trades
who do design, implementation, and testing.   The jack-of-all-trades
requires at least a BS (but not necessarily in CS) and often is called
"software engineer" to distinguish him/her from the "programmer".

Of course, this view was formed before most software engineering programs
were in existence.  I still have not met anyone who has actually graduated
from one, though I have certainly learned much of the subject matter out
of necessity.

So, am I outdated?  Would you refer to yourself as a "programmer" on a
resume?

Kathy Iberle