I’m an engineer. I’m on my phone looking at memes until someone asks me a question, then I do a thing in 5 minutes that they expected to take 5 days because people don’t understand computers, then I go back to the memes.
I have been downvoted to hell for what I’m about to say, but I’m going to say it again anyway.
IT support people are now called engineers. No, I don’t like it. No it’s not proper “engineering”. Yes, language evolves and there’s nothing we can do about it. If that’s a problem for people, I recommend screaming into the void. It doesn’t help, but you feel better after a while.
It’s corporate self aggrandizing wank. On par with calling subway workers “sandwich artists”. It’s as insulting to the workers as it is ridiculous
I know plently of helpdesk guys that do engineering, if engineering is “identify an issue, find and implement a fix.” Its varying degrees of rudimentary, but the same could be said about anyone in conputer science.
The truth is no one in computer science, programmers, SREs or otherwise, are licensed engineers. Why does a programmer have more of a claim to an unearned title than anyone else in the field?
IMO no engineering degree, no engineer. There’s some exceptions for incredible self taught folks but they’re drowned out by so many others that just use the title without the skill
All I do as an engineer is piss and shit and fart
Pretty sure they just draw complex pictures of bridges all day.
Half of the job is to fix issues with existing suff, the other half is to make working stuff more complicated and problematic (aka “upgrade”), so that we’re still paid to do the first half.
Like a scientist but you get paid
Scientists make something new. One time. In a lab. Under ideal conditions. With 3 PhDs assembling, testing, and running it.
Engineers have to make the same thing so that their cheap-ass company can hire any gaggle of idiots off any street around the world and train them to assemble, test, and run 500 of the thing.
Alternatively so those same idiots can buy the product and do all manner of stupid things to it without it breaking.
Note: not saying all technicians are idiots, but the good ones get paid more so companies eventually go for the idiots instead.
