> Engineers are hired to create business value, not to program things.
That's a false dichotomy.
Engineers create value _by_—among other things—programming computers. That's nothing to be ashamed of by trying to elevate your title to some perceived higher status by calling yourself an "engineer".
If anything, I identify more as a programmer, than to the field of engineering.
Sure, there's more to creating value in a company than just programming. A good programmer communicates well, knows when to lead and when to follow, is an insatiable learner, and enjoys understanding how things work.
> "Programmer” sounds like “anomalously high-cost peon who types some mumbo-jumbo into some other mumbo-jumbo.”
Anyone who thinks that doesn't understand programming, and is someone who you probably don't want to work with anyway.
I didn't read the entire article, and there is some good advice there, but I'll give a better advice to new programmers: take any opinion presented in absolutes with a chunk of salt. Follow your passions, and reach your own conclusions, rather than assuming anything a so-called expert says as the absolute truth. And, of course, be open and ready to change your opinion if presented with valid evidence.
That's a false dichotomy.
Engineers create value _by_—among other things—programming computers. That's nothing to be ashamed of by trying to elevate your title to some perceived higher status by calling yourself an "engineer".
If anything, I identify more as a programmer, than to the field of engineering.
Sure, there's more to creating value in a company than just programming. A good programmer communicates well, knows when to lead and when to follow, is an insatiable learner, and enjoys understanding how things work.
> "Programmer” sounds like “anomalously high-cost peon who types some mumbo-jumbo into some other mumbo-jumbo.”
Anyone who thinks that doesn't understand programming, and is someone who you probably don't want to work with anyway.
I didn't read the entire article, and there is some good advice there, but I'll give a better advice to new programmers: take any opinion presented in absolutes with a chunk of salt. Follow your passions, and reach your own conclusions, rather than assuming anything a so-called expert says as the absolute truth. And, of course, be open and ready to change your opinion if presented with valid evidence.
"Strong opinions, weakly held."