In Canada the term “Engineer” is a protected title that only registered professional engineers may use. Claiming to be an engineer without such credentials is considered equivalent to claiming to be a doctor of medicine; It constitutes fraud.
That being said, I see all the time employers and employees, seemingly ignorant to this law, post “Software Engineer” in job titles.
Registered professional engineers in the software development space is a rare occurrence.
A programmer can call themselves an engineer if they want. There’s no laws against it.
Therefore it doesn’t matter what you call yourself.
In Canada the term “Engineer” is a protected title that only registered professional engineers may use. Claiming to be an engineer without such credentials is considered equivalent to claiming to be a doctor of medicine; It constitutes fraud.
That being said, I see all the time employers and employees, seemingly ignorant to this law, post “Software Engineer” in job titles.
Registered professional engineers in the software development space is a rare occurrence.
They can, but it doesn’t make them an engineer. I can’t call myself an electrician just because I swapped some light switches.
There are many countries where there is a law against it. Maybe the USA isn’t one of them.