The Difference Between A Software Engineer And A Software Developer

In this video, we answer the age-old question: what's the difference between a Software Engineer and a Software Developer. I also talk about other titles, like Web Developer, Front End Engineer, Backend Engineer, Mobile Engineer, Staff Software Engineer, Principal Software Engineer, Programmer, and Coder.

[jordanguzman]

As my first CS professor said, "I don't care what you call me. I care what you pay me." The man was legendary.

[nikosmj]

The word "Engineer" makes everything sounds better

[liftedup]

nobody:
me: * changes Twitter bio to software engineer after learning how to write HELLO WORLD in HTML*

[Kosoals]

In a parallel universe:
Comedy engineer vs comedy developer

[andrijadjuric]

New Game: One shot of tequila every time Software Engineer is said.

[Grr]

Engineer came up when the industry realized that it's not sufficient to only write code and ship it to production, but it is also necessary to follow design patterns, to invest time in design, to divide code to smaller pieces, etc. But 20 years after, when everybody is applying engineering ideas in their development - there is no sense for the two titles, and I 100% agree with you that engineer/developer, in 2021, are the same.

[AmericanWithTheTruth]

I completely disagree. As a retired 25 year software developer I have a bit of experience on this topic. A software engineer is by definition and engineer meaning that traditionally their education comes from computer engineering or computer science courses or a computer science degree background. It is more structured like a mechanical, electrical or or civil engineer and requires courses in calculus, probability, statistics and data analytics and logic. A software developer can come from a history degree or English degree education or could even be a business person. The differences are actually significant. In fact the influx of engineers into the software development world is exactly why software developers are losing their jobs to software engineers and the market has becoming oversaturated. Software developers are usually more inclined and likely to have marketing, design, salesman or business backgrounds where is engineers are traditionally just engineers. It doesn’t mean the roles can’t or don’t overlap in fact they often do but in the end you’re either a more logical and have an engineer mindset or more of a marketing, design, business or sales mindset. However, I do agree that in today’s culture job boards and job offerings have diluted the meaning of the two types of career paths and often confuse them in job roles because most companies don’t know what software developers do anyway.

[GPT-X]

My title changed from being a Full Stack Developer to Software Engineer but literally still do the same thing

[JLRide]

Great job. I get asked this question quite often by younger professionals in our industry. It's nice to hear it from others in our field since getting asked this question so often makes me wonder if there is a difference in someone else's mind. Thanks.

[tremblben]

In Canada you cannot use the Software Engineer title without having an engineering degree and being part of an association or you can get sued. It gives the title a little bit more prestige that you went through a much more complete education, but at the end of the day it's the exact same job.

[YourAverageTechBro]

Thank you for clarifying this haha. I feel like there are a ton of arbitrary titles in tech that aren’t always necessary but it’s necessary to show seniority.

[alexblack]

Clément: literally doing his best to explain difference between two same things.
Me: looking at that bigass* monitor all the time

[farhan]

I used to ask this question to everyone when I was in my first year of my CS degree course and people(very few) either got really excited to explain the difference or just considered these as the same things.

[babyfreezer]

Generally, I find America uses the term software engineer more and in Europe, you will find software developers more.

[joaquin]

Good to know that a web developer is essentially a front end engineer/developer! Exactly what I’m trying to get into

[jesseneon]

Thanks so much for your honestly Clement. I'm sick of people trying so hard to differentiate the two when they are just the same thing.

[cloudietech]

Thanks for shedding light on this. Since software development is such a new field, there seems to be a lack of standardization of titles

[LinLin-pwdh]

For over a year I’ve been SO confused of such trivial differences in wording. Finally someone demystified it.

[salonenelson]

Hey Clement, this might sound weird but do you mind discussing the engineering details of algoexpert website? What is the size of your codebase (how many lines) How many class files? How do you manage them? What are some tips you can give managing large code base? I will appreciate an answer.

[ukaosim]

I really enjoyed how you got straight to the point in one minute. 😂💯 great video 👏🏽