Agreed. My stance on this changed over the course of some years after a close family member married an actual engineer (structural) and I got a lot of insight into that world.
It's astonishing to me the ease of which software developers can wreak _real_ measurable damage to billions of lives and have no real liability for it.
Software developers shouldn't call themselves engineers unless they're licensed, insured and able to be held liable for their work in the same way a building engineer is.
Some engineers like to go on about this, but the reality is they offload the work to marginally qualified techs and unlicensed engineers and stamp the document, just like in software.
There are all sorts of failures in the structural space. How many pumped reinforced concrete buildings are being built in Miami right now? How many of them will be sound in 50-75 years? How likely is the architect/PE’s ghost to get sued?
PE’s are smart professionals and do a valuable service. But they aren’t magic, and they all have a boss.
It's astonishing to me the ease of which software developers can wreak _real_ measurable damage to billions of lives and have no real liability for it.
Software developers shouldn't call themselves engineers unless they're licensed, insured and able to be held liable for their work in the same way a building engineer is.