Move to another company that uses different titles.

I know the two terms get thrown around a lot, and within software development it doesn't seem to matter who is an 'engineer' or not, but in most other disciplines the word 'engineer' has a special connotation, like how 'doctor' means something specific in the medical world.

For me the traits of an 'engineer' that stand out from other workers in their field:

• Engineers are highly educated. What this means may vary from discipline to discipline, but you usually don't find 'self-taught engineers' for the same reasons you wouldn't hope your surgeon was a 'self-taught doctor' ;)
• Engineers consider ethics. It's not just about whether they can build something, but a true engineer measures the impact their building will have on the surroundings and refuse work on ethical grounds if what they are building will be unsafe or spoil the public space. Engineers answer to society for the work they put into it and are held accountable if their work results in injury.
• Engineers in many countries are a regulated, standardized thing. Where I live there is a professional association and you can't just go around telling people you're an 'engineer' without being a member of that professional organization. Although we don't have an association or guild or organization of software engineers, I think the term 'engineer' carries the idea that you are proven and tested to a certain minimum standard.

So how does this apply to software development? I think the term engineer communicates these ideas:

• a software engineer has formal training
• a software engineer considers ethics
• a software engineer is held accountable for the impact of their work
• a software engineer meets a minimum standard skill set

Hopefully that gives a little insight into how people hear the term 'engineer' and what they expect it to mean in all other industries. I think it's only our industry (with so many self-taught leaders) where the term gets muddied and devalued.

For all intents and purposes, they're the same thing in the real world, even if there's technically a difference on paper. One company calls them "engineers". Another calls them "developers". Still another calls them "programmers".

However, that wasn't your question. This might help explain the differences so you can better understand your transition path.

computersciencedegreehub.com/faq/what-is-the-diff…

The engineer title is more defined and goes along engineering titles in other areas. (In America at least).

I think the developer title relates more to the ground worker who does the work described by the engineer, it's just another word for worker as I see it, but I might be a bit off.

An engineer is someone who use the tools (algorithms) and build something new. In other words an engineer can design the software.

Then there's scientist who does the research part and invent new tools (algorithms)

As Todd said, they seem to refer to the same thing, though if I had to differentiate the two, just in terms of marketing yourself to companies, I'd say Developer reads as "Knows their tools and development environment well; can crack out unit tests in their sleep." while Engineer reads as "Knows their algorithms, data structures, and design patterns well; can optimize anything with one hand tied behind their back."

That's just where my mind takes me though.

I always thought that they were two titles that refer to the same thing, essentially.

I often just call the people "programmers" but that's probably because I'm old school like that. I don't think someone who has the title "engineer" over "developer" or "programmer" implicitly means anything. This is just how I see it and may be completely different from everyone else or the majority. ¯\(ツ)\/¯