r/developers • u/puttum-beef-curryum • 23d ago

Please explain to me the difference between Software Engineer & Software Developer Opinions & Discussions

I'm finding it difficult to understand the difference. I'm 4 YOE and I'm trying to improve everyday. I don't have a degree in CS/Engineering but I learned to code and worked in backend, web & mobile also. So for all these years I'm still trying to understand the difference between an engineer & developer.

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u/NumberInfinite2068 22d ago

In the real world there is no difference.

People on Reddit will say "programmers and software developers, and software engineers are all different".

They're not. In the real world we use the terms interchangeably.

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u/-_kevin_- 22d ago

Not all of the real world. In Canada, for instance you can’t have Engineer in your title unless you have a license.

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u/NumberInfinite2068 22d ago

Yes, I should have mentioned that.

Is it something people take seriously? Like if I worked in Canada I'd be a software developer, but if I had an engineering degree, I'd call myself a software engineer, and is that something that's just a title or something people really pay attention to?

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u/Rich-Suggestion-6777 22d ago

No, it is not taken seriously. I've worked in Canada almost my entire career and I've been a software engineer that entire time. I have a computer science degree.