At what point did you start to think you were an engineer?
An engineer. What a lofty, prestigious-sounding title!
I am not lofty or prestigious.
But I do question things.
Like why do people follow archaic procedures and thinking patterns, if there is a clearly better path? When you work in a school everything is sort of need-to-know only. So I don’t know why things are done the way they are done, until I plow through 20 brick walls.
Persistence answers yesterday's reasoning.
Today builds tomorrow.
I cannot stand it when people do not care. How could you not care about improving? You wanna sit there, following the same pointless protocol you have been doing for 15 years, just because that is what is being done? Please - someone needs to give a sh*t. I am surrounded by nincompoops. At previous employeers, I have always had questions, and the only people that could potentially answer are out of reach, typically. I have found meaning in helping the people that I interact with on a daily basis. The tiny sliver of help I can give them brings meaning to my life.
The person in the room next to me runs the laminator for everyone. This person was not present for months. I took it upon myself to learn how to use an industrial size laminator with no instructions, and no idea. It is not in my job description, and I hurt my hands doing it. The end result was many thankful people, curbing the sudden popularity of the single laminator at the beginning of the year.
I’ve had a weird itch that is unshakable, this weird thought: “Am I an engineer? What makes one an engineer? What are the defining characteristics of an engineer, and do I have this mindset?”
Today, while googling the truths about my own existence I came to realize the act of asking questions, and digging for answers backed by sound reasoning, is actually a very engineer thing to do. I laughed at myself when I realized this. But then I wondered, no, I’m not an engineer, I am a philosopher. Well, technically, anyone can have a philosophy. I’m going to end it there.
This thought pattern of thinking “Am I an engineer?” was sparked while working at a previous employer. I went poking around one day and discovered that my name was listed under “Engineering Team”. I did not point it out to anyone that I saw it, and no one told me about it, ever. I think my heart stopped beating for a moment. That simple moment of seeing my name on anything related to engineer felt staggering. Someone thought so much of me as to put me into such a category? What an honor. In case it was a mistake, I did not want to find out, and was not going to say anything because I liked it, and wanted it to stay.
My actual title was something like “Network Installation and Computer Technician Apprentice” or some such nonsense. Terminating cables outside in the freezing cold of winter with my bare hands, I definitely earned whatever my title was at the time. That is one of my last memories at that job by the way. Making less than $20,000 that year, I knew I took that job as my foot in the door to tech, IT, and one day, if I am lucky, maybe software engineering, if AI doesn't ruin my tiny plans.
I would certainly never claim to be an engineer, coming from an art and nutrition background, I am out of place. In Canada, they have strict requirements. In the USA, you can slap “software engineer” on a skeleton and people make memes about it. Does the title have meaning, actually? Further contemplation.
I have always been one to analyze myself, in the worst of times and the best of times. I learn the hard way, but the lessons I have learned in life in general, have given me the ability to be an unshakable tank, or dive 110% into something. This is a skill I have always had, but for much of my life, I was distracted, I was always chasing things that were weightless.
I started going to school again for many reasons, but mostly because I was bored with life. Frustrated at the lack of interesting things happening around me. This cannot be it, I am still certain there is more. I am forever a student. I have easily 8 years of college under my belt. Not to mention assorted other learnings.
I feel like I still know absolutely nothing.
I am only just beginning.
Im not sure what I am, besides present.
Jay Shetty states in his book How to Think Like a Monk that the only thing that is truly with you your entire life is your breath.
…If thats the case, then everything is a variable, and anything is possible. Perhaps one day, a woman with questions can be a lofty engineer.
Top comments (12)
Good framing. “Engineering: Dreams, or Self-Actualization?” is also a design-review question: what must be true for this to remain safe as traffic, contributors, and integrations grow? Naming that constraint early usually prevents the clever solution from becoming hidden operational debt.
I love how you weave personal reflection with the broader question of engineering identity, especially the way you trace that moment of self‑actualization. Have you thought about cross‑posting this piece to ZyVOP (zyvop.com) to reach even more engineers?
I tend to stick to one platform, so I can authentically manage it well. Thanks for the tip though. <3
Totally get that! The main perk is reaching all the developers who only read on Medium, Hashnode, or ZyVOP and never visit Dev.to.
With cross-posting, you reach that whole audience automatically, while canonical links point right back to Dev.to so it stays your primary home—zero extra management needed. No pressure at all though! 🙌
🤔
"Engineering: the art of how"
IMO what differentiate an engineering mindset from one that is not is the urge to understand how something works.
Anybody can be an engineer these days because of AI and how quickly someone can create apps. I tend to think engineer is more of a "detective" role than anything. By that, I mean you have to solve bugs by finding where in the code is responsible and fix it from there. Sure, fundamentals of programming is essential and anyone can learn that in CS classes, but problem solving is the golden ticket. Without it, you just learn and forget like any other classes you have taken.
Nobody does. The point isn't that you memorize Data Structure and Algorithms Verbatim (though I wish lol), but to get more hands on experience. I like volunteering for developer roles, because it gets your foot in the door EASIER than finding a pay internship. I learn much more than what my classes taught me because it only taught me theory.
I would say you are an engineer. You have built a lot of things and showed that on dev.to...more than any other student I have known. It is better to show proof and claiming you are an engineer than claiming you are an engineer with little to no proof.
Hope you are well Anna :)
Hello Francis! Good to hear you chime in. Yes DEV is very much my platform of choice. Ive made the choice to get my second bachelor's because honestly, its hard to make the case that I am developer with a nutrition degree and minimal professional experience. I just want to build stuff, I find it satisfying and entertaining. I like to find out what can and cannot be done. And some of the DEV challenges on here, I enter knowing there is no way I would be likely to win. But the fantastic part is that each challenge puts a new tool in the shed. The learning from challenges and personal projects stacks on top of each other. The overall learning from self teaching is monumental. I get made at AI sometimes, because there is no thinking half the time. Ive started studying for CCNA on the side to keep my brain active. I am also going over some Java fundamentals since have a Java 2 class coming up at my online university. Want to be prepared. I am a busy body. 😂
This post hit me right in the heart.
I’m 31, a professional painter (construction), a father of four, and I have no formal IT background whatsoever. A while ago, I started writing my first code in basic Windows Notepad just to understand how a Telegram bot worked, making every mistake imaginable.
Today, I build MCP servers, compile AST dependency graphs for LLMs, and research context drift. My civil engineering background gives me that exact 'structural' itch you described—I can't just look at code as magic; I see it as load-bearing beams and foundation strength. I often spend my workdays painting walls while mentally spinning complex graph architecture problems in my head, coming home to code them out.
Engineering isn't a prestigious corporate title or a 4-year CS degree. It’s that exact mindset you have: picking up an industrial laminator with zero instructions, refusing to accept broken processes, and breaking through 20 brick walls just to reach the truth.
You are an engineer. Your curiosity and refusal to stay passive prove it every single day. Keep breaking those walls!
That is so meaningful! Thank you for your perspective. I often think about all the things I want to build and learn about while I am at work. I can relate to that!
Engineering as a mindset: understanding rules, dependencies, execution, pressure, state, and verification — then actually building and testing around them.
I think curiosity is only the beginning. The engineering part starts when curiosity becomes disciplined construction and verification.
So maybe the better question isn't “What makes someone an engineer?” but “What behavior earns the word engineer?” 🤔
Yes I like that framing very much!