There are so various areas and people involved with software that “software development” phrase alone doesn’t give you enough perception about what the real job is. I proclaim that there are stereotypes in this field: code monkeys, every job developers, developers specialized in an area, revolutionary brains, problem solvers etc. They all share some characteristics, some behaviours, some little common knowledge. The mutual attribute is only the names. We all know that they can code. But they implement coding behaviour entirely in different ways.

I started to code with a fundamental function to find roots of a 2nd order equation and easily understood how programming can reduce the amount of time I’m spending on trivial calculations. The Internet was becoming widely available (at least in the community I was living). There was a technology boom, the access rate to the “new” were increasing wildly. I decided to learn as far as I can and in the end I became a giant language and framework addict, although I had no deep knowledge in anything. But it was driving me because, the particular technology I was interested in was helping me to turn my fancy ideas into concrete products. So, not for doing all for learning the technology’s itself doesn’t make me a software developer now? How dramatic.

Being a software developer with no purpose

It’d really taken me far too long to get aware of the ecosystem of a software-dominated system without formal education. However, before  I had reasons to learn, I had never dreamt of being a professional software developer – cause all alone it was meaningless, especially in a situation when software you’re bringing out doesn’t have any purpose other than making profit. Nobody does have dreams like being the greatest developer in this or that field. People like me usually tend to be remembered with

1. a groundbreaking product, a method changes the concepts, a more efficient way of doing things.
2. being a leader in a specific area to influence other people.

They put meaning into every single duty they are working. I personally don’t look programming jobs as jobs. It’s a great opportunity to access a company’s tools and existing audience to make differences quicker than forming a new start-up, gain respect and deal with financial stuff. But again with purpose, you always have the “If you’re not hiring me, I’ll be doing the same on my own” advantage under the belt obviously.

Software is just a tool, not the ultimate reason. Many people in industry don’t seem to understand it. Of course, the better and deeper you know about the technology, the impact you can make will be larger. Development alone is a very wide and challenging issue, that’s why it is titled as a separate profession nowadays. But instead of thinking totally machine oriented, you have to have a main goal and use tech to fasten it.

I’d love to see specialized development titles instead of everyday titles we face today like: software engineer, software developer, software development engineer and etc. Biotech/Bioinformatics is a great example alone for separating itself from the mainstream tech community. Take  a look at the following job posting:

X is searching for an experienced Software Developer to support the Production Genomics Facility in Y. The mission of the X is applying genomic science to the critical fields of bioenergy, bioremediation and carbon cycle management. The X applies both the latest high-volume sequencing technology and classic Sanger processes to sequence and analyze thousands of large and small genomes…

Skills Required
- Create, manage, and query MySQL databases.
- Develop and utilize Perl classes, modules, and scripts for managing data and performing analyses; and Perl/CGI web pages for providing user access.

Why don’t we see similar ads from most of the software/hardware companies today? Give me a reason to get excited of what you are doing now, so that I can check the if I meet with your qualifications.

Consequently, software development title is artificial, it is not concrete. You basically don’t have a clue about what you’re going to do inside while you are applying. I wish companies were a little bit specific on titles and descriptions. Yes, I am agree with you that this basically applies to many industries. But, software is a supporting tool in many industries alone. So, it is a special case, it’s far more problematic.