I've had many artists explain to me that they are in fact engineers - there is much calculation, chemistry, optics and then some - but I'd say that programmers are more like lawyers than engineers. Sorry, but it's symbolic work, not physical work. "Software Engineer" is just a title someone gives you and means no more than "Software Developer" or "Computer Programmer" ever did.
Of course lawyers and "real" engineers have to get professional certification that can be legally revoked; programmers and artists don't.
Of course lawyers and "real" engineers have to get professional certification that can be legally revoked; programmers and artists don't.
And the documentary Tim's Vermeer is pretty good.