Oh man, I have gone off on rants about software "engineering" here in the past.
My first office job was as an AutoCAD/network admin at a large Civil and Structural engineering firm. I saw how seriously real engineering is taken.
When I brought up your argument to my FAANG employed sibling, he said "well, what would it take to be a real software engineer in your mind!??"
My response was, and always will be: "When there is a path to a software Professional Engineer stamp, with the engineer's name on it, which carries legal liability for gross negligence, then I will call them Software Engineers."
My first office job was as an AutoCAD/network admin at a large Civil and Structural engineering firm. I saw how seriously real engineering is taken.
When I brought up your argument to my FAANG employed sibling, he said "well, what would it take to be a real software engineer in your mind!??"
My response was, and always will be: "When there is a path to a software Professional Engineer stamp, with the engineer's name on it, which carries legal liability for gross negligence, then I will call them Software Engineers."