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From the article

In the government’s schema, programmers do the grunt work while the much more numerous — and much faster-growing — software developers enjoy a broader remit. They figure out what clients need, design solutions and work with folks such as programmers and hardware engineers to implement them.



At one time these were called System Analyst. Is that no longer a thing ?


That's still what it means at my company: tech-y stuff that doesn't involve programming. It usually involves more direct contact with clients, insulating the programmers from that. I'm not sure why it's called "system analyst," since they don't analyze systems.

The other programmers call themselves coders or developers. My official title might even be "developer." I tell people I'm a programmer because I'm 55.


Government statistics consider "system analyst" to be a third, different thing (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/...). "Computer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and design ways to improve efficiency."


Those might be called "software architect" now. At least, it's somewhat close.


It is, at least from the visual of different "coding" type jobs there is still a slide for System Analyst. I have no idea what most of the differences are.


Honestly I'm more confused as with that. Seems like 'bureaucrats who grew up without PCs try to explain job' more than anything.

To be fair other engineering disciplines do typically separate the engineers from the technicians in basically that ('design vs do') way.


IIUC, if I come to you and say I want a website that looks like this slide I drew that makes you a _programmer_. You're mechanically implementing somebody else's design.

If I come to you and say I want to sell these widgets on a website and you develop the website then that makes you a _developer_. You're mechanically implementing your own design.


> You're mechanically implementing somebody else's design.

Only if the customer also provides the backend design, specifications for all interaction etc etc though.

But that's just a bit of nitpicking.


> But that's just a bit of nitpicking.

The whole question is about nitpicking though.

If somebody comes to you with a picture of a desired webpage and list of http calls to make for each button on that picture then you're a programmer.

Similar to how if I come to you with say a paragraph in English and I want one in French that makes you a translator not an author.

Sure, not everybody who writes code has this narrow responsibility. The ones that do are programmers though in the eyes of BLS.


The last part sounds to me like some sort of weird combination of manager and product owner instead of anyone who touches the code.




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