[I’m a web developer. Not an engineer.](https://remysharp.com/2015/02/26/i-am-web-developer "Permanent Link: I’m a web developer. Not an engineer.")

"We" love titles. Personally, in the last 5 years, I’ve preferred the sound of being an engineer, or a JavaScript engineer. I actually quite like software designer. But let’s face it, it’s all fluff.

Actually, where titles aren’t fluff, is when you work in a larger company. Quite often titles relate directly to pay scales. I digress.

The engineer bit is a little less fluffy and does actually carry meaning.

Calling yourself an engineer, when you’re not actually qualified as an engineer is sort of a no-no. In fact, there’s some [regulation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer#Regulation) around the engineering titles - and certainly in the UK (according to the Wikipedia page), there’s been petitions to protect the title.

Ignoring the regulations, to me, engineers are smart, educated (ideally in a form of engineering…​) and specifically: solving complex computer engineering problems.

In a conversation (over twitter) I was having with [Trek Glowacki](https://twitter.com/trek), midway he replied with:

I wasn’t aware of any engineering goal, nor what [SRP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_responsibility_principle) stood for, nor did I really understand what the Wikipedia page was saying to me.

Honestly, I kind of feel out of my depth amongst engineers aka those people who \*really" took the time to study computer science and grok the shit out of it.

I don’t know why I thought it was uncool to be a "web developer". Perhaps because it’s utterly vague.

What "web developer" does mean to me though, is this:

Someone who writes code for browsers. Likely from the school of view source, is comfortable with drop-in libraries, understands standards and best practice techniques. But mostly, a tinkerer.


The picture above is an (infamous) screen grab from the [Web Platform](http://www.webplatform.org/) introduction [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug6XAw6hzaw). Of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. The creator of The Web.

I saw a lot of posts and tweets suggesting that this was a joke, or a disservice to his work, or that the title was utterly understated.

I’m not sure it was. There’s no doubt that this man is responsible for a lot more, but he is The Web Developer.

I’m proud to say that I work on that same web. Making it better (and sometimes, perhaps, a little worse).

I’ve personally learnt my web development skills over a long period of time and nearly entirely through trial and error. I suspect most of us have.

Being a web developer doesn’t have to mean you have to be a JavaScript wiz, or that you don’t touch the server side. By virtue of tinkering, it’s quite likely you’re getting better at all these things.

Coming to this realisation is by no means a slur against those people who call themselves engineers. If you do, it’s quite likely I already have a great deal of respect for your knowledge and understanding if I’ve come across your work already.

As for me, I’m proud to say: I am a web developer. I am a tinkerer.

Published 26-Feb 2015 under #web. [Edit this post](https://github.com/remy/remysharp.com/blob/main/public/blog/i-am-web-developer.md)

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writing service

0 points

7 years ago

It seems like a good thing that you have posted the type of your work that will going to help other people to know the difference between an engineer and a web developer. They might gain some significant type of idea on what kind of course are they going to take in college as well.


Francis Kim

0 points

8 years ago

a proud Web Developer here!


Raph

0 points

9 years ago

Here in Canada, it is also illegal to misrepresent oneself as an engineer.

I am proud to wear the title of "Web Developer".

It also makes a distinction toward the title of "programmer". I don’t simply program the website. I work on the UX, I work with the UI, I "hack" CMS to make them do what I want them to do, I do CSS wizardry. I am a Web Developer.


edc

0 points

9 years ago

Can’t believe such a well-known developer like you would say that :o:

I think what truly matters is the adjective before the noun.


rem

0 points

9 years ago

Well…​believe! Is that good or bad (for you)?


edc

0 points

9 years ago

Well could I say bad? Haha…​

But I think contributing to the open-source libraries will help me add up to the feeling of what "oh yeah I’m also important", since I’m solving some problems of people. Not complex enough? So what? People benefit from it.


Youssef

0 points

9 years ago

Do you work in a company or a freelancer? I want to know how to start out as a web developer?


Jerome Covington

0 points

9 years ago

Yeah! I am beginning to realize, I am not alone. [http://www.ethicaldeveloper…​;](http://www.ethicaldeveloper.com/article/why-its-good-be-developer)


Adam van den Hoven

0 points

9 years ago

I’ve gone, at various points in my career, by the title "HTML Dude" and "Web Monkey", the former being most useful in large mixed expertise teams. Designers and 'Geers still rarely speak the same language and the HTML Dude lives in that space between both.

And, no, I’m not that creative.


Alistair

0 points

9 years ago

As long as you keep learning I don’t think it matters what you call yourself. Just don’t reach a point where the next step might involve leaning design patterns or type theory and you avoid it because you are a just a 'tinkerer'.


rem

0 points

9 years ago

I misread your comment quite a few times, but I think I understand what you mean. And yes, I’d advocate developers to attend design events and try to learn some of the concepts. Being out of your comfort zone is something I think a lot of us should try to practise when we can.


bigblind1991

0 points

9 years ago

Boxes are useful for conveying ideas, absolutely. But (just to take this metaphor way further than I should), words are cardboard boxes in a q word where there are very few better containers, and ideas are fluid like water,

It’s therefore sometimes useful to transport a single idea in many boxes. There still might be some leaks, but we only have a limited number of wordboxes.


bigblind1991

0 points

9 years ago

Boxes suck, they limit you. Don’t put your self in a developer, engineer, or other title box. Show people what you can do. That means much more than your title.


rem

0 points

9 years ago

Of course, but when asked: "what do you do", developers often don’t have much to show, because their magic is behind the scenes. i.e. a really well developed site or even block of code, should be completely invisible to the end user.

Also, boxes are super useful to moving things from a to b. Like ideas and concepts :)


Poonde Q. Chode

0 points

9 years ago

I stick to software developer. Wether it’s for the web is irrelevant to me as it’s all software, web based or not.


Eric Woodward

0 points

9 years ago

I like to think of it as a charge: to develop the web. That is to say, visualize how you want the web to be, and make sure that the work you do "develops" the web towards that goal.

Based on this, I think you can say that Tim Berners-Lee is the definitive Web Developer.


Petri Voges

0 points

9 years ago

Hear hear!


Rob Earls

0 points

9 years ago

I’ve reached the point in my life where I don’t give a damn what I’m called, as long as I enjoy what I’m doing.

Currently a "Web Applications Officer" - No I don’t know what that means either…​.


billythekid

0 points

9 years ago

I reckon I’m changing my bio from simply "developer" to "web developer" now because yeah, I don’t really do anything else anymore and it’s pretty cool to share the same title as Tim! I don’t know why the web is often looked down upon within software development circles because it’s as valid a platform (and arguably further reaching than most) as any. Great little article!


Mario Kostelac

0 points

9 years ago

Good work, Remy!


Dave Green

0 points

9 years ago

Love this Remy. I think a lot of web developers will read this and feel a lot better about themselves. Absolutely spot on.

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