Software Engineer vs Demanded Employee

Open a job board and look for "Senior [Whoever] Engineer" postings. You'll notice a pattern:

master the X framework

connect APIs

set up CI/CD with prebuilt tools

link a frontend to a backend

integrate payment system with a CRM

etc.

These tasks dominate the market. They're practical, they keep businesses moving, and they're in high demand.

🤔

But is this engineering?

At its core, engineering is about creating something new – solving complex problems, designing systems from the ground up, or building tools that others rely on. Think compilers, database engines, programming languages, or distributed systems. These are the foundations of our tech world, crafted by engineers who dive deep into algorithms, concurrency, or system architecture.

Creating a new (another one) product? Here is where AI shines, and… just let it work. AI will dominate product creation market. But the engineering market is another field. It's about the people, who creates AI.

Yet, these roles are nearly invisible in today's job market. The focus is on integration – combining existing tools for a quick delivery. The "Senior Demanded Employee" isn't designing new frameworks or protocols. They're the ones who know how to connect APIs, parse JSON, automate workflows with prebuilt solutions, or even… post on LinkedIn.

And the twist is: the tools the demanded employees use – the frameworks, databases, and languages – exist because of the engineers working behind the scenes. They're in open-source communities, research labs, or small infra teams at places like Google or the PostgreSQL Foundation. They build the engines, while others wire the dashboards.

This isn't about one role being better than another. Integration is critical – it's how businesses ship fast and stay competitive, and the reason why these tools ever exist. But it's worth noticing the shift. The market leans heavily toward those who can assemble existing pieces efficiently, not those creating the pieces themselves.

The market claims it wants engineers but offers "agile, fast-paced environments" and "interesting tasks" (whatever that means). "A consumer won't wait for your custom database, so integrate MySQL – oh, and make it abstract, because better tools might be engineered along" 🤦

So, what does "Engineer" mean today? Is it about technical depth or delivering with what's out there? Why use one word for such different processes?

Something to think about.