For decades, software engineers have been categorized as white-collar workers due to their office-based, knowledge-focused work requiring advanced education. However, Peter Bryant argues that this classification may be fundamentally mistaken, contending that software developers are actually engaged in the same core activity as traditional skilled tradespeople: making and fixing things, with the difference lying only in the medium—software engineers work with bits rather than atoms.
Bryant supports this view by emphasizing that proficiency in software development comes not just from formal education but from years of deliberate practice, much like electricians or carpenters who must apprentice and build countless projects to hone their skills. He notes that mastery does not necessarily require a degree, but it certainly takes sustained hands-on experience to become skilled and sought-after in the field.
He suggests that viewing software development as a skilled trade could help developers navigate the current AI identity crisis, pointing out that blue-collar workers have historically embraced technological change—carpenters adopting power tools, seamstresses using sewing machines, and accountants leveraging spreadsheets—by learning to use new tools to enhance their craft rather than lamenting them as threats to professional identity.