But don't use it as an excuse to look down on people in different fields.
Oh, I don't look down on "pure" developers (as opposed to XWP) at all. I just think that it's hard to establish a reliable stream of good work on engineering cred alone, because the people who make decisions in most businesses can't tell the real deal from the charlatans in software engineering. The X is the "hook" that gets you enough clout to ensure you get interesting work and continue to get better as an engineer.
Oh, I don't look down on "pure" developers (as opposed to XWP) at all. I just think that it's hard to establish a reliable stream of good work on engineering cred alone, because the people who make decisions in most businesses can't tell the real deal from the charlatans in software engineering. The X is the "hook" that gets you enough clout to ensure you get interesting work and continue to get better as an engineer.