By AutoCAD I mean some app that helps you to design architecture and components and then validate these against existing rules. Not a literal mechanics/blueprints AutoCAD, but ?-CAD for software development.
>But they are, I think, far better than what "we" do
They should be far better, but an engineer is not an abstract position. If all it needs to be an SWE is to know 3-book algorithms and some patterns (just my uneducated guess), then it is not engineering. See my other comment for details. Yes, a CS degree adds to ones competence, but it is like saying that physics degree allows you to build an elevator. It doesn’t, it will be just a nice science-grade dog house level elevator, because learning physics doesn’t make you know all standards that elevators require, legally and practically.
Maybe something like a UML or data-flow diagram could be similar? There are more formal specifications you can do, as part of 'formal methods', which I think might be closer to some engineering disciplines [0] - here's one from where I work.
I do think software engineering as a discipline exists. Looking at the definition written by the American Engineers' Council [1], there have definitely been teams I've worked on where we met this criteria. There are teams like the Lockheed shuttle group who average 1 bug per release that clearly embody this criteria too.
Also, my CS Masters is accredited as meeting the educational requirements for Chartered Engineer status (which I'm hoping to achieve once I finish) so it's clearly accepted by some in the engineering community!
>But they are, I think, far better than what "we" do
They should be far better, but an engineer is not an abstract position. If all it needs to be an SWE is to know 3-book algorithms and some patterns (just my uneducated guess), then it is not engineering. See my other comment for details. Yes, a CS degree adds to ones competence, but it is like saying that physics degree allows you to build an elevator. It doesn’t, it will be just a nice science-grade dog house level elevator, because learning physics doesn’t make you know all standards that elevators require, legally and practically.