Definitions (Score 1)

I'm afraid I have to wonder about how we're defining a "programmer." Are we saying that a "programmer" is one who programs between 1 and n languages or a computer scientist? Given the first definition, one might call a programming a "dead end." After all, it's simply hacking away at the same skill set day after day, much like a mechanic or a plumber. However, computer scientists are programmers only in the sense that programming is one of the means by which they convey ideas and construct tools. As was mentioned in an earlier comment, the applications of computation are increasing by the day (e.g. computational biology). Thus, it seems to me, that if we set the definition, the "dead-ended-ness" of the career will become obvious. The analogy then, I suppose is, mechanics work with cars, scientists and engineers create cars. If you consider either one a "dead end," fine, but there's no good answer to a query with poorly defined parameters.