The weird thing is that 13% seems high. It is hard to imagine they are less than 13% more efficient with those tools.
It is weird that software engineers are the only engineer-types that are supposed to be able to do their job with just a computer and a built-in editor.
> It is weird that software engineers are the only engineer-types that are supposed to be able to do their job with just a computer and a built-in editor.
Not really. We aren't actually engineers. Someone appropriated the title and misused it, and now there's no putting that genie back in the bottle.
Engineering is expensive, and most software developers rightly default to a pragmatic craftsman's attitude. Build something people can use and iterate on it based on feedback.
When there aren't lives at stake, it's usually the right call.
Software development is the only field I can think of where the making of the tools of the trade is wholly encapsulated by the field itself. Maybe blacksmithing. In such an environment, it makes sense. We make our own tools, and for the most part the most powerful of those tools end up being given away for free. To other people who both use the tools, and have the capacity to improve them. Who then give them away for free.
It is not a coincidence that software development tooling is one of the only fields that has has been thoroughly eaten by open source. It's because the user-developer circle is complete. A mechanical engineer probably doesn't have the skillset to improve the CAD program they're running. A software developer probably has the skillset to improve VIM.
It is weird that software engineers are the only engineer-types that are supposed to be able to do their job with just a computer and a built-in editor.