I’m in tech and “computer programmer” has always sounded to me like a grandma phrase. Like how all gaming consoles are referred to as “the Nintendo” or “the game station”.
My boss once referred to me as “code bastard”. I’m keeping it.
Code monkey
I hear the voice of the machine spirit!
Serious question, not a native speaker: Why do people in the Anglosphere refer to mostly-software companies as tech companies, or to software developers as tech workers?
Tech is short-hand for technology.
So, technology companies and technology workers.
Because even in those companies many of the ‘computer people’ are not software developers. Tech workers is a catch all term for most people at those companies.
But the term isn’t used for technology outside of software companies, for example, mechanical and electrical engineering