That's because the certificate is the value, not the knowledge itself. The knowledge is assumed. Without a certificate, the onus of verifying the required knowledge is now on the consumer or employer, and unsurprisingly neither of them want that, so of course knowledge combined with a respected certificate is worth more than just the knowledge itself.

Would you let an uncredentialled surgeon operate on you?

That's not possible because of regulation. For occupations that don't relate to other people's life or death situations, or security in general, it's reasonable to assume if someone has a skill, they should be able to use it professionally regardless of how they achieved it.

> if someone has a skill, they should be able to use it professionally

Sure, but why would you hire an unlicensed electrician, or surgeon, or car mechanic, or builder, or elevator mechanic, or really anything that matters?

The only areas where this point becomes moot are in areas where certifications already are not an issue, i.e. in jobs that almost anyone can do.

Because they are cheaper? I’ve hired unlicensed people to fell trees in my yard that weren’t really going to fall on the house etc.

Also, I’m fairly certain car mechanics are not licensed where I live. Sometimes licenses are just frivolous, especially in modern day society.

I wonder if those unlicensed people had liability insurance, and, if so, if the insurance companies charged more due to their lack of license?

>Sure, but why would you hire an unlicensed electrician, or surgeon, or car mechanic, or builder, or elevator mechanic, or really anything that matters?

You don't need a licensing system, you just need a reputation system. Like how bonds have a rating system; nobody's stopping you buying a junk bond, but the system makes it clear to you that it's a got a high probability of default.

Ok you can be the first person to receive open heart surgery from an uncredentialed surgeon.

if it was a matter of life and death, of course yes.

If it is not a matter of life and death, there's no possibility it will happen, because of regulations.

Anyway:

More than 250,000 people in the US die every year because of medical mistakes, making it the third-leading cause of death

10 percent of all U.S. deaths are now due to medical errors