Doctors and Lawyers are like this. Maybe something like CPA where you can be an accountant or a certified accountant which you need for something important.

CPA is a great example. I'm a half decent accountant, and it should be legal for me to claim that when applying for a position. But it would be fraud to claim I'm a CPA.

what you are describing exists and is called a Professional Engineer in the US

https://www.nspe.org/about/about-professional-engineering/wh...

Now how do we engineer society to treat “unlicensed software engineer” with the same scorn as “unlicensed physician”?

Sorry but in Canada using the word Engineer near your name also means you take legal responsibility personnaly for your professional acts. We are assermented when we earn the title of Junior Engineer after 4 years of university. Then after a period of a few years in the workplace you can have a sponsor Engineer vouch for you. You pass yet another exam and only then you become an Engineer.

This is not true for most so-called Engineers in the US. Anyone can declare themselves an engineer with no exam, no sponsor, no assermentation and no real legal ties to their shoddy work.

>> This is not true for most so-called Engineers in the US. >> Anyone can declare themselves an engineer with no exam, >> no sponsor, no assermentation and no real legal ties >> to their shoddy work.

I don't think that's correct. While there are exemptions, each state requires anyone offering engineering services to the public to be licensed.

https://educatingengineers.com/blog/pe-license-requirements-...

Sure, the term "Professional Engineer" is protected, but not "Engineer" by itself.

> authoritarian, unnecessary, rent seeking corruption.

Or maybe it's a public service, which reduces instances of fraudulent behavior, and provides cleaner signal in the market of ideas.

Lord knows we have enough examples of unethical conduct among software engineers.

Professional engineers would not have pushed Web3 or the worst abuses of social media.

How interesting, most people would hesitate to get on a bridge built by a non credentialed civil engineer or have a heart operation by a non certified doctor or get on a 777 with a non credentialed pilot. It’s almost the title the credential the certification signals something about capability