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> People protecting titles by putting an arbitrary barrier associated with possessing a piece of paper rather than actually having skill and knowledge should be

> People protecting titles by putting an arbitrary barrier associated with possessing a piece of paper rather than actually having skill and knowledge should be treated with scorn in my opinion. Would you say the same about a medical degree ? How do you judge skill and knowledge in medicine without a professional association ?

AnotherGoodName 2y ago
Medicine has a lot of issues around this honestly. Obviously you don't want someone unqualified practicing but the flip side is that around the world various countries have been setting various types of quotas on who can become a doctor with serious negative effects to society (long wait times for medical care, expensive care, etc.). A system where qualifications and experience are well documented but without the quotas controlled by vested interests would be much more preferable. Software engineering is lucky not to have the shackles that medicine had here. The door is more open. We still require people to prove their capabilities but we don’t allow organisations such as engineering or medical associations to add limits.
- seanhunter 2y ago
  Medicine is even more weird with titles. At least in the UK if you get qualified people call you “Doctor” unless you’re a surgeon in which case you are called “Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss/etc” unless you are a professor which some consultants are in which case it’s “professor”. But if you work in medicine and call a consultant surgeon “Dr <whatever>” they will actually correct you. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/international-doctors/life-and-work-in-the-uk/toolkit-for-doctors-new-to-the-uk/doctors-titles-explained https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/international-doct...
hombre_fatal 2y ago
Yes, the medical field has its share of bureaucracy that mainly serves as job gatekeeping. Just consider the cases where a small lateral move in the medical field means you have to go back to school to recredentialize in the thing you've already been doing. It's very HN and self-aggrandizing to act like the software 99.9% of us are writing is so important that it needs gatekeep credentials. And the important software that does exist already needs its own processes for quality and safety, not depend on software engineers having some feelgood credentials. If its status you want, then just get a higher status tech job.

AnotherGoodName 2y ago

Medicine has a lot of issues around this honestly. Obviously you don't want someone unqualified practicing but the flip side is that around the world various countries have been setting various types of quotas on who can become a doctor with serious negative effects to society (long wait times for medical care, expensive care, etc.). A system where qualifications and experience are well documented but without the quotas controlled by vested interests would be much more preferable. Software engineering is lucky not to have the shackles that medicine had here. The door is more open. We still require people to prove their capabilities but we don’t allow organisations such as engineering or medical associations to add limits.

seanhunter 2y ago
Medicine is even more weird with titles. At least in the UK if you get qualified people call you “Doctor” unless you’re a surgeon in which case you are called “Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss/etc” unless you are a professor which some consultants are in which case it’s “professor”. But if you work in medicine and call a consultant surgeon “Dr <whatever>” they will actually correct you. https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/international-doctors/life-and-work-in-the-uk/toolkit-for-doctors-new-to-the-uk/doctors-titles-explained https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/international-doct...

hombre_fatal 2y ago

Yes, the medical field has its share of bureaucracy that mainly serves as job gatekeeping. Just consider the cases where a small lateral move in the medical field means you have to go back to school to recredentialize in the thing you've already been doing. It's very HN and self-aggrandizing to act like the software 99.9% of us are writing is so important that it needs gatekeep credentials. And the important software that does exist already needs its own processes for quality and safety, not depend on software engineers having some feelgood credentials. If its status you want, then just get a higher status tech job.