The #1 defining trait of a profession is that there are ethical obligations that supersede managerial authority. You don't have the "I was following orders" exc

The #1 defining trait of a profession is that there are ethical obligations that supersede managerial authority. You don't have the "I was following orders" excuse if you do something wrong or unethical. You answer to the profession, not a manager. At least, that's the theory. In practice, there's a lot of variation. Law is technically a profession, but "white-shoe" law (aka biglaw) is pretty horrid, culturally speaking. This is a benefit, in the sense that the profession goes out of its way to prevent you from being beholden to a single boss, but a drawback in the sense that if you do screw up in a bad way (or get unlucky) you can find yourself in a really bad situation when you lose your license. I don't know how well that can be applied to technology where there are so many moving parts that 100% bug-free software is impossible.