For software engineers? None at all right now. Theoretically, we could get to a point where working on certain safety-critical systems (think self-driving cars, regular vehicle firmware, medical equipment, etc) required that a software PE sign off on all of the work, in the same way that a civil PE has to sign off on a bridge design before it's built.

The NSPE used to have a software engineering PE, but my understanding is that they dropped it for lack of interest. Until we see some legislation somewhere that mandates the kind of sign-offs mentioned above, I don't think we're going to see PE's in the software world.

In CA you can be a professional engineer which gives you the power to sign off on a bridge design or other similarly high-stakes projects. There's designations for all kinds of engineers (Civil, Mech, Electrical, etc).

You get a nice little salary bump or something usually, but you also get the risk associated with the bridge falling down. You sign off on the design and can be liable for negligence and malpractice.

You have to take a little test when you graduate college, then work under another professional engineer for 5 years, then take another test.

CA basically has no professional software engineering license yet.

Quite I looked at going down the CENG route when I worked at BT via the BCS.

1 they kept changing the requirements 2 what are the benefits

ironically as I started on the mech Engineering route I am more an "Engineer" than many other developers

Thanks for the answer, but I'm afraid I didn't understand anything of what you said.

A CENG is a Charted Engineer like a PE in Canada, the BCS is the British Computer society which works with the IEEE on the certification part.

The other part was at my first Job I was on the Vocation track in mech eng and got to the first rung on the Certification track. "technician engineer" I think it was called

Thanks for the clarification!

Good question. For doctors (in my country at least) it amounts to a government-enforced monopoly that keeps rates high.

It would probably cause the low end of pay to go up for software engineers, but not affect the high end.