[aikah]

The issue is, it depends on the country. It might be regulated in Canada (and in my country, France, a developer can't call himself engineer unless he has the diploma) , but in some countries engineer is not a title, it's related to the task the worker needs to do. In most western countries, the title of doctor is regulated, that's just not always the case for the engineer title. The "technician" title is also a regulated in France. Is that the case in Canada? maybe, maybe not. My point is it may piss you off but your degree might be "meaningless" abroad since a self taught developer can call himself and apply for an engineering job.

[tjl]

True, but it's regulated in many western countries. I think it's regulated in the UK, much of the US (including I think California where many of these companies are), Canada, and apparently France.

A self-taught developer might apply for a software engineering job, but they won't be able to apply for a mechanical or electrical engineering job. My degree isn't meaningless. It's just annoying because people refer to hiring engineers when they're looking for "software engineers". I have training over and above simple technical skills that a developer wouldn't normally have (e.g., ethics and law).