[ThrowawayR2]

Lawyers and doctors require a extensive examination and continuing education requirements in order to get and keep their accreditation in their professional organizations. Developers, as a group, are unlikely to support such a professional organization because many of them got their expertise in non-traditional / unconventional ways and would fear being excluded.

[WorldMaker]

Which leads back to unions as the next best fit. If developers and the software industry don't want to deal with professional organizations and professional certifications then unions are the next best option for collective action.