[djhworld]

Software engineering isn't a profession, there's no standardised way of demonstrating to an employer that you have the requisite skills they want.

A CompSci degree/MSc/PhD is just a piece of paper that a lot of other people have.

Employment history is just a paragraph on your resume, that you could have embellished to make yourself look better.

This is why companies do these "Dr. House" style 4-6 hour, multi stage interviews, because they can't evaluate people in any other way.

[emodendroket]

I don't think the question of whether it is a profession really ties that well into the rest of what you have said.