[gravypod]

Electricians are a service job which usually have references and reviews and a government body which is indirectly required to monitor their performance by collecting complaints.

Doctors are also a service job with references but they also have a surgical record for various surgeries and a board they answer to which can revoke their ability to practice medicine.

Many mechanical engineers will have something they can show from a previous employer because for ME the field is about improving processes/machines, not the machines that are produced. Others also have CAD that they do on their free time. With 3d printers becoming more accessible I have seen some ME students/grads do some cool stuff on the side.

Chemists, that is the only one I don't know anyone in the field and a field which is not very regulated.

[menaerus]

I do not follow. None of those you mentioned are personal hobby projects, they're the same kind of references you can ask software engineer for. I'm regularly asked to provide at least 2-3 contact points from my previous jobs but that's largely insufficient to get the offer and is most usually done only at the end of the hiring process (meaning that it probably does not pose a big factor).

So, what's the deal? Why have we ingrained serious doubts when it comes to software engineering skills? Why a 10+ year experienced SE must go through a process of "proving" the skills through 5-6 interviewing rounds while a 10+ year experienced doctor doesn't?

I don't think this correlates to job regulations as some seem to be suggesting here but I also don't have a better answer myself. It's intriguing to me overall.