IMO, if you want to write code for anything mission critical you should need some kind of state certification, especially when you are writing code for stuff that is used by govt., hospitals, finance etc.
Not certification, licensure. That can and will be taken away if you violate the code of ethics. Which in this case means the code of conduct dictated to you by your industry instead of whatever you find ethical.
Like a license to be a doctor, lawyer, or civil engineer.
There’s - perhaps rightfully, but certainly predictably - a lot of software engineers in this thread moaning about how evil management makes poor engineers cut corners. Great, licensure addresses that. You don’t cut corners if doing so and getting caught means you never get to work in your field again. Any threat management can bring to the table is not as bad as that. And management is far less likely to even try if they can’t just replace you with a less scrupulous engineer (and there are many, many unscrupulous engineers) because there aren’t any because they’re all subject to the same code of ethics. Licensure gives engineers leverage.
