I have a confession - one of my offspring is a lawyer. To be a member of the profession and practice as a solicitor she must be a member of the Law Society and also hold a current Legal Practice Certificate - a form of licence. Thus, when one engages a solicitor, one is assured that, as well as the necessary experience and training, the solicitor is also subject to controlled ethical standards. There is a similar situation for Medical Practitioners, Architects and other Professionals. The main difference between these professions and the engineering profession is that they provide a personal service directly to a particular client.
As a Professional Engineer (IEng MRAeS MIEE) I'm technically qualified, subjected to peer review and submit to a code of conduct through my institutes, but membership is not mandatory. Ghengis really asks whether it should be compulsory for practicing Professional Engineers to be members of a relevent society. I do think that this should be the case, but first we must get our house in order and amalgamate the whole profession under a single Engineering Institute, with seperate divisions for each specialisation. Only then will our profession be in a position to enjoy public recognition and be granted the right to issue licences to practice. The Engineering Council is an attempt to produce a unified engineering profession, but by and large, it hasn't been too successful so far.
**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema