Between this and the software engineer vs developer article that was on the front page yesterday I really am starting to think if our industry needs to start taking some sort of industry wide recognized professional certificate into consideration. I know IEEE offers some but I've never met anyone who actually has one.

I love how egalitarian software development and engineering is but I think the root of the problem is I as a hiring manager don't trust you can do the things you say you can do. So I'm going to use a test/trail period/white-boarding session to find that out. While making it a little less open an industry wide certificate would at least certify a minimal skill set level for everyone.