Ask HN: Should there be a Bar/Actuarial/CPA/etc Exam equivalent for software?
If there should be what should it look like?
Actually, there are a bunch of testing / certificates https://www.computer.org/web/education/certifications
There has been a number of attempts at certification/testing over the decades. The main problem is companies want 'cheap' programmers and don't want to pay for vetted, qualified software engineers.
Low level library and performance related coding exams, for example, should have heavy emphasis on basic, practical data structures and algorithms and other CS topics. These should not be leetcode style trivia problems except inasmuch as there is some overlap with the basics.
Another might focus on things like systems engineering (e.g. requirements analysis, composition of software components, safety factors, etc.).