Do you think so? I am not familiar with doctor's state of things, but do they have to prepare for 10 years for each interview during their career, or just once in a lifetime to get into a profession? Are they tested on irrelevant stuff to their job's duties every time they change the job? I am genuinely interested. I see that the current state of job search/acquiring in software industry is inadequate both for employers and candidates. Both sides can tell you horror stories in that regard. And I cannot say nobody tried to innovate here. They definitely did - certification efforts, recruiter's tests, not to mention each company has it's own "system". Nevertheless, what I see here is that you are almost always tested for irrelevant stuff, stuff you can completely get out of your head the moment you are hired. Until the moment you have to find a new job. Something's wrong here.