There is plenty on large scale enterprise projects, but than whole that stuff is looked down by "real developers".
Also in many countries, to one call themselves Software Engineer, they actually have to hold a proper degree, from a certified university or professional college, validated by the countrie's engineering order.
Because naturally 5 year (or 3 per country) degree in Software Engineering is the same a six weeks bootcamp.
CS is sort of unique in that regard. I value my university degree, but when I think about the classes that helped me the most, only one of them was a degree requirement. Not because the degree was useless, but because the information was accessible enough that I already knew most of the required content for an undergraduate degree when I got there.
I took lots of electives outside my major, and I know that I could have easily loved chemistry, mathematics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or any number of fields. But when you're 12 years old with a free period in the school computer lab, you can't download a chemistry set or an oscilloscope or parts for building your next design iteration. You can download a C compiler and a PDF of K&R's "The C Programming Language," though.
CS just had a huge head-start in capturing my interest compared to every other subject because the barrier to entry is so low.
> In the IT world it's entirely possibly to learn everything yourself and learn it better than one-fits-all course ever could.
Strong disagree. However, this is closer to truth:
In the IT world, if you have learned everything yourself, it's entirely possible to think you have learned it better than one-fits-all course ever could.
There is lots of theoretical knowledge that comes with the degree that, while mostly useless in day-to-day work, is priceless in those rare moments that it comes handy. A self-taught developer won't even know they are missing this knowledge. Example of this is knowing how compilers work (which is surprisingly useful) - without the theoretical background one might attempt to parse HTML with regex and expect correct results.
Not that all degrees are created equal. But those X years do give you an edge over self-taught developers. You still need to work on other skills too, of course.
Like in Portugal, and in many countries yes, usually having Software Engineer on legally bound contracts implies taking the final examination.
However, already by having been through the degree there is a whole set of skills that one would not have gotten otherwise.
Assuming that they actually did it the right way, and not getting through it with minimal effort.
> However, already by having been through the degree there is a whole set of skills that one would not have gotten otherwise.
Of course you would/could.
1) a degree doesn't imply you've built any specific skills or retained any information, just that you passed a set of exams. I've met a huge bunch of people from important universities that clearly studied just to pass exams with good degrees, but where absolutely crap problem solvers and even worse coders.
2) plenty of brilliant engineers did not graduate, from Leonardo Da Vinci to, just to stay in software John Carmack, Zuckerberg, Paul Allen, Romero, Wozniak (technically he did, 12 years after founding Apple), Karp, and many others.
What I'm trying to say: engineering skills are acquired by sheer will of studying and solving problems. And in 2025 you can follow pretty much any course/lecture from most top rated courses just watching your computer. A person doing so with interest will leapfrog anybody sitting there and going through the exam just because he has to.
Except most people that call themselves Engineers without a degree aren't Leonardo Da Vinci, or any of the others listed by you.
Exceptional individuals that made an impact to mankind, regardless of which kind.
There are schools for special developed kids with advanced cognitive skills for a reason.
Also there is a huge difference between being immersed in an engineering degree between 3 to 5 years almost every single day with compulsory assignments, depending on the country, and occasionally watch a couple of videos, or read one or two books.
This all without getting into the soft and ethical skills that engineering degrees also require.
I never finished my degree, but I believe I'm a very good developer (my employere agree). In my times most good programmers were self-taught.
I don't mind (hypothetically) not being allowed to call myself "engineer", but I do mind false dichotomy of "5 year course" vs "six week bootcamp". In the IT world it's entirely possibly to learn everything yourself and learn it better than one-fits-all course ever could.