> Is there any path for software engineers to reach this level of accountability and norms of good practice?
Yes, time. Civil engineering has thousands of years of history. Software engineering is much newer, the foundations of our craft are still in flux. There have been, at least in my country, legislative proposals for licensure of system analysts, electronic computer programmers, data processing machine operators, and typists(!) since the late 1970s; these laws, if approved, would have set back the progress of software development in my country for several decades (for instance, one proposal would make "manipulation and operation of electronic processing devices or machines, including terminals (digital or visual)" exclusive to those licensed as "data processing machine operator").
Sounds to me like it just would've made a lot of money for whatever entities give out the licenses.
On the other hand, I've read speculation on here that some countries are short on entrepreneurs entirely due to the difficulty of incorporating a small business, so maybe.
Yes, time. Civil engineering has thousands of years of history. Software engineering is much newer, the foundations of our craft are still in flux. There have been, at least in my country, legislative proposals for licensure of system analysts, electronic computer programmers, data processing machine operators, and typists(!) since the late 1970s; these laws, if approved, would have set back the progress of software development in my country for several decades (for instance, one proposal would make "manipulation and operation of electronic processing devices or machines, including terminals (digital or visual)" exclusive to those licensed as "data processing machine operator").