[furyg3]

I like the idea that what makes someone a 'professional' instead of just an employee is the wherewithal, agency, and expectation to say no to a particular task or assignment.

An architect or engineer is expected to signal and object to an unsafe design, and is expected by their profession (peers, clients, future employers) to refuse said work even if it costs them their job. This applies even to professions without a formalized license board.

If you don't have the guts and ability to act ethically (and your field will let you get away with it), you're just a code monkey and not a professional software developer.

[nosianu]

Maybe when the government and the shareholders start setting an example and hold the bosses and capital owners accountable, and reward instead of punish the whistleblowers, and when their are enough jobs so that losing the one you have is not a problem, moral behavior further down the hierarchy will improve.