kartelite wrote:
There seems to be a patent disregard for facts here - 4runner asserted that non-Americans cannot work as lawyers/accountants in the US, which is completely untrue. My ex-girlfriend's dad is not only a practicing CPA but a professor of accounting at a large university, and he's not American.
Let's be unambiguous about this, shall we?
Unless he's a hood, your ex-girfriend's dad is licensed in the state where he is a practicing accountant.
All MD's who are legally practicing medicine in America are licensed to practice medicine in their state.
All lawyers who are legally practicing law in America are licensed to practice law in their state.
These are classic restraints on trade. US CPA's, lawyers, and MD's are not competing with a global talent pool. Heck-- California CPA's, lawyers, and (to some extent) MD's aren't even competing with Nevada CPA's, lawyers, and MD's.
Contrast this with the sciences and engineering where an undergraduate degree from anywhere in the world is all that is necessary to practice most types of science and engineering. All that really mattters is talent. The sciences and engineering are the first globally competitive profession.
As an aside-- yes, I know that there are such things as professional engineers in fields like civil and fire protection engineering. However, they are a small subset of the total engineer population. Moreover, I suspect that if you look at, e.g., the difference in salaries between civil engineers who are a PE and civil engineers with similar experience who aren't, you'll find that those with a PE degree are paid more. Once again-- a restraint in trade keeping an artificial scarcity and driving up prices.