What makes you think certifications can’t be gamed? Brain dumps have been a thing since at least 2008 and just like you can have a dozen AWS certifications, it tells you nothing about whether they could actually be productive in the real world.
I'm just pointing out that certifications don't have to be meaningless. If somebody wants to use the title "Software Engineer", then perhaps we should require them to be actual professional licensed engineers.
Have you ever done any of the various IT certs?