People are artificially prevented from entering these professions in the United States. A person who spends several years in a library learning about the interpretation and application of the law, and who would be capable of passing a bar exam, is not allowed to take the exam. In all but 2 states, to gain the privilege of taking the exam, he or she must first pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to a law school. In the remaining 2 states, if he or she is old enough (23 or 25, if I recall correctly), it would suffice to instead work for a judge for a couple years.

This keeps the supply of professionals low and allows the organizations that sell proffesion-practicing certifications to collect a rent. It's a good scam, and I would prefer to be on the other side of it. As I probably won't be able to achieve this, my close second preference would be for the scam to not exist.