I’m from Australia and there are no BA(Physics) here, only BS(Physics) and you can only call yourself an engineer if you have the right degree, approved by engineers Australia and/or IEEE. Having the title of engineer here is similar to the medical doctor title.
Edit: Though the tone of your response makes sense to me now that I think of it. My husband’s company recently hired a senior software engineer from the states and he’s turned out to be no better than the local engineering graduates despite having over 20 years experience.
I’m genuinely curious; which places have you travelled to outside of the US?