[onewhippedpuppy]

Agreed on replacing engineers with techs, it's sad but true. A company I contracted for until recently loved to do this, except they used VoTech school drafting grads. Nothing against VoTech, they were all good AutoCAD drivers. But as soon as drawing transitioned to design, they got scary. Pretty bad when simple concepts like moments and stress are met with a blank stare.

People have commented on the lack of opportunity for young people in engineering, and this confuses me. Many of my fellow AE students had multiple out of state job offers. I could have easily gone to work for any of the 5 aircraft companies in Wichita, or one of the many smaller subcontractors. I'm happy where I'm at, so I didn't pursue it, but there is a LOT of opportunity out there. While engineering doesn't pay at doctor levels, it's just about the most you can make with a BS straight out of college. Furthermore, engineering is projected to have above average demand for the next 15 years according to Dept of Labor projections.