The problem with “math, science and engineering” is that they are hard. It’s really a catch 22. The smart thing to do is to go into engineering. But you have to be smart to be an engineer.
Engineering is now considered a "dead end" job and it probably is. In case you haven't noticed our "smoke stack" industries have quietly slipped away and have been replaced by "service" industries which do not demand a rigorous technical education. What is left of our manufacturing base employes H-1B visa holders to reign in costs. We export logs and import plywood for crying out loud. The global/multi-national economy has neutered our domestic economy as money and jobs flow off shore.
During WWII we fought a two front conflict and won largely by out producing our enemies. We built more ships, tanks, trucks, and planes then the rest of the world combined. We were launching "Liberty" & "Victory" ships to carry all the material to battle at the rate of ONE SHIP PER DAY. Today we'd have to scramble to come up with the domestic steel to build a ship. Everything including the engineering is now outsourced. Software is written in India, integrated circuits are produced on the Pacific rim. If we had to fight WWII today we'd be so screwed it isn't funny.
</Rant>
Gandalf
PS I have two engineering degrees, was downsized (a multi-national bought our little $90 million business and ran it into the ground.) at 53 and could not find a job in industry. Things don't look any better now.
Yup, fortunately they sure do. Daughter just finished at Cal Poly last June, structural engineering, had a job 2 weeks later only 4 miles from her home with an engineering firm that she loves. In the Bay Area of California, no less.