[rasblue]

I do not plan on being an engineer for another 30 years. No one stays in the same field their whole lives anymore. But what engineering does is open doors for you. Loan Officers love engineers. Franchise owners love engineers. Most mortgage companies will give you better rates and/or higher limits if you are an engineer because statistically they are great credit risks.

I do not know what area you live in but engineering is a very geocentric field. You have to be where the action is. Chem Engineers do well in Houston.
BTW, the negative stereotype for engineers is mostly an American/British thing. Even in Canada engineers is much more respected than in the US. Relative salaries in Canada for engineers vs. business majors is much higher for engineers. Management opportunities for engineers is better in Canada than for business people. Problem there of course is that overall salaries are very low compared to the US hence the migration to the US.

The "problem" isn't that the US underpays its engineers, it that lawyers, doctors, and brokers make so much more money in the US than anywhere else in the world.

[indthkr]

"BTW, the negative stereotype for engineers is mostly an American/British thing.....

The "problem" isn't that the US underpays its engineers, it that lawyers, doctors, and brokers make so much more money in the US than anywhere else in the world."

Good points. One might conclude that if the U.S. is lucky, in the long run it will end up like the U.K. vis a vis the rest of the world. That may be OK, but the U.S. will almost certainly not be the dominant superpower (economic/technological) any longer. It's pretty hard for one country to support 70% of the world's supply of lawyers for very long.