There are places that are ok, but engineering as whole is a shaky field to be in. Most HR managers would rather pay peanuts to five engineers in India than pay for one American.
Afraid I have to agree with you - engineering is not a respected profession in the US. It is a tough grind all the way through to earn a Bachelor’s. What’s taught doesn’t prepare you for the ‘real world’ - if you don’t keep renewing your knowledge base - after 4-5 years - you get dumped for a cheaper graduate just entering the work force. If you want to stay employed, you need to position yourself so you are a direct influence on the company revenue stream. Anyplace else, and you’re overhead and a target when someone cheaper comes along. And, being in IT isn’t going to save anyone - why do you think every vendor is concentrating on ‘process automation’? No one’s sales or marketing literature will say so - but the idea is to get rid of as much dependency on ‘talent’ as possible. Not all of the jobs are going away, but there are far more lucrative and secure professions.
That is what GE is pushing.