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My limited experience is that most USA students with MS Engineering from good schools have learned a lot of what is needed to work

not all of course

the party animals seem to concentrate in the liberal arts...
its damn hard to be a party animal when you got 100 pages of highly technical/mathematical homework to do each week, ha!
but yes, there are some MSE grads I wouldn’t hire, indeed have not hired.
I have knowledge of number 1 or 2 graduates of best engineering school(s) in USA...not even being able to get interviwed by local major engineering corporations that ARE hiring (but mostly from overseas)

and if you go out to SillyCon Valley (Palo Alto region) you will see half or more foreign workers in many of the firms there

even though they are right next door (some are right on the property of) major leading school of engineering

so... there IS a serious reason why many USA students decide against serious STEM studies..... when all is said and done, why knock yourself out for 5 or 6 or 7 years with the hardest study programs on campus.... only to wind up begging for some sort of sales agent or paper-pushing job (IF you can get one, even that can be difficult in Obama’s Great Depression)

but at any event, if you get a job it likely won’t use your training much... and will pay low too.....so you could have been a campus party animal taking sociology and ethinic studies!!!!!!!!!

so why not do that from the git-go, and save yourself 6 years maybe of strenuous STEM studies?

...so why not do that from the git-go, and save yourself 6 years maybe of strenuous STEM studies...

You should do what makes you happy. STEM is a lot more interesting than that other crap. I'd "do it" just for the pleasure of learning it.

Then I'd go setup my own company, hire the sons-of-bitches HR people from those nasty firms, and then fire them after a few months.

I have worked in industry for 43 years, starting in 1972. Naturally, I have been an employee of numerous companies during that time. In all cases, I NEVER did the things I preferred to do, used the skills that I had eagerly developed, or had much influenced on design while a mere company employee. On the other hand, I went through several periods where I performed contract engineering for companies with which I had groomed working relationships. Under those circumstances, work was exactly what I wanted and my financial rewards were the highest. In that mode, feast-than-famine is typical. I enjoyed those experiences more than regular employment.

I am retired now; however, I still have four clients that keep me pretty busy doing exactly what I want to do. As a side interest and a second career, I will begin teaching my trade in high school in two weeks. (High school!! I cultivated that job within the school system.) The pay is not good, so I will hang onto my clients.

I am an embedded software engineer who can also design and fabricate uP boards, make enclosures in my shop, document the technical details, and even compile user's manuals. If you really want to work in STEM, you can. You just have to find your work without having to go through dysfunctional HR departments. The best of times comes from being self employed. Using the Internet as a tool, it isn't very difficult to find clients. As a solo engineer, it is easy to beat the price of engineering firms. Just deliver real bang for the buck and stay square with the IRS.

A short time in the military never hurts. That is how I got my first job with a NASA contractor in Huntsville.