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I scored top 0.05% on the ACT, and I have a 3.5 GPA as an ME major. The things you’re saying are every bit as true of foreign students in my experience, and some of the ones with money cheat like hell or expect their classmates to do all/most their work for them on the non-stop group projects we get assigned.

Scholarly merit is only a small part of the reason why there are virtually no US grad students in STEM disciplines, and why they aren’t being hired out of college.

The real problem in industry is not the technical managers, but rather the Human Resources departments. They like to think they are keeping up with all of the latest buzzwords, so they prescreen applicants based on trendy catch words about which they no absolutely nothing. They are also conditioned to "hire cheap" rather than by experience. They will actually turn down appropriate applicants because they don't have today's buzzwords on their resume or several years experience.

In my 43 year career I was NEVER selected by the HR department. I always had an insider that could pull me in over the wailing of the HR people. Taking an internship during college is fairly important.

The other problem with our industry is that they now outsource as much as possible. That hurt mechanical, electronic, and software engineers the most. Of course, those three disciplines are the core of the electronics industry. The hardest obstacle for me is locating new work or having an idea for a product. I can make most anything, but generally cannot conjure up products. I sought out marketing people and collaborated with them to make new products. That gets mixed results since many of them will find a way to dump you once the product catches hold. Always form a company to protect your interests.

Useless people seem to be able to stay in large companies, and even advance into management positions. People in smaller companies tend to be good since employers pretty much have to cull the dullards in order to survive. I had much better employment with small companies; however, you will be accused of job-hopping since small companies usually fold.

People like to bitch about the government efforts like NASA; however, the best atmosphere for engineers and scientists occur during times of war or during projects like Apollo.