My perception on the issue, as a student in the 90's, was that engineering is a dead end.  You'll be overworked and underpaid by the know-nothing MBA's who "lead" your companies, and then fired at the drop of a hat - particularly if you've been there long enough to accumulate any seniority.

The advent of downsizing and mass layoffs in the wake of defense contraction was one of the main causes for this, I think.

As a complete incompetent with tools with, at best, indifferent math skills, it was never a real option for me, but neither was it for my various other friends who were far more talented in such things.  A few of them ended up in IT, the big new field of the time, but most did other things.