[NoPicklez]

I think the first part of your post is mostly true of most people who go to University.

But it's similar to IT, there are many IT and engineering jobs that pay well, but some of us simply don't get up in them for whatever reason. You could be a mining engineer working in the mines and get paid a staggering amount and not working any overtime.

[cosmodisk]

I think the problem is not just the quality of jobs, but the number too. Even in advanced economies like Germany, where they make tons of stuff, the need for mechanical engineering isn't nowhere as high as it is for software developers. You get a small number of really talented people and other just do CAD or some assembly line stuff.