[ryandrake]

University degrees provide (among other things): Job training, a broad, well-rounded education, and a piece of paper at the end that certifies you got both. You may have independently studied the arts long ago, just like you may already have been a math or programming wizard, but the university doesn't know this and cannot certify it in writing.

Reasonable people can argue whether or not universities -should- just be single-subject job training. But as it stands today, they aren't.

I agree with you though: If OP just wants training in a single discipline, there are tons of online engineering courses, many of them free. That's not what a university degree is for.