<p>I think at this point in the discussion it's important to start distinguishing what type of engineering you mean. ChemE is completely different from MechE etc. In each engineering discipline there is the mature phase of work and the innovative phase of work. The mature phase of work will be performed by the low cost center that has the appropriate skills. Telecommunications and financial infrastructure now makes that inevitable. Where capital costs are a large part of the work, i.e. ChemE, there may be less shift of labor as low cost labor centers are frequently high cost of capital places, although that is changing i.e. China's policy.</p>
<p>But the innovation phase requires highly educated people usually. And highly educated people are mobile. So far, they like to come to the US, and especially to nice places like Austin or Boston or Silicon Valley. Biotech and advanced software systems still innovate primarily in the US. </p>
<p>However, and this is a big however, the shift of manufacturing to Asia will have a huge impact on the location of innovation. Because innovation requires not only the educated work force but a set of customers. And if the customers, i.e. the manufacturers and the consumers of consumer devices, are in Asia, our hold on the innovative engineering for these products will wane.</p>
<p>I work for a company based in China with software engineers coding as we speak. Kids here should still become engineers, if they are good at it. It's like any other profession. The average lawyer doesn't make a lot of money. The good ones make scads. There is no such thing as an average management consultant, they fire them. The average engineer will be average. The really good one still has a great chance to make it big. May have to travel to Asia some:), but can still make it big. </p>
<p>I think the problem is just that engineering education is harder. It's harder to major in engineering than in English or Economics. More homework. So in the US you have to love it. In Asia, it is seen as the biggest opportunity for students, so kids who don't love it but are very bright do it anyway and they get a bigger pool.</p>
<p>IMO.</p>