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<p>I disagree with your notion that anyone can become an engineer without much effort. As spe07, epoch_dreams, and unggio83 said previous, it requires a certain mind set, hard work, a sharp mind, and DEDICATION to succeed in becoming an engineer. I dare say that engineering is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult majors at my undergrad school. My undergrad (ECE) was at a lesser known school, I am now a grad student at a top 10 engineering school. Back in my undergrad days, I seem to recall that only engineering students are routinely in a lab toiling away on saturday nights when everyone else is out partying. I rountinely spent 20-40 hrs a week studying outside of class (while holding a 25 hr/wk part time job to pay for rent). Only a small number of people, the ones that's truly dedicated, will put up with that kind of stress and sleep deprivation.</p>
<p>All somewhat respectable (read: marketable) engineering schools are ABET accredited, and follow a minimum standard in order to keep their accreditation. I don't consider non-accredited graduates to be very marketable, personally. Last I checked, attrition rate is very high amongst accredited engineering programs. At my undergrad school, attrition rate was 71% a couple of yrs back. You must realize that the kids that go into engineering freshman yr are all "good at math" and "good at physics". These are some of the brighest in their highschools. Yet, a large % fail to graduate with an engineering degree. This is not simply at my school, but everywhere. Case in point:</p>
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The national retention rate of engineering students is approximately 40 percent, according to Jeffrey Rankin, [Rutgers] assistant dean of engineering for first-year students. That means approximately 60 percent of the students who start engineering never finish.
Source: <a href="http://www.dailytargum.com/media/storage/paper168/news/2006/01/26/PageOne/Engineering.Dropout.Rate.Low.At.U-1505309.shtml?norewrite200606111544&sourcedomain=www.dailytargum.com%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D">http://www.dailytargum.com/media/storage/paper168/news/2006/01/26/PageOne/Engineering.Dropout.Rate.Low.At.U-1505309.shtml?norewrite200606111544&sourcedomain=www.dailytargum.com
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The SIA(Semiconductor Industry Association) noted that approximately 50 percent of all students majoring in electrical engineering drop out of their major before completing their studies. The attrition rate is even higher among minority students.
Source: <a href="http://www.sia-online.org/pre_release.cfm?ID=363%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D">http://www.sia-online.org/pre_release.cfm?ID=363
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Roughly fifty percent of the students who begin in engineering leave the field before receiving
their engineering degree. Typically half of this attrition occurs during the first year. Its causes
may vary widely from student to student (e.g. disinterest in the field of engineering, lack of
fundamental preparation, lack of confidence to succeed).
Source:<a href="http://www.engrng.pitt.edu/%7Eec2000/grant_papers/Shuman+ASEE-99.PDF%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D">http://www.engrng.pitt.edu/~ec2000/grant_papers/Shuman+ASEE-99.PDF
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A great deal of research has recently focused on improving engineering in the United States. Over 85,000 students enter engineering programs as freshmen each year (Lashley, 1997). Unfortunately, fewer than half (47-50%) gradaute as engineers (Astin, 1993; Hayden & Halloway 1985).
Source: <a href="http://www.succeed.ufl.edu/papers/00/MBTI_Attrition.pdf%5B/url%5D%5B/quote%5D">http://www.succeed.ufl.edu/papers/00/MBTI_Attrition.pdf
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Many schools are trying out design courses that give freshmen and sophomores a realistic look at what it's like to be an engineer, to make their core course work seem more meaningful, according to a paper by educators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published in the Journal of Engineering Education, on the pilot semester of a freshman engineering design course. Part of the reason for the efforts is the high attrition rate of students who enter college as engineering majors. Many reports point out that "less than half of these students persist in their engineering curriculum until graduation," the paper says.
Source: <a href="http://www.eweek.org/2002/News/Features/edredesign.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.eweek.org/2002/News/Features/edredesign.shtml</a>
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A common problem for engineering colleges is the high attrition rate-about 40% of freshmen do not continue in engineering.
Source: <a href="http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=45200041&printable=true%5B/url%5D">http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=45200041&printable=true</a>
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Educators say that such results aren't a surprise, in light of the fact that the majority of engineering undergrads drop out or flunk out of the curriculum within the first two years. With a few notable exceptions, U.S. engineering schools typically have attrition rates hovering between one-half and two-thirds.
Source: <a href="http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=45200041&printable=true%5B/url%5D">http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=45200041&printable=true</a>
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Considering the strong academic records of most students who choose to go into engineering, the observed rates of attrition are dramatic. In his monumental study of nearly 25,000 students at over 300 institutions, Astin'9 found that only 43% of the first-year engineering students in his population went on to graduate in engineering. Moller-Wong and Eide" obtained similar results for a cohort of 1,151 engineering enrollees at Iowa State University. They found that after five years, 32% of their subjects graduated in engineering and 13% were still enrolled, for a potential graduation rate between 40% and 45%.
Source: <a href="http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3886/is_199810/ai_n8825285%5B/url%5D">http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3886/is_199810/ai_n8825285</a>
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<p>Again, I reiterate my point that engineering is not as easy and painless as you dileanated.</p>