The Challenges
An engineering career typically lasts 35 to 40 years. Yet the value of professional engineering expertise depreciates rapidly in many areas, so that obsolescence may become a serious problem as soon as 3 to 7 years after completion of formal education.
In the average engineering project, the first 10% of the decisions (which do not involve engineering) commit 90% of the resources (which do involve engineering).
Engineering is the only profession for which a four-year program is all that is required for professional status. There is a concern that engineers will be technicians in the future, in the service of better educated and prepared leadership drawn from other professions.