In reply to EeeByGum:
> 4. Companies like BASF can not get suitable technical engineers for toffee
> So in this economic crisis where millions of grads can't get work... Where are they all?
When I graduated in electronics, some two decades ago, it was clear that the IT and communications sectors were about to take off. There was already a shortage of RF engineers. Despite this demand, questions were being asked as to why 40% of the graduates did not remain in engineering.
What they should have been asking was why do so many remain in a career that has so little respect and pays accordingly. Most of the engineers that I knew were about to take a conversion course to get on to a law degree - because that's where the money was.
Since that time I've not noticed a significant change in attitude toward engineering, at least not in the UK. With the introduction of student loans the pressure to earn serious money after graduation has increased many fold. Why would anybody with sufficient nous choose to remain in engineering?
How does your remuneration package compare to other sectors of the industry? Your offer of toffee is not going to cut it.