In years gone by, mechanical engineers were needed to design steam engines then motor cars then planes etc - the industrial revolution. Nowadays it is the IT revolution - software powers the new age, so we need people to write software. Computers are everywhere and they need software to run. I could be making a lot more money writing C++ database applications, or Java applets or web scripting, but that doesn't take my fancy. I much prefer to play around with embedded systems, thus my pay is commensurate with the going rate. Be sure to understand that skill doesn't equate with income - I'm sure there's many people with lesser skills than me making more income. I've designed equipment where the salesman selling the item makes more money than I do, such is life.