Maybe 20-30yrs ago you could "blunder through an engineering degree" (well, you still needed SOME smarts), but certainly not now IMO. Not with the entrance requirements being over 90% average plus solid Math/Science requirements. Back in the late 80's I remember your grade 12 high school average could be about 20% lower and still get in. Of course over 1/3 dropped out first semester, and probably another 1/4-1/3 within a year after that.
That said... these days... I recommend 2yr tech degree at SAIT for vast majority of kids. Get some earnings, decide if you like it, then work whilst upgrading.
Also... for those bluecollar folks working away from home - much of the time they're earning way more than the Calgary engineer/CFA. Anecdotally (see earlier notes on this thread) many are making over $250k/yr. I've seen far too many driving their $100k F250's/F350's and blowing most of it on toys, smokes, and campers, etc, and hardly saving a dime.
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