Did you ask him any of the following questions: i) Why, son, are you interested in engineering-law? ii) What, son, got you interested in engineering-law? iii) What was it in Dilbert that made you decide against engineering? iv) Did you pick law because you saw something distasteful in engineering?
v) If you thought he should go into engineering, did you attempt to show him, introduce him to engineers? engineering? or otherwise demonstrate that the profession is socially redeming and maybe at least somewhat lucrative (maybe depending on what kind of engineering)?
And, did he consider any other criteria besides Dilbert to help him decide? For example, did he consider the relative intellectual talents needed by a person for engineering? law?
And you thought his perception was valid?
I'll stick with my perception that there is nothing wrong with underling jobs in general; managers and management ... with every pbutting year ... are the true "lost" people. Lost in many ways, but with the height of the position, the more overpaid, overprotected, over pampered, and underperforming.
Then, getting back to law. I've seen polls showing that approximately 7-8% of all lawyers really hate their jobs. Another 10-15% just ordinary hate their jobs. And, three more categories of "don't care", "like," and "really like" their jobs. Does your son know that he might become a lawyer only to, with some probability, end up getting out of law? I have seen three books, authored by lawyers, who either left law, complained about the deteriorating professionalism in law, or found law to be something sufficiently detestable (as it is practiced today) that they left law, and in all of them, it was the trend away from professionalism and towards toadryness that bothered them.
