Regarding recent engineering graduates, I can't comment on if they can add or not (as stated by Bill in the program above), but I can state for certain that there has been an entire shift in attitude and approach between the older engineers and the younger engineers. The old engineers often argue with city officials and work on their client's behalf when faced with stupid illogical regulations or requirements. The younger engineers simply return to their clients, shrug and say that this is what the city requires now, and this how much our fees will need to increase to comply. These days engineering is much more about code compliance than it is using judgement and analysis to derive an appropriate answer.

The sad truth is that you can build a building exactly according to the initial approved set of plans and in strict conformance with the code, and it could fall down because there are always problems and required changes during construction - therefore, there always a large bunch of decisions that must be made during construction that require professional judgement.

China is also not a very strong economy. Despite what the (((media))) tells you.