Discussion with my HS Junior, about where he goes after college went along these lines:
I told him he'd likely move back home. He said no way. I asked where would you go? He replied we own an apartment near NYC. I answered that it's a rental unit and if he wants to live there, fine, but he's paying rent. He laughed. I didn't. I told him that once he's out, I'll do everything to assist him, but not make life easy. I can give a break on rent, but not free living space in a unit that generates income.
After all, I pointed out, the likelihood is that his education will wind up being paid with a refinancing of that rental unit. I'm not interested in double dipping on my assets to build him up - he has to take increasing amounts of responsibility in his life.

But, if everyone got an Engineering degree of some nature, salaries in that field would plummet, wouldn't they?

I have friends with marketing degrees who started out at $25,000 a year. In 1984. That was a great salary in 1984. I only made $14,000. Today, that same degree makes about $40,000 out of college. My old job pays $35,000. None of these salaries are good enough to live on your own in NYC (not that living on your own in NYC is, or should be, a goal out of college - no reason you can't share an apartment).

Meanwhile, I have a friend with an art history degree who went to Wall Street. Pays to have friends in the right places. I couldn't even get an interview down there, and I had a dual degree that was far more applicable.

You can't tell which degrees will pay off. My dad's plumber is a PhD in Philosophy. Go figure.