What do you think.
Its not what I think, its what I know - engineers in general and LAEs in particular are and have always been their own worst enemies. Its not our "go for it" or "can do" attitude, its our lack of mutual cooperation and our tendency to grumble about poor conditions rather than act.
In 1977 BA maintenance staff went on strike over pay and conditions. One 'minor' issue lying un-noticed deep in the agenda, was the introduction of the LWTR and the end of type ratings. After three weeks of management signing off aeroplanes, everyone crept back to work grumbling about running out of spare cash. Six weeks of overtime clearing the backlog soon replenished everyone's cash balances. Other than clearing out a few left wing shop stewards, nothing was achieved. The way was open for the decline and removal of that thorn in the airlines' side, the type-rated LAE.
The pilots on the other hand, faced with the introduction of the B747, demanded a share in the benefits from their improved productivity. They refused to fly the B747s until their demands were met. The brand new aircraft sat on the ground for many, many months until the pilots got their way.
Notice any difference between these two approaches?