It is a well known fact that engineers never stick together.Its just the kind of people we are. Having to work on many different types in one day in a line enviornment is not easy. It takes a different kind of person to do that, being responsible for 1000's of people in any one day and millions of pounds worth of aircraft is a lot of pressure on a person. And in the Hangar, stripping an aircraft to almost its bare bones and putting it back together in a matter of weeks is nothing short of a miracle.
A pilot is responsible for his/her aircraft and follows routine routine routine. It takes a different kind of person to be able to do the same mundane things day in day out for weeks on end and have the ability to respond/react in a safe manner when it all goes wrong, being responsible for a couple of hundred people in one day is alot of pressure also.
Personally i think its essential that pilots hours are restricted as their job is sooooo boring (to me) that any more hours and they'd be up there with dentists (shoe laces and belts removed). But thats only a personal opinion, I couldn't do it for a living. Now Hand gliding, thats fun!!!!
It takes two different kind of people to maintain and operate aircraft commercially from day to day. Engineers are one type and pilots another. Hats off to both.