Well said Dusty. The title Engineer is incidentally also legally defined in Italy and Germany, and for the way they treat it might as well be in the USA. It's pretty-much only the UK that has dishwasher repair "engineers".
As somebody who did an Engineering degree, became an engineer, and became a pilot as well, not instead (not through the UAS, I got dropped out of that through an inability to ever make the airfield in between lectures) I think what you say is very true.
I think what people say about doing any degree that you'll enjoy and pass is true for those with no ambition beyond the ATPL. If you want a long and fulfilling career in aviation, then an engineering degree or appropriate science degree is likely to do you far more favours than something that just gives you BA(Hons) after your name and little else of saleable value.
G