I can't speak for the US but in the Uk there is shortage. There is an increasing number of EASA B licenced available, but nothing I have seen yet convinces me that the EASA licence equates with the old BCAR licence. As a consequence many who would have not 'cleared the bar' now get through. Yes there will be many capable people who will make fine engineers. However there are a lot of people who have learned to answer questions in a multi choice paper and who do not really understand systems or the principles underlying them. If I were an employer I'd want to see some proof of ability. Overall the level of competence is declining.
As to pilots and engineers. I would like to see engineers valued more not pilots less. The two roles are different but each in their own way requires hard work to maintain the required level of professionalism. The pilots are valued for many reasons not least of which of which is their strong unions. BALPA, I believe, sends in a queens Counsel to negotiate and although this costs it gets results. Also pilots do not usually criticise one another in public engineers queue up to do it.
One thing has always puzzled me though. Pilots are only interested in pilots and nobody else. I can accept this. Given though that even the best pilot cannot fly a seriously defective aircraft, (obviously depending on the nature of the defect), you would think then that they would keep at least half an eye on their engineering departments. This for their own safety. But they have no interest whatsoever, seems at best a bit short sighted. At this point I would like to make a nod to those honourable exceptions, few in number, who do take an interest. As to the rest, are you as smart as you think you are?
So there may be an adequate number of people holding bits of paper but there is a real shortage of 'the right stuff'.
As I said in a previous posting I'm glad to be out of it soon. I have seen it at it's best and I don't like the way it's going.