I thought we already did pay students to become engineers - it's called "employment". If students don't feel that the long-term rewards of an engineering caree

I thought we already did pay students to become engineers - it's called "employment". If students don't feel that the long-term rewards of an engineering career are worth the up-front costs (time, effort, money), why would the taxpayers want to add an incentive? If engineers become scarce, then salaries should go up (assuming a free market) and more students will want to become engineers.