There's a lot of domain knowledge in traditional engineering that is impossible replicate artificially - much more so than software. You can take the best rail

There's a lot of domain knowledge in traditional engineering that is impossible replicate artificially - much more so than software. You can take the best rail engineers in the world, put them in a room, and they still won't be able to make a half-decent mid-size sedan to save their lives. It's not about if you're "good at science and engineering", it's about your country's history and track record in building bleeding-edge aircraft. China is playing catchup in a huge way, though they do get to take the fast lane thanks to ex-Soviet tech. Ace aerospace engineers come out of building airplanes, not reading a book or going to conferences.