Not so much. Early in my career I worked with plenty of electrical engineers who started out as technicians with two-year degrees who were promoted to engineer

Not so much. Early in my career I worked with plenty of electrical engineers who started out as technicians with two-year degrees who were promoted to engineer after 10+ years of experience working closely with engineers. That used to be a common path for engineers, before all this elitist credentialism started. I also worked with several systems engineers who did not have engineering degrees. I don't know of any universities who have systems engineering bachelors programs, but masters programs are semi-common.