You stink of privilege. I suppose you are probably a highly-paid engineer coming from a very rich country in Europe or maybe the US, where you never had to face economic hardship because your parents were there to help you every step of the way.
What if you can't afford university? There's people literally living in their cars with full-time jobs, you know?
What if you're a good engineer from the technical point of view but find it hard to socialise with others? Maybe you're just introverted.
"Failing to impress" lol. A professor or an alumnus with a company. Yeah, you're definitely American. No such absurd things exist where I come from. Professors are burned out and alumni are lazy as hell.