I'm glad that I chose the path that I did. But I hold machinists and (floor level) manufacturing engineers in the highest regard. When I go into facilities, I may treat a (bad) plant manager or superintendent like a piece of crap. But I always try to be respectful toward machinists (manual and CNC). I've met machinists who have a more solid hold on engineering principles than some engineers with degrees. I've gone back and taken classes on my own time & dime to learn how to write CNC programs and do light CAD/CAM work. I'll likely never do that for a living, but it's something that I'm really proud that I (somewhat) understand how to do.
Maybe it's not for everyone. But when younger people complain that there are "no jobs"... depending on where you live, if you know how to program a CNC machine tool or a robot, you could easily have a job tomorrow - and those jobs tend to pay rather well ($20/hour +). IMO, the technology that's being used in the manufacturing sector these days is REALLY fascinating.