I can share a bright spot, at least in my own life. My oldest is now a civil engineer. He has been doing well for the last few years at the firm where he was hired, before he graduated college. He has also been working with me since he was about ten years old weekends and summers, at our family construction company. He has been with me on additions, custom homes and commercial projects. When he was hired by his company he was told that one of the reasons they chose him was his hands on job site experience.
He says that day to day he uses the things he learned actually working on our jobs more than the things he learned in school. Especially problem solving. He still helps me on weekends, and I have to say it I enjoy working with him immensely. I even understand one or two of the things he says when talking about his job. LOL