That hasn't been the case in like 20 years. Engineering salaries are around 40K USD, although they can even stretch into the six figures for major companies with deep pockets wanting to attract elite talent. The band is pretty wide and is largely based on whether you work in a body shop consultancy (low end) or a major tech company like Google (high end).

And, like many things in this world, you'll find you'll pay for what you get.