I have a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from one of the top rated public universities in the country. I'm also a licensed Professional Engineer (which you can only achieve by passing multiple day-long exams and by working as a full-fledged engineer for a minimum of 5 years under the supervision of other licensed engineers). And before you suggest it, which you've already almost done, mine was not a 'legacy admission', although I did have a four-year full tuition scholarship which I earned by competing in a state-wide competition while in high school. Besides, my father never finished high school due to him having to help support his family during the depression and his father before him worked much of his life on the railroad, along with 3 of his 4 brothers, first as a telegrapher and later as an electrical technician.
I've paid my dues and the position I now hold I basically created myself, built from my 48 years of engineering experience.