I think he's greatly overestimating how well people understand engineering jobs. Half the time when I tell people I'm an electrical engineer, they go, "Oh, like an electrician?".
Also, I've never met anyone outside of engineering who knew what a P.E. license is.
Definitely true. My dad worked as an instrumentation engineer (valves, gauges, etc.) in the oil and gas industry before retiring. I don't think anyone has ever known immediately what I was talking about if they didn't also happen to work in the oil and gas industry in a technical capacity. Most folks have no idea what someone in pretty much any technical field does.
Also, I've never met anyone outside of engineering who knew what a P.E. license is.