My father had a degree in engineering. So did my grandfather and my uncle. None of them spent more than a few years working in the field, though. My grandfather put his training to work insuring large municipal projects until the Great Depression put an end to that. My uncle worked on a project to support a nuclear power plant that lead to the development on an industrial printer. He spent the rest of his career selling those.
As for my father, he went on to law school and became a patent attorney. I guess my job today is kind of like his. I also spend my days reading the technical works of practicing engineers.