Paul,
I didn't know you are a mechanical engineer. I always thought you were an x% programmer + (1-x%) electrical engineer. I can understand why OP had trouble. I have lots of mechanical engineering students in my intermediate physics and electronics for non ECE majors. They are not required to take a single programming course except for some 100-level intro to engineering stuff. No wonder they don't know electronics or programming as much as you did back in college. They only take the minimal, the required courses, and they think they can somehow become good candidates for future jobs. Nobody is trying to gain extra capacity outside their tiny boxes. The only reason I am getting many of them was sadly not because my courses are required by their degree, but because they are taking my courses to maintain full student status (required by some financial aid and all foreign students) until they can get into their senior design course, which only has a fixed enrollment number, a number less than the demand and the number refuses to change!!!