Nowadays Economics as a degree is different. They are highly quantitative and demanding.

Who knows, if you study economics you can be some sort of analyst. You could become an actuary. You could become a banker, or a trader, or an investment banker.

Similarly, an engineering graduate could perform the job that an economics graduate does. It depends what jobs you get into and what work you do. People working in business and finance sometimes get good pay, it's not all about medicine and science.