In civil engineering public works are certified by an engineer; its literally them saying if this fails i am at fault. The public is trusting the engineer to say its safe.
Engineering is about trust. In all other and generally more formalized engineering disciplines, the actual job of an engineer is to provide confidence that something works. Software engineering may employ fewer people because the tools are better and make people much more productive, but until everyone else trusts the computer more, the job will exist.
If the world trusts AI over engineers then the fact that you don’t have a job will be moot.
I had always assumed that change was part of the character’s arc. At the start he is a by the books commander and by the end he talks with 5 dimensions aliens, believes he is one chosen to guide a planet full of people and is willing to toss out his morals to manipulate other great powers.
Sleep paralysis sucks a lot. It’s terrifying. It would happen to me as a teen; I would be stuck in the morning. It has stopped but it’s really unpleasant.