Average starting salary for an engineering college graduate these days start in the low $60Ks. For a MIT graduate (one of the best engineering schools in the country) - I would expect an higher starting salary.
I am sure they weren't fired because they lacked knowledge. It's more likely that, in this bad economy, the company was cheap and didn't want to pay a premium for college graduates from premium engineering schools when they can get a graduate from a 2-year community college for one third the salary.
All I have to say is that a community or technical college graduate will probably make a good technician but not necessarily a good engineer. The level of knowledge required for the later can only be obtained from 4+ years of engineering school.
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