> Having more "worthwhile" projects than engineering resources gives engineers a choice of work.
This is pure fantasy, except maybe if you work on a startup environment where engineers have a lot of autonomy.
In any sufficiently large organization, you will be assigned to a team, and the scope of work will be sort of defined in some level of hierarchy above you as an individual engineer.
You may have some autonomy to pick up some initiative here and there, but that will be somewhat limited. You may also try to switch to different teams where work may be more attractive to you.
