For what it's worth, every interpreter or upper-middle class individual or former/current government official whom I encountered, if they had a college degree, had one in science, engineering, or medicine. If this is representative of the population at large, then it does not seem a stretch that a subset of that population will share some characteristics.

Noticing this trend early on, I asked an interpreter why it is that engineering was such a common degree. He offered two explanations. First, it is useful. You can get employment in many different areas of government - both military and general bureaucrat. Second, it is more familiar. Iraqis generally do their own electrical work, build their own homes, install their own plumbing. An education in engineering seems familiar and a logical extension of this existing knowledge.