In 1980, I was using microprocessors (motorola and intel), and still needed TTL and CMOS chips. EEPROMS, RAM.
When I found the PIC (microcontrollers in general) I changed the way I did things on the spot. It is a custom chip for every occasion pretty much.. The flash on them and RAM built in. You can reprogram them, how can you beat it.. Everything in a single chip.
FPGA I sort of skipped over, but hear they are impressive, I have just not needed the speed or custom logic.
You do need a programmer for the microcontrollers (and FPGA), but a student/hobbyist can build one.
I agree with Mike, things have come a long way.
If the schools were up to date, they would teach microcontrollers. Maybe they are?