are all engineering majors in it for the money?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Doing engineering only because you’re passionate about it is ridiculous. I’m surprised how many people say their passionate about it on this board. How they would work for much less to keep doing that they do. When I was in school it was full of people who b1tched and complained because the work was hard and overbearing at times. If you’re passionate about something I tend to think you don’t hate it or what your doing most of the time. I agree with the post above. At the end of the day, if you can’t make a living doing something you truly enjoy, it’s okay to make a living doing you have a slight interest in. If you have the smarts to get an engineering degree, and have some interest in it, it’s not a bad way to live. You have to work to live, not live to work.</p>

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<p>@bonehead- well if thats true, more power to you man. Im glad you found something you truly love thats well paying.</p>

<p>But as PurdueEE, vblick, and I said, there is nothing wrong with thinking your career is just “ok” and doing it basically because the nice paycheck will allow you to live a fulfilling life outside of work. </p>

<p>I just ask myself, whats more important: trying to find work as a big time sports writer and almost definitely ending up writing about local sports for $10/hr, barely paying my bill, not affording a house, vacations with my family, or paying for my childrens’ college… OR getting a degree in accounting, something I kinda enjoy, but that will allow me to enjoy life out of work.</p>

<p>My work is not my life. My life is my life. I work to support that life, so I can enjoy it.</p>

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<p>I think the range of opinions here pretty well represents the range of motivations out there. Some people love engineering and would do it for a subsistence wage, some people would rather do other things but like the money, and most simply find it a good balance between the extremes. Realize that most people have a limited selection of careers, and for most people ABLE to do engineering it is a better option than almost any they realistically have.</p>

<p>Personally, I cannot think of any realistic careers that I would prefer more. I might be drawn away by an offer that paid SIGNIFICANTLY more, I just don’t think that it is likely to occur.</p>

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<p>Me?</p>

<p>Anything that takes me away from traveling, family or football is considered work. I want to earn as much money as I can while doing work THAT ALSO does not cause me stress and I DON’T MIND doing.</p>

<p>There is a part of me that wants to be in on something being built/created, so engineering fill that void BUT if the industry decided to slash all engineers income 50% and I had the ability to do another job/trade to pay me what I am being currently paid, I will leave engineering in a second.</p>

<p>Having said that, within various engineering jobs (whether hands-on software development or bigger-picture systems engineering with no coding), I have turned down more money (albeit only 10-20% more) because of my family or too much travel or potentially too many hours and/or stress.</p>

<p>By the way…I basically live by what VBlick posted…“I work to live, not live to work”.</p>

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<p>^ Exactly my views on the situation. Anything I do is still gonna be work, and I’m still gonna have a list of 100 other things I’d rather be doing than working. But theres nothing wrong with that! Thats why its called work not play or a hobby. I will work so that I can enjoy my life with my family, participate in hobbies I enjoy and take vacations and travel. </p>

<p>Do I really like accounting and would be willing to do it in a non-work setting? Hell no. I love sports. I love nutrition and fitness. I love traveling. I DO NOT love accounting. Its basically what I enjoy best of the “steady employment, well-paying” jobs such as engineering, IT, etc. I’m studying it because I’m pretty good at it, which will hopefully lead to a good job with good pay. Then I can enjoy life outside of work.</p>

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<p>For someone who really likes doing something that has good job and career prospects, well that’s great. Not much need to make any tradeoffs.</p>

<p>For someone who really dislikes doing something, or is not very good at it no matter how hard s/he tries, that field is unlikely to be suitable, even if it is otherwise attractive in job and career prospects, since it is unlikely that one can do a good job at something s/he really dislikes.</p>

<p>If some field is really interesting, but has unacceptably poor job and career aspects, then it is also unlikely to be suitable.</p>

<p>The real dilemma appears when the choice is between:</p>

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<li>Something enjoyable, but job and career aspects are just ok, or only just acceptable.</li>
<li>Something not enjoyable, but not something one dislikes, but job and career aspects are better.</li>
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<p>Of course, that presumes that one has a decent idea of the job and career prospects of any given field (including cyclical variations, e.g. civil engineering). A lot of students entering university do not look into this fully enough to make a fully informed decision on these matters.</p>

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I know a lot of engineers who do engineering (or similar) outside of work, for fun. I know a laser engineer who built his first laser in his basement. I know another guy who (for fun, without pay) designs fictional spaceships for a friend of his who is a writer, using the exact same systems engineering procedures he uses at work. I know a heck of a lot of us who spend free time doing math and logic puzzles that are very similar to engineering work.</p>

<p>What I have told people for years is that no matter what, I would be doing engineering work. The difference is that I currently get paid to answer other peoples’ questions in a formal setting, rather than just tooling around answering my own questions for fun.</p>

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<p>I want to do Engineering because when I looked at the list of Majors, it was one of the few I could see myself doing (after doing some research) besides a few other science majors.
I didn’t really know what I wanted to do up to that point. I used to tell everyone I wanted to be a doctor or Vet just so they would stop asking me.
But I won’t lie, I like the money you can get out of it and the the fact that it isn’t a 60 hours or more a week kinda job.</p>

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<p>I went into engineering because it looked rewarding. With my grades and test-taking abilities, I could have easily made it into med school or law school. But I knew I wouldn’t enjoy those careers, so I picked engineering. And I’m glad I did! I would hate being a paper-pusher. Blech! Seeing our company’s designs being built is so cool.</p>

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<p>What a presumptious statement! How old are you?</p>

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<p>What seems to be occurring here is a failure to communicate. Let’s summarize and clarify:
Engineering- it’a a thing.
Lots of people build their major and career around this thing.
A career in this thing makes money.
Lot’s of people like money.
Ergo, a lot of people go into engineering for money.
Because they picked engineering for money, they might not have even liked engineering much to begin with.
Instead, they like other things that aren’t engineering. Simple enough, but hold on to your butts…
A person that goes into engineering may not really care for engineering.
A person is not everyone.
Not everyone is the same person.
People are different people.
Even though some people don’t like engineering, some people do.
How is this possible? Everybody wants to be a sports writer…
No, some people want to be sports writers (not a personal attack, just an example).
Such some people aren’t all some peoples.
Some people can even like things that aren’t the things that other people do like!
Also, some people can like things that other people don’t, because they are different people and whatnot.
Therefore, it is conceivable that one person could like engineering and another could not.
Again, one person - or even more than one person - can not like engineering without it meaning that engineering is unlikable.
In summary, people can like different things some of which are not even the same.
The En- Wait! No really, it is actually possible for someone to like something that you don’t.
This is true even if you don’t like something.
Conclusion: People are capable of liking things that you dislike.
One person’s opinion or assessment is not that of every other person.
Is this getting through to anyone yet? I can’t go on anymore, I just sprained the muscle that makes my eyes roll…</p>

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<p>Obviously some people can enjoy engineering to the point that they love it and would do it payed or unpayed. But lets face it, its still work. If you think a significant amount of people go into technical careers like IT, engineering, CS, accounting, etc. because they love it, I think you’re grossly misguided.</p>

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<p>^ Sure, but the original question was “are ALL engineering majors in it for the money?” Anyways, do you think the situation is very different in any field that offers good pay and steady employment? And, of course, that good pay and steady employment that engineering, and many other fields, offer will skew the number of people that do the work for the money. Sure, a lot of engineers do it for the money. Conversely, very few painters or writers do it for the money. One may be inclined to conclude that painting/writing is a field that inspires passion and that people genuinely enjoy (at least more so than engineering). However, if suddenly painters/writers/whatever suddenly starting making engineering money and engineers starting living out of shacks trying to peddle their work at local fairs, the situation would flip. Virtually all engineers would do it because they love it, whereas many painters/writers, attracted by the money and not the work, would not love what they do and continue only for the paycheck. Therefore, the proportion of people doing a job only for the money has at least as much to do with the money as it does the job. Of course many people that genuinely enjoy engineering would not do it if it payed McDonalds money. However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t really like it. This is like saying that someone’s favorite tv show is The Office. They tune in every week, tell all their friends the jokes, and own all the dvds. So, you go up to them and say, “You can keep watching The Office, but only if you cut off your own feet. So what if you have to be in a wheelchair the rest of your life? If you really loved that show, it wouldn’t mater.” I’m not saying that the majority of people in these jobs aren’t in it for the money - most probably are. I’m not saying that it isn’t a job. What I am saying is that this is not unique or inherent to engineering - it’s true of most jobs that are realistically obtainable and pay well. And even though this is the case, there are plenty of people that do enjoy what they do, even if it isn’t necessarily their favorite thing on the planet or how they spend their Friday nights.</p>

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<p>The question at hand here is not a black and white one. Salary certainly plays a factor in choosing a career but saying that engineers are only in it for the money is not entirely true. The bottom line is that you have to enjoy or at least tolerate your profession considering you will likely be in the workforce for 30-40 years. What others have said is true that this issue is not unique to engineering. It is surely the case that many lawyer, doctors, and other professionals certainly consider their paycheck before investing the time and money in a rigourous education.</p>

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<p>Just be glad you’re not somebody like me who has no specific career in mind but who just likes math and science (math major, physics minor).</p>

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<p>Uh… I will be majoring in Comp Sci and Comp Engineering. Now if I was going for money, I would be a doctor. You have to realize there is more to life than money. First of all, I love programming, I love even more when I go lower level. I try to program in the lowest level possible. Personally I would rather do what I love than end up killing myself due to depression.</p>

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<p>^ Anyone who goes into medicine for the money is straight ■■■■■■■■. Ignoring the obvious reasons of it being so mentally demanding that your heart needs to be in it, look at it economically. There are so many better ways to make money. Just a rough example:</p>

<p>Accounting major going to Big 4 after undergrad:</p>

<p>22yrs old- $45k/yr+bonuses/benefits (associate)
23-26 yrs old- $60k/yr+bonuses/benefits (senior associate)
26-30 yrs old, depending on if staying in public or going to private- $90-100k/yr+bonuses/benefits (manager)</p>

<p>Assuming the individual leaves for the private industry at 30, he has accumulated (theoretically) $625k in salary plus bonuses and benefits… WITH NO DEBT! All this while now possibly moving into the private industry where someone with his level of experience can be at a position as a controller/manager making $150k-200k a year +bonuses/benefits and having very close to a normal 40hr work week with vacation time, etc.</p>

<p>Now let’s look at his friend going to med school:</p>

<p>22-26 yrs old- in med school going into loads of debt for tuition and living expenses (assuming his parents aren’t rich and paying for it): -$250k
26-30 yrs old- residency and the like: $40k/year tops</p>

<p>So now let’s look at the two individuals. Person A is $625,000 into positive income since undergrad while Person B is $250,000 in debt minus whatever small amount of the $40k/year he used to start paying his bills. Lets say $40,000 total over the four years. He’s now $210,000 in debt.</p>

<p>So assuming Person B is done with training after only 4 years and is being a gen phys., instead of the more that is certainly possible with different specialties, our break down is like this:</p>

<p>Person A: Up $625,000 and heading into a nice 40-50 hr work week making $150,000/year+bonuses and benefits…</p>

<p>OR</p>

<p>Person B: In the hole -$210,000, heading into either a hospital job or opening up a practice, which would lead to more debt. Either way, not exactly looking like you’ll be FILTHY rich any time soon as so many people think. </p>

<p>DISCLAIMER: This model isn’t perfect, but it is in the ballpark enough to illustrate a point.</p>

<p>Do doctors go hungry? Of course not! But this isn’t the 80s anymore and the “get filthy rich” profession isn’t medicine anymore, unless you wanna do cardiopulmonary or neurosurgery or something, but then of course the debt numbers for this example go up.</p>

<p>Business and Finance, though much riskier now than in the past, are still the big money careers. The sky is still the limit for a CEO or an IB. If you really wanna get stupid rich, be a rapper or an athlete. A-Rod is getting $30 mil a year to be a slightly above average 3rd baseman at this point in his career. Talk about a nice paycheck.</p>

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<p>If you have free elective space, you can take a few statistics, economics, finance, and/or computer science courses which can help you with several options for jobs and careers where you can do what you like (math) and get paid reasonably well for it.</p>

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<p>There are not that many CEOs relative to the number of graduates with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in business administration. Investment bankers may be more numerous, but still not a big percentage (and many are from math, statistics, physics, etc. due to a need for quantitative finance skills).</p>

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<p>Very few athletes make it to the highly paid professional level (even many professional athletes manage to play only a few years in the top league, paid nowhere near as much as the record setters). The same with musicians.</p>

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<p>Your point is misleading though. You should include how much those guys get paid after 30. My guess is that by age 60, the doctor ends up having way more money than the accountant unless the accountant becomes a CEO or something. The average salary for a ton of specialties for doctors is 170-200k, and the salaries you are listing for the most experienced accountants is about that.</p>

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<p>In sports like football, you can come out of your career with some pretty nasty chronic injuries to your brain & body. The life expectancy for NFL players is 55 years old, which is less than 20 years than your average person.</p>

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<p>ucbalumnus writes “There are not that many CEOs relative to the number of graduates with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in business administration. Investment bankers may be more numerous, but still not a big percentage (and many are from math, statistics, physics, etc. due to a need for quantitative finance skills).”</p>

<p>You don’t have to be the CEO or in investment banking to be paid more than an engineer. If you are going to chase the opportunity for money there’s no need to study engineering as there are easier pickings in finance, law, and medicine. While engineers have marketable skills they are not being paid the really big bucks (exceptions exist of course).</p>