<p>I was recently accepted into Vanderbilt School of Engineering...</p>
<p>And I'm vacillating between a degree in Engineering or a Degree in Economics at Bates College...</p>
<p>I'm wondering which will make me more money in the long run, and how could I go about making this money?</p>
<p>My major issue) is that if I am to become an engineer at Vanderbilt, will I be stuck taking Organic Chem, competing with the strongest of Asian candidates bred to be engineers, and working 9-5 at some lab never making over 100K a year?</p>
<p>Someone guide me down the right path (the one that means the most successful, financially sound) life</p>
<p>Engineering salaries have bee discussed many times in this forum. Entry-level salaries for engineering tend to be more than other careers, but the salary plateaus after x number of years. Some engineers can make over 100k but the best way to make more money is to move up into management-level positions. But you need to be an engineer for a while before you can do that. And not every engineer aspires to move up the ladder. I've met a few who just want to be regular engineers for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>I 100% agree with previous post.</p>
<p>If you want to make >100k in engineering, most assured way is to eventually to get into management. An MBA of other management masters mid-career can be useful here. But to be an engineering manager, you first have to be a good engineer, so you can have some leadership opportunities. Then you must learn to be a good manager, and the field of engineering IMHO does not produce a plethora of management-savvy individuals. So if you have management potential relative to your peers & if you can be a good technical engineer, you could aspire to make >100k as an engineering manager.</p>
<p>engineers start off with high salaries. here in southern california, expect to start off at about 60K as a chemical engineer. it tends to top off at about 80k after 15 years. will you be rich? no, but you'll be comfortable although that generalization may not be true in socal.....</p>