<p>Collegeduffer, employment is most definitely based on your major. For 99% of engineering positions you are going to need at least a BS in engineering. Why else would there be engineering degrees? Are there people without engineering degrees that work in engineering, probably but I have never come across one. This would be pretty rare. Engineers can work in business but business majors typically can not work in engineering.</p>
<p>As for the tons of fields that you think pay higher than engineering, care to enlighten us? And please do not say surgeon or partner in a law firm or investment banker. If you are comparing undergraduate degrees, engineering is second to none, plain and simple. Of course there are outliers but your example of someone in HR is irrelevent. Stastically, engineers significantly out earn people in HR. </p>
<p>If you are comparing professions, you must look at averages. Just because you claim to know someone in HR that makes more than engineers doesn’t mean that HR pays higher than engineering. It does not. There are people in every field that do really well but the fact remains that engineering pays higher than most other professions that require an undergraduate degree. I agree that every situation is different but as an engineering student at a reputable school with a decent GPA, you should expect close to the average starting salary for your specific field. Does this apply to someone with a 1.2 GPA that can’t talk to other people? Of course not.</p>