Don't major in engineering!!

<p>There are a number of threads seeking advice on engineering, so its time to post a warning about engineering for those who are just now coming to this board. Like Marley's ghost in "A Christmas Carol" I'm here to show you what your future will be like unless you make some changes. Let me tell you right now, so you can say you were warned -- ENGINEERING IS A TERRIBLE CAREER CHOICE!!</p>

<p>I've posted this for 2 years now and it's controversial, but you need to hear this advice today more than ever. The dot-com bust and new accounting rules on options means that by the time you discover engineering is a mistake you won't be walking away with enough money for a fresh start elsewhere; if you choose engineering, you better know what you're getting into. It's time to reprise my post for this year's seniors. </p>

<p>Print this letter out, read it over, read it over again. If you don't believe me, just show it to anyone who ACTUALLY works in engineering. It's a little longer than most posts, I know, but we're talking about your future here, and I can't give you enough info in 3 sweet paragraphs. </p>

<p>And when you read the attacks posted in replies, put your budding analytical skills to work -- decide if they address the actual points I make or if they are just ad-hominen attacks unrelated to the real issues. I post links and give info you can easily verify on the web; ask yourself if the critics give hard evidence, or just engage in sophistry and offer their unsupported opinions. BTW I am an engineer with a decade+ experience who has worked at several companies that are household hi-tech names; I just wish there had been someone there to warn ME when I was 18 what I was really getting into.</p>

<p>So who are you, the prospective engineer? Maybe you have a knack for math and science courses, so well-meaning parents and teachers are steering you into engineering. Maybe you like the cool toys you have -- the PC, the DVD player, the cell phone, video games, and think it would be fun to help create things like them. Maybe the attractive starting salary (among the highest for college grads, BTW) seem to be calling out to you. Or perhaps you dislike uncertainty and ambiguitity, and finding a job after college worries you -- how DO English and History majors find jobs anyway? Everyone knows the "want fries with that?" joke, and you figure if you endure the schooling at least that won't be your fate. </p>

<p>But make no mistake about it. If you go into engineering, odds are you will regret the choice a few years down the line. I'm going to spell out exactly why. </p>

<p>As an engineer
1) you will miss out on a lot of fun in college, forsaking some of the best years of your life.
2) you will miss the best chance you'll have to enrich your mind in a variety of academic areas
3) you will be limited to working in a few major cities.
4) the hours will be excessively long
5) you will be surrounded primarily by men at work
6) many if not most of your coworkers are going to be foreigners
7) your salary will top out early and those liberal-arts majors will catch and pass you
8) by the time you're in your 30's you will be worried about keeping a job
9) you're NOT going to get into management
10) the long-term outlook for engineers grows more dismal each year</p>

<p>1) Missing out on fun in College -- as an engineering major you will be loaded down with labs and problem sets. You'll know the library better than your dorm room since you will spend more time there, working late most nites and on the weekend. Your buddies are going hiking and skiing, visiting friends at other colleges, going to bars and pizza places in town, surfing the web, going to the concerts and events on campus, and so on; YOU, by and large, will be studying.</p>

<p>Even the industry press acknowledges this; recently in EETimes they wrote "There's a sense among students of, 'Why should I stay? My friends are studying half as long as me and having a better time,' " said Ray Almgren, vice president of product strategy for National Instruments. See <a href="http://tinyurl.com/642tf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://tinyurl.com/642tf&lt;/a> The outcome is that on average 1 out of every 2 people who start in engineering switch out before graduating. For EE it is 2 out of 3!! BTW keep these stats in mind if you're considering a college focused mainly on engineering; with the odds at least 50:50 you'll leave the major, what are your alternatives going to be?</p>

<p>I'll note in passing that some guys choose engineering, consciously or subconsciously, precisely to avoid the social life most kids are seeking. I was surprised how many guys majoring in engineering had NEVER gone on a date in HS. In college instead of admitting they don't want to go to a party because they're scared to talk to girls or don't know how, the easy excuse is "need to study". </p>

<p>And I say "guys" deliberately because thats who the studens are; these days only about 1/6 of the students getting engineering degrees are women (and thats considered an improvement over the past!). </p>

<p>2) missing out on a chance to explore the fields of knowledge -- For most students college is a golden time to explore other areas as well as their major. Take an art class, learn about history, perhaps your college has a famous scholar who's class you can take. Most students can do this. To pick Ohio State as a random example, if you are a history major you have 10 required classes for the major; see <a href="http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/undergrad/majorreq.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.history.ohio-state.edu/undergrad/majorreq.htm&lt;/a> The rest of your classes include some required breadth classes, but by and large you can pursue your cultural and intellectual interests. College is a glorious time for the intellectually curious! </p>

<p>And then there is engineering. Engineering is different. There is just so much to learn that you will be loaded down every semester with lots of required courses. Engineering programs are similar at every college since they're standardized by a group known as ABET. So lets go back and take a look at Ohio State. If you choose EE, for example, during your 4 years of college you will get to choose exactly 7 courses outside of science & engineering!! And BTW they must be on an approved list, not too many in any one area since they are your distribution requirements. See <a href="http://eewww.eng.ohio-state.edu/academic/pdf/ughndbk.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://eewww.eng.ohio-state.edu/academic/pdf/ughndbk.pdf&lt;/a> Choose wisely... </p>

<p>Actually if you are going into engineering anyway and take only one thing away from this post, it would be this heartfelt advice. If you major in engineering, plan from the start to take 5 years to get your undergrad degree so you have some time to experience and explore something in college besides endless classes in math and engineering. </p>

<p>3) Engineering employers are concentrated in a few large areas Austin, Silicon Valley, LA, Boston, and some others. Sure there are engineers working many other places, but when there are just a few shops in town the salary is going to be lower because they know you don't have many options. Even during the boom salaries in San Diego were 25-35% lower than Silicon Valley just because the employers weren't bidding that hard against one another. And you have to put up with more cr*p because where are you going to go if you don't like it? Right now it may be hard for this to seem like a realistic concern because everything you own probably fits into a few boxes and you don't have kids, but imagine your life a 10-15 years out. To put it another way, how easy would it be for your parents to drop everything and move to a new city? Add to that concerns about layoffs. If you lose your job in a town with few engineering employers you're basically going to have to move to get another one. The upshot is that the engineer seeking stability chooses to live in a place with more hi-tech employers, meaning he only has the choice of a handful of major cities. </p>

<p>4) long hours -- EETimes reported "In an open letter to Congress this past week, IEEE-USA president Bryant said that long hours, stressful job conditions and other factors are converging to 'make careers in engineering less attractive,' " </p>

<p>Why? Coming out of school you might expect to work long hours to "prove" yourself. However as a working engineer these long hours are going to be the norm for your career. For example, suppose a project with 45 people working on it just took 18 months from start to customer ship, and now they are launching the successor. A good estimate is 18 months, but some manager who wants a big bonus will step up and say he can do it in 14. What the secret? Simple. He simply brings in the deadlines for various steps by 4 months. You get to work late into the night and on weekends to make up those 4 missing months, he gets praise from his bosses and a big end-of-the-year check for "his" accomplishement. When you go home at 8:30pm every nite you can't do much more than chow down, pay the bills, and go to sleep just to do it all over again the next day. </p>

<p>So why don't people just change jobs? If you're in a smaller town, see issue (3). And in general it's hard to leave. During good times you'll learn from experience the grass isn't much greener over the fence. Odds are good the next employer will have a manager just as aggressive to look good by pulling in schedules. During bad times, well nobody's hiring. In short, good times or bad, its hard to leave.</p>

<p>5) mostly men -- these days only about 1/6 of the students getting engineering degrees are women (and thats considered an improvement over the past!). The women you meet at work are going to primarily be the admin for the group and the ladies working in the cafeteria. So if you think that will be meeting women socially on the job, think again. Its easy to pooh-pooh this when you're in HS or college, but once you start on your career you're going to be spending long hours at work to prove yourself and advance, no matter what your career. So most of the people you meet during your waking hours are going to be coworkers. A lot of guys find dates/spouses among women they work with and the friends of those women; much less likely in engineering.</p>

<p>6) mostly foreigners -- out here in CA I'd say the hi-tech workforce is 1/3 chinese, 1/3 indian, 1/3 white. If you've ever wanted to feel like a minority in your own country, engineering is the job for you. And BTW many don't bother with soap or deodorant because that's the way things are in their country. If you're in a building you can tell when you're close to the section where the rows of cubes are for engineers by the body odor. Yeah, you'll see people jump on this claim, but like they say in court truth is a defense to libel. As the well-known leftist magazine "Mother Jones" wrote in an article about foreigners moving here, "Ravi's boss actually took him shopping for deodorant" (see "High-Tech Melting Pot" in August 4, 1998 issue).</p>

<p>7) your salary will top out early. Many HS students are attracted by the high starting salaries for engineers, especially compared to what the other majors make out of the gate. However don't be fooled by the number that applies at one point in your life. You will be working for 30+ years and you need to consider what happens over that span. Liberal arts majors may start out in relatively low-paying jobs but as they prove themselves and become more valuable they rise in salary. Now if you already expect that you won't be able to prove yourself in business maybe tech is right for you; but for those who have faith in themselves after a dozen years or so those engineers will be working for you! </p>

<p>It turns out that salaries in engineering rise rapidly for 6 or 7 years and then plateau. Why is that? Because the ideal engineering employee is someone with 3-5 years experience. After you've been around the block once or twice you know what needs to get done on a project, you know how to run the tools, work with the vendor, debug the product in the lab, etc. After this its just doing more of the same thing. Unlike doctors or lawyers or other professionals who become more valued as they get older, the most valued engineers are 25-30 or so. They seldom have families so they don't complain about the long hours, and they can be plugged right into the project. </p>

<p>Another source of the salary cap is the H1B program. Your friends in Congress let hi-tech employers bring in 120,000 workers from overseas each year (thats where the Chinese and Indians come from). And its communist China, BTW. Think about that. Do they say "well, lawyers are making too much so lets bring in 100,000 each year to help keep the cost of legal advice down?" No. Same with doctors, accountants, other professions. But employers have the bucks to lobby Congress, so they had the cap raised from 65,000 to 100,000 just a few years ago. The beauty of this program to employers is the visa is for 5 years and is non-renewable. In other words they can get a worker at low cost, have him work his ass off for a couple of years, and then US Immigration boots him out of the country before he starts demanding more! </p>

<p>And BTW search on the web and you'll find out that even though this program is supposed to address the "shortage" of workers, there is no requirement that H1B visa holders be laid off before American workers! So since they make less, many companies have been doing just that; firing the Americans and keeping the cheaper foreigners. All perfectly legal. </p>

<p>8) By the time your only in your 30's you'll be worried about your job. That's right! The ideal employee is 25-30, so by the time you get a little older you might not be as willing to work the insane hours. And since your salary goes up a little each year (2-4%), after a few more years all of a sudden you are making 20% more than people doing essentially the same work. So you're first out the door and the last one in. </p>

<p>IF YOU FOLLOW NO OTHER LINK IN THIS POSTING, you have to read "Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage" at <a href="http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.html&lt;/a> You should print this out and digest what its telling you. It's from a UC Davis professor and it spells out in great detail exactly why you are going to have trouble finding work by the time you are in your late 30's. The article is aimed primarily at software people since the professor teaches CS, but it applies to all the other engineering disciplines as well. </p>

<p>As he points out, "An InformationWeek survey of hiring managers found that only 2% of them would prefer to hire an applicant with more than 10 years of experience." 2%!!! See how many of the rebuttal posts bother to address that. He also notes that "Twenty years after graduation from college, only 19% of computer science majors are still employed as programmers". </p>

<p>In most other professions, those with experience are valued. You want your lawyer to have seen a bunch of similar cases, your doctor to have experience, your accountant, your professor, and so on. But to be honest engineering is blue-collar assembly-line work done with the mind instead of the hands. So sure, it's indoor work with no heavy lifting, but all they want is a couple of years experience and then you're as good as you're going to get as far as industry is concerned. </p>

<p>Here's a excerpt you should read carefully -- 'I spent seven years in school, and it resulted in a six-year career,' says Mr. Porter, who feels his master's degree in engineering is little more than 'a base.' And another -- "Many engineers are facing a challenge of a different sort. Graying engineers who have decades of work experience are as rare as a black and white TV. Even those under 40 are often considered old". See the article "A Short Circuit for US Engineering Careers" at <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1226/p02s01-usec.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1226/p02s01-usec.html&lt;/a> </p>

<p>9) You won't be a manager. If you share this with your teachers or counselor, they might not object too strongly to the 8 points above. But they have an ace left up their sleeve. They'll smile and say "The age discrimination might be real, and maybe most people aren't working in what they slaved over learning in college, but it doesn't matter to you. See, you'll be a manager". If only it were true! Sure, in a growing field there's room for advancement. But other than the phony numbers the industry manufactures to justify the H1B programs, there's not a huge amount of growth left in engineering. Actually it's already shrinking in some areas due to offshoring. So do the math. The average 1st-line manager has 10 employees. Since hi-tech is barely growing or is actually shrinking, less than 1/10 of those starting in hi-tech will become managers. </p>

<p>10) long term the outlook is bleak for engineers. Its easy to ignore slow changes until they are pervasive. Global warming, for instance. But here's a fun one. Ask your parents what the perception was of Japanese quality back in the 60's. You aren't going to believe the answer!!! The stuff was seen as junk, low quality stuff nobody wanted. And yet today they dominate consumer electronics, build better cars than the US makers, and so on. The change was gradual but sure, people were able to ignore what was happening right under their noses, and then all of a sudden the american manufacturers were dead. </p>

<p>The same inexorable change is dooming engineering in the US. Employers just want low costs and their search to find them is going to make even that high starting salary go away. Most major hi-tech companies already have engineering efforts overseas. going to happen in engineering. Recently Microsoft announced it is investing $400 million in India, and they've probably spent more since then (see <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ar87d%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://tinyurl.com/ar87d&lt;/a&gt;) And the 65,000 (soon to be 100,000) trained workers that are going back home just about when you get out of college, well they are competing against american workers on salary. In October 2005 Cisco announced it's investing over 1 BILLION dollars in India (see <a href="http://tinyurl.com/cr7wj)%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://tinyurl.com/cr7wj)&lt;/a>. </p>

<p>Here's what's going on. American employers are capping salaries today by bringing in hundreds of thousands of cheap workers. And after a couple of years they go home where they continue working for tech employers, but now at 1/4 or less of what an american makes. It takes a while to get the critical mass going. At first they start with sustaining engineering (eg supporting existing products), then they will move to having the overseas workers cost-reduce existing products. Next they will be used to add improvements to existing products, at which point they are poised for the final blow. New product development will go to Shanghai and Bangalore, and then who needs those overpaid Americans anymore? </p>

<p>This change is coming, its already starting. Just like the Japanese change from junk manufacturers to best in the world, it may take a decade or two but its going to happen. And in a decade or two you're barely 30, then what are you going to do?</p>

<p>i dont know about that...one of my good friends was a civil engineering major, yet SHE partied far more than anyone else i know, and had all these great job offers while she was still at school. she is making a very nice salary right now in a great little town</p>

<p>dude... my dad is an engineer, he makes six digits, is worth a few million (although we live in a modest size house, lol), and doesn't work insane hours (he's 50 btw). I mean, I get to spend every Saturday and Sunday with him, and if I wanted to, every Tuesday and Thursday evening too.</p>

<p>Additionally, he was offered multiple CEO and other high executive positions in Chinese biotech and pharmaceutical companies.</p>

<p>We live in a small town too, no big buildings or skyscrapers anywhere... tallest building here maybe 6-7 stories.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Your friends in Congress let hi-tech employers bring in 120,000 workers from overseas each year (thats where the Chinese and Indians come from). And its communist China, BTW.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, if those workers are replacing American engineers, then they must surely be skilled.</p>

<p>And your conclusion that foreign engineers come cheap is not always true. My father is one example, two of his colleagues are engineers as well and they each make six digits as well (both Indian, both immigrated here about 5 years ago).</p>

<p>Here's another truth: In the 2005 computers and engineering International Collegiate competition (I don't know if the title is completely correct, but it WAS an engineering/computer tech competition). Two Chinese universities finished first and sixth, two Indian universities both finished in the top 10 (one of them was top 5), and get this, MIT finished 23rd.</p>

<p>Oh, what does communism have to do with this btw?</p>

<p>If you are an engineer, then it's likely you've just got some bad luck</p>

<p>Did you network well enough in college?</p>

<p>Your passionate warning about engineering seems excessive and paranoid.</p>

<p>As an example, the US Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook predicts slow growth for electrical engineering as a profession.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?ct=OOH%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?ct=OOH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Job Outlook [About this section] Back to Top </p>

<p>Electrical and electronics engineering graduates should have favorable employment opportunities. The number of job openings resulting from employment growth and the need to replace electrical engineers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force is expected to be in rough balance with the supply of graduates. </p>

<p>Employment of electrical and electronics engineers is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations through 2012. Although rising demand for electrical and electronic goods, including advanced communications equipment, defense-related electronic equipment, and consumer electronics products should increase, foreign competition for electronic products and increasing use of engineering services performed in other countries will act to limit employment growth Job growth is expected to be fastest in services industries—particularly consulting firms that provide electronic engineering expertise. </p>

<p>Continuing education is important for electrical and electronics engineers. Engineers who fail to keep up with the rapid changes in technology risk becoming more susceptible to layoffs or, at a minimum, more likely to be passed over for advancement.</p>

<p>Earnings [About this section] Back to Top </p>

<p>Median annual earnings of electrical engineers were $68,180 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $54,550 and $84,670. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $44,780, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $100,980. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of electrical engineers in 2002 were: </p>

<p>Scientific research and development services $77,410
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing 72,670
Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution 71,640
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing 70,430
Architectural, engineering, and related services 66,980 </p>

<p>Median annual earnings of electronics engineers, except computer, were $69,930 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $55,930 and $85,980. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $46,310, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $103,860. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of electronics engineers in 2002 were: </p>

<p>Federal government $78,830
Architectural, engineering, and related services 72,850
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing 70,950
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing 70,800
Wired telecommunications carriers 62,670 </p>

<p>According to a 2003 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bachelor’s degree candidates in electrical/electronics and communications engineering received starting offers averaging $49,794 a year; master’s degree candidates averaged $64,556; and Ph.D. candidates averaged $74,283.</p>

<p>The individual who started this thread should be given a gold star. It is being told exactly as it really is. As an engineer for many years, this is a horrible career to choose. Yes there are people who are financially successful, most of whom would have been much more successful at something else. If you are technically capable, you will be labeled a "triple integral gearhead" and never be promoted to a management level position. The more education you have, the worse it is. As was pointed out, employment opportunities are far and few between. You will always be fearful of layoffs because your contributions to the company are so difficult to quantify - unlike someone in sales and marketing that you will always be underappreciated. You will most likely struggle to find a job in another city and have to uproot your family. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE THAT THERE IS A SHORTAGE - IT IS TOTAL NONSENSE!</p>

<p>Ok assuming engineering and computer science are poor choices for future careers in America, what are good fields to be studying now for good future careers?</p>

<p>Marleys_ghost, All I can say to you is:</p>

<p>HOGWASH!!!!</p>

<p>I have had a very successful, very rewarding 30-year career in civil engineering. I am a licensed Professional Engineer in several states, and I have Masters degrees in both civil engineering and business administration. I was a principal and regional manager with a large, national engineering firm for many years; I now own my own consulting company. And yes, I am a woman.</p>

<p>My husband is also an engineer (mechanical). He also has a masters degree and earns a six-figure salary. He has switched companies a half dozen times over the course of his career and each time has had several job offers to choose from, and with each new job, he has taken on increasing management responsibilities.</p>

<p>H & I love the challenges and rewards of engineering and are happy and satisfied with the career choice we made. And we know many, many other engineers -- male and female -- who feel the same way. (You can find them yourself by attending any meeting of an engineering-oriented professional society.) My son is now thinking about an engineering major in college (he's only in HS now) and that's fine with us.</p>

<p>Certainly if one doesn't like math or engineering, or is unwilling and/or incapable of putting in the intense study required to be a good engineer, they shouldn't go into that field. (I would say the same about any career!) But I think your "gloom and doom" scenario is really over the top.</p>

<p>I'm really curious as to how a history major would end up having engineers working for him</p>

<p>Good Fields--Accting/CPA, consulting, finance, marketing research, law, medical fields, teaching. Very little chance of getting major job losses overseas in those areas.</p>

<p>In case you wanted to read what happened last time this was posted:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?4/92368%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?4/92368&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I totally agree with everything you said. You have just convinced me to NOT go into engineering</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>"If you've ever wanted to feel like a minority in your own country, engineering is the job for you. And BTW many don't bother with soap or deodorant because that's the way things are in their country."</p>

<p>::blink:: So feeling like "a minority in my own country" is something I should worry about when selecting a career. And that deoderant bit isn't generalizing or offensive at all.</p>

<p>However, you did bring up some interesting points. I'll keep them in mind. I still want to major in it though.</p>

<p>Although I'm sure you'll get a lot of crap for it, I apprecaite the advice. I'm a female looking a majoring in Chemical Engineering... and while I still am interested in the field I'll be looking at some of your information.</p>

<p>My dad is an Electrical Engineer and has been with Dominion since graduating in 1981. He actually used to cut the grass at one of their offices for money during the summer. He's 46ish now... and continues to have a very successful career. It hasn't been easy though. My family moved around TONS (15 times in total) when he was moving up the ladder, and we've had to deal with the threat of layoffs. My parents bought a store actually, when Dominion was dropping people like flies, just for added security.</p>

<p>All that being said -- my dad loves his job, and he wouldn't go back and do anything differently. He's actually pushing for me to ChemE. Go figure. :)</p>

<p>umm.. dont these generalizations apply to only certain engineering majors i never heard anyone speak of chem. engineers (my major next year). I thought that chem. engineers had a good job outlook and lots of flexibility( medical field, pharmaceuticals, etc)</p>

<p>He is correct that Liberal arts majors will usually catch up in terms of salary after 10 years, even though they start at a lower salary than engineers. </p>

<p>I think Engineering is just another type of career, like law, banking, and medicine. There are drawback to it and it is not for everyone. It may not be the best career choice for everyone. Similarly, many people start off liking Medicine, but not end up doing it. Every career has its own unique advantages and obstacles. The advantage of engineering is that you can get a decent job right after graduation. The drawbacks, are said above.</p>

<p>I've never seen such concentrated anti-engineering consolidated in one post! I think it's an exaggeration - anyone with useful skills and intelligence can and will succeed as an engineer. Making such broad generalizations about a massive component of the work force is sheer paranoia.</p>

<p>Most "liberal arts" majors aren't going to be managing engineers. Business majors, econ majors, etc... may, but history majors, pol sci majors, and english lit majors are not going to end up running companies or managing engineers.</p>

<p>Hours wise, medicine is HORRIBLE - I don't know how many of you personally know doctors, but being on call 24/7 is a HORRIBLE thing - who wants to get up at 3 am because some patient has horrible complications and is in the ER?</p>

<p>Also, doing engineering for a while and then getting an MBA is a fairly solid career path - you get work experience and then are an ideal candidate for a managerial position at any technically-oriented firm.</p>

<p>Also, teaching isn't a good field to get into - the pay isn't great, and while you work only 3/4 of the year, high-end salaries aren't that impressive most of the time, and they take many, many years of teaching and a high level of education to get to.</p>