<p>I am planning on getting my bachelor's in electrical engineering technology (EET) from Old Dominion, but I am now unsure about two things:</p>
<p>First, does a degree from ODU carry enough clout to make 6 figures (inflation adjusted) around mid-career? I know the ranking methodologies are about as accurate as monkeys throwing darts at a chessboard, but it does raise the question. That said, I can always get a masters from somewhere more reputable.</p>
<p>Second, how is EET versus EE in terms of pay? If my understanding is correct, EET deals more in discrete i.e. off-the-shelf electronics.</p>
<p>It’s possible to go to any school and earn six figures after working for a while. It’s also possible to go to any school and be stuck earning five figures. It’s more about you and less where you go to school. If you are motivated, work hard, and know how to seize opportunities when they present themselves, you will do well regardless of where your degree came from.</p>
<p>In general, you will make more money with EE than EET. However, once again, it’s more about you and what you do in the working world. I know a few people with technology degrees from very average schools that are making well over six figures. But they are extremely hard working and moved up fast. There are many more EETs making a good amount less than EEs.</p>
<p>Well I’m an EE with near 30 yrs experience (I hang around here at CC because my 3rd kid is about to enter senior year of HS).
Anyway IMHO BSEET = technician, BSEE = engineer, big difference.IMO a BSEE is worth much more than BSEET.Try to go that route (BSEE) is you can.BSEE is considered more more math/ theoritical oriented vs BSEET which is debug/lab oriented.</p>
<p>According to the link Homer posted, there seems to be a $4K/year dearth. That said, I am planning on getting a masters either in EE, nuclear, or aerospace; would it still be a big thing at that point?</p>
<p>Those figures (from a 2009 article) must clearly be averages – from who knows where. My older s was offered jobs with oil companies at salaries that match the petroleum eng. rate, but he is a Mech E. He didnt want to work in that industry, so declined those offers. He chose prototype opportunities. His salary is not much different than the petrol. E reported, and definitely higher than the other engineering salaries listed in that article</p>
<p>Do whatever review you wish. There is a ton of info out there on salary surveys. My point is, there are many more opportunities for a Mech E, bus some opportunities will pay less than the big corp salaries . Petroleum E is a limited area-- more likely to get jobs in the big companies with better pay scales. Money isnt everything-- quality of life is.</p>
<p>I am asking which salary survey i.e. salary data you would advise. I am trying to make plenty of money so I will not have to work into old age, and from the looks of things, EET may not pay as much as I thought.</p>
<p>Additionally, I would like to comment upon the attitude of ‘doing what one wishes’. College is an investment in tuition plus opportunity cost, and I am trying to maximise the return. Work is not fun, exciting, etc., that is why it is called ‘work’ instead of ‘fun’, ‘excitement’, or something else, so one may as well resign one’s self to this fact.</p>
<p>You should choose which surveys you think are best for you. The data varies by location, experience, etc. My point is, you <em>should</em> bust your ass a bit on this, and learn what data to consider. You need to do your homework. I’ll give you a starting point but you NEED to do more. Look at salary.com, payscale.com and glassdoor.com for starters. Keep in mind there are lots of ways to “make plenty of money”, and many engineering salaries start high but plateau out. You should enjoy what you do, not just go for the possibility of a high starting payscale. That is very short-sighted.</p>
<p>And hopefully your uncle will advise you not to go into law ;)</p>
<p>It is a very bad idea to base your decisions based on money alone. That is a quick way into a job you hate. All the money can’t make up for being an unhappy person.</p>
<p>That said, the BLS OOH (Google it) is probably the most reliabl salary information but it is only national averages. It doesn’t break it down into regional averages, which are more useful. $60k in Indianapolis goes farther than $80k in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>I’ve got to back up FooMonChew here - I was an electronic technician before I got my degree, I’ve been working in electronics off and on for 16 years now, and I’ve seen the same thing: EET is for technicians, EE is for engineers. While there is a certain amount of overlap, EET goes far more into troubleshooting and repair, EE goes far more into design and theory. There ARE some highly-paid technicians out there, but experience plays a very large factor in that. I am really not sure where the starting salaries for BSEET’s are coming from - they seem really high, and I would not expect the majority of BSEET holders to make substantially more than that.</p>
<p>If you are interested in grad school, I would avoid EET like the plaque - not only is it poor preparation in general (due to the minimal focus on theory), but there are few if any MSEET’s available and many PhD/MS programs in EE categorically do not accept BSEET holders.</p>
<p>jym - if I am going to bust my ass for four years, I would rather go into an area whose average salary is about 83K instead of 54K (source - BLS).</p>
<p>You should bust your ass in school no matter what you study. And you should study what you want to study. Read boneh3ad’s post#11 again, And again. And again. it is spot on. There are other professions that will take you higher in the salary ranks down the road. Do not be short sighted.</p>
<p>Reiterating something until it seems true is hardly a reasonable way to go about things. That said, I refer you to my earlier statement about ‘work’. I hate work, but some work is worse than others. Engineering happens to be the work I hate the least.</p>
<p>Just know what you’re getting into, that’s all. Some people are comfortable living anywhere. If you go into petroleum engineering, you’re not going to have as many choices as civil engineering. From what I’ve heard petroleum engineers work very very long hours, but get lots of time off. That’s something to consider, whether it’s good or bad. </p>
<p>Yes, you should consider salaries when making career decisions, but you should also take into consideration other things that may affect life outside of work.</p>
<p>Also, work is work, but you can enjoy one field more than others. If there isn’t a career that can be your “passion,” then you can still pick the field you hate the least.</p>