<p>I am extremely interested in Engineering and have always wanted to become one, but i have recently read about Engineering jobs and pay decreasing. Is their still a future in this field? I mean I'm not all about making a ton of money a year but i want to be able to live a comfortable life style.</p>
<p>I would guess yes. Think of what it would take to destroy the entire profession, the entire concept of invention and optimization.</p>
<p>Engineering is still one of the best deals around from a pure bachelor's degree standpoint. If you think the future of engineering is bad, think about what the future holds for your typical humanities student. The typical engineering student will be far better off than your typical Art History student. </p>
<p>However, it is true that there are more lucrative careers out there. Banking and consulting immediately come to mind.</p>
<p>The last time I checked, $50,000 (average starting salary for engineers) a year is above average. How comfortable do you think that is?</p>
<p>minus taxes=not very comfortable</p>
<p>You could try other profession's salaries in the $30k and $40k. Don't be too greedy -- engineers are doing fine.</p>
<p>OK folks, have to chime in here as a parent of a kid who is also thinking about future careers.......engineers start at an average of 50K? I am with MatthewM04. I have been teaching 23 years and with a master's haven't reached that figure yet! I would have loved to start at 50K....in fact I will probably celebrate in 3 years when I (hopefully) get there! Keep it in perspective kiddos! :)</p>
<p>why would their pay decrease?</p>
<p>outsourcing.</p>
<p>Do it because you like it, not because of money. If you love doing it, you will be able to live just fine.</p>
<p>"minus taxes=not very comfortable"
ok so assume you pay twenty percent or 50000 that still leaves you with 40000 which is more then enough for a single person living alone</p>
<p>its so funny how u guys think 40,000 isnt enough. We are a family of 5 and my dad earns around $7500 a year (i am from Pakistan)</p>
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The last time I checked, $50,000 (average starting salary for engineers) a year is above average. How comfortable do you think that is?
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minus taxes=not very comfortable
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<p>I'll put it to you this way. Last time I checked, the average liberal arts graduate made 30k to start. How comfortable do you think that is? </p>
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I have been teaching 23 years and with a master's haven't reached that figure yet! I would have loved to start at 50K....in fact I will probably celebrate in 3 years when I (hopefully) get there! Keep it in perspective kiddos!
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<p>While I understand what you're saying and I don't want to be obtuse, I don't think teaching is really the best example. After all, the truth is, teaching brings a lot of fringe benefits - notably the fact that you get a lot of time off, including the whole summer off. I know a lot of engineers who would gladly make less pay in return for getting the whole summer off. Education is one of the only professions in the world where you really can get an entire season off, year after year. </p>
<p>Furthermore, after working for a few years, teachers in many jurisdiction get tenure which makes them effectively unfireable. Again, I know a lot of engineers who would gladly give up some pay in return for a tenure system that makes them unfireable. Basically, if you're a tenured teacher, you can only be fired after a long series of hearings that determine that you truly are immoral or incompetent. However, as an engineer, you can be fired/laid-off at any time and for any reason or no reason at all. Heck, being a good engineer in some cases might actually make you MORE likely to be fired, because you're so good that current managers see you as a threat to replace them. </p>
<p>To be fair, I agree that teachers also have a lot of unique problems to deal with - unruly kids, unpaid time spent grading papers, politics and so forth. So I'm not saying that teaching is a bed of roses. </p>
<p>But then again, neither are a lot of the liberal arts jobs out there. A lot of liberal arts grads also have to work long hours, have to deal with politics, and have to deal with rude or pushy people all the time. And they don't even get the benefit of the relatively high salary of the engineer or the time off and possibility of tenure that teachers enjoy. That's why I think that many of these liberal arts grads, especially at the no-name schools, would have been better off either studying engineering (or other pre-professional degree tracks like nursing), or becoming teachers.</p>
<p>Dude, if you don't want to be obtuse, don't be obtuse. Teachers are vastly underpaid, and the teachers I know don't get summers off... they teach summer school, or have to take other jobs to get them through the summers, so that they can make some extra money and support their families. And teachers don't get tenure everywhere. A lot of my favorite teachers, ones that I've learned an awful lot from, have ended up "not having their contracts renewed" for political reasons. A lot of the teachers got the axe simply because an influential parent decided that the teacher was "playing favorites". I'd decidedly lump teachers in with the "gets the short end of the stick" crowd.</p>
<p>Engineers have it good. I'm with MatthewM04, don't get greedy. My benefits package is ludicrously good, and it was actually pretty comparable to most of the benefits I was offered with my job offers. My company matches up to 6% of my salary contributions to my 401K. I get to keep all my frequent flier miles that I earn from travel. If I want to go back to school, they cover tuition. If I want to adopt a child, they cover fees. I get full dental, vision, and health coverage, with 100% zero co-pay preventative care, and coverage for orthodontics for all dependents. Two weeks' paid vacation, eight paid holidays annually... Top that off with an annual bonus, flex plan, company-paid life insurance, disability, and my slightly above-typical salary, and in five years, I get to buy shares of the completely employee-owned company...</p>
<p>We have no room to complain. If we work hard in school and once we get out into the real world, companies will treat us well. It's not a job that someone can learn without any educational training, and the good companies to work for know that.</p>
<p>Studying engineering, and even becoming an engineer, is satisfying work, especially if you really love engineering. It's lucrative, especially when you count in the benefits. You'll more than earn your fair share. You can't use gold buillion as doorstops, but really... where's the fun in that? It's so oversaid that it's lost its punch, but money really, REALLY doesn't solve any important problems other than putting food on the table, putting a roof over your head, and providing education for your kids. It doesn't buy you love, it doesn't keep you warm at night, it doesn't keep a family whole, and it's not the panacea that people think it is.</p>
<p>Engineering is decidedly worth it if you love engineering.</p>
<p>Teachers underpaid? I don't know about the USA, but as it is in Canada, I'd have to disagree. Education is reputed as being one of the easiest majors around. The people that become teachers are the one's that can't handle any other majors in University, which is why here is an over-supply of teachers up here.</p>
<p>My brother in law is a teacher. He makes around 55k CAD per year (just under 50k USD), and after 13 years, he'll be making 70k (63k USD). He gets summer's off and plays softball all summer. My sister, who is a Veterinarian, does 10 times the amount of work as him for about 80k CAD (72k USD). My bro in law is tenure after only 4 years. </p>
<p>If anything, teachers are overpaid. They have an easy time in University, their job isn't as stressful as many, they only work half of the days in a calendar year, and they have great job security. The people that aren't smart enough to get a more lucrative degree, in Canada, usually become a teacher. I don't know if that is the case in the USA.</p>
<p>Sakky, I don't think you quite understood why I posted. I shared the salary information of the teaching profession (it could have been nursing, police work, liberal arts, whatever...) with the OP because like you, I wanted him/her to compare that "comfortable" 50K with other profession's starting salaries. I lived with engineers all my life: my dad (EE) and my brother (Comp Eng), so I am pretty aware of what a great, yet tough profession it is. They earn every penny they make. </p>
<p>I'm sorry I can't get into a debate with you about some of the thoughts you have about the teaching profession. No time. I have to go and call two parents, fill out my paperwork for the 6 week class I am taking this summer (paid for out of pocket by the way), and grade/enter grades from a test taken today. If I don't work hard and do a good job, my contract doesn't get renewed. Period. And yes, aibarr you are right, I am not working my part time job this summer in order to take the class.</p>
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Dude, if you don't want to be obtuse, don't be obtuse. Teachers are vastly underpaid, and the teachers I know don't get summers off... they teach summer school, or have to take other jobs to get them through the summers, so that they can make some extra money and support their families. And teachers don't get tenure everywhere.
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<p>Hey, I'm going to call it the way I see it. While I don't want to go out of my way to deliberately offend anyone, I am not going to censor myself either, and I don't think anybody should try to censor me. I have the right to free speech. And the way I see it is, teachers get paid better than the average liberal arts grad does, and also get opportunities for tenure and lots of time off that the average liberal arts grad does not get. So if teachers are vastly underpaid, then the average liberal arts grad is REALLY REALLY vastly underpaid. </p>
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A lot of my favorite teachers, ones that I've learned an awful lot from, have ended up "not having their contracts renewed" for political reasons. A lot of the teachers got the axe simply because an influential parent decided that the teacher was "playing favorites". I'd decidedly lump teachers in with the "gets the short end of the stick" crowd.
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<p>And you think this sort of thing doesn't happen to people who aren't teachers? You think that regular working Joes don't also have to deal with politics? </p>
<p>At least teachers have the opportunity for tenure, depending on the district that they work in. Most people have NO opportunity for tenure whatsoever. </p>
<p>Look, the truth is, all jobs are political to some extent. I don't see any reason to believe that teaching is any MORE political than a regular industry job is. I've known liberal arts grads who've gotten low-paying jobs and then get fired from them because a client didn't like them or some other arbitrary BS. So on this aspect, it's a wash. The difference is that teachers get a bunch of perks that regular people never do. </p>
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We have no room to complain. If we work hard in school and once we get out into the real world, companies will treat us well. It's not a job that someone can learn without any educational training, and the good companies to work for know that.
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<p>I disagree with this. What you have may seem good until you look over at guy who worked barely a tenth as hard as you worked in undergrad and who is now a lawyer making triple what you are making, with all of the prestige and glamour. I believe ariesathena knows what I'm talking about. The same could be said about the guys who became consultants or bankers. </p>
<p>Look, if the top engineering students from the top schools like MIT have nothing to complain about, then why is it that so many of them do not take engineering jobs? Instead, many of them are enthralled by the siren song of consulting and banking.</p>
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I'm sorry I can't get into a debate with you about some of the thoughts you have about the teaching profession. No time. I have to go and call two parents, fill out my paperwork for the 6 week class I am taking this summer (paid for out of pocket by the way), and grade/enter grades from a test taken today. If I don't work hard and do a good job, my contract doesn't get renewed. Period. And yes, aibarr you are right, I am not working my part time job this summer in order to take the class.
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<p>Look, all I am saying is that you have a pretty good deal compared to most liberal arts grads. Most liberal arts grads don't ever get the opportunity to take the summer off from work while keeping their job. You do. Most liberal arts grads never have the opportunity to get tenure of any kind. You do. Sure, I don't deny that teachers have to work hard in order to keep their jobs if they aren't tenured, but then again, so do most liberal arts grads. So on that respect it's a wash. </p>
<p>My point is, you got a pretty good deal relatively speaking, and you should be proud to say so. I'm not saying that teaching is a bed of roses, but what I am syaing is that there are a lot of other jobs that are FAR worse. Ask the liberal arts grads who I know can't get a better job than working at the mall. I think they wouldn't mind having your job. </p>
<p>And that's exactly what I'm saying. I think that a lot of these liberal arts grads would have been better off either becoming engineers or becoming teachers. Hey, it sure beats working at the mall.</p>
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now, i'm no adult (hell, i'm still getting ready to head off to college in a few months, for engineering no less), but i've spent a lot of time thinking and forming my own philosophy for life, and i love that message. especially on these message boards where everyone's worried about stats, going to "the best" college, and "feeling uncomfortable" about a 50k salary. </p>
<p>i'm also fond of the saying, "Get a job you love, and you never work a day in your life."</p>
<p>all that said, i'm doing engineering and it's not my first choice, per se...if i had my choice i'd do a BS in Music Industry, but it's not exactly as secure as engineering. but minoring in Music Recording is so important to me, because i see going to school as an opportunity to learn, not just a place for me to learn how to make money. i DO have a fairly strong interest in engineering, and there's great potential to find a job that tailors to my interests with such a degree. and having the ability to "fall back" on such a lucrative field is nice. so in the end, it comes back to being able to find a good job i know i can be happy and satisfied with.</p>