Engineering Careers and Salaries?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Lately, I have been thinking a great deal about majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, I am trying to figure out whether I want to do a completely theoretical major (Physics) or ME. I will probably decide sooner or later, though I don't know how. My Intro to Engr course doesn't help at all...it's seems to only be affected by my preferences and interests. I would like to do both but I just don't know.</p>

<p>I was looking up salaries on U.S. DOL - BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), as well as many other sources. It seems to be a commonly shared statistic that Physicists and Astronomers make more on the Average and High level than do any engineers, just not at the Beginning level obviously. From BLS, Phys and Astro make up to about $130k, while Engineers max-out at about $92k... I am rather picky about salaries because I never want to have to face any finance-related problems, nor do I want to have any hardship that is based on lack of financial resources. Basically, I want to have a life that I have an extremely large source of money, without going into management or deviating from the mathematical and practical work of an Engineer or the theoretical research work of a Phys or Astro. </p>

<p>Currently considering Phys and ME, and thinking about other majors connected to both of those fields for a double (who knows, maybe a triple???) major. Considering: Phys, ME, Applied Phys, AE, Materials Engr/Sci, and ?EE?</p>

<p>Anybody have any opinions/comments?</p>

2

<p>Just out of curiosity, what do you do with a degree in physics? It's such a broad subject, I can't think of a specific job that would require a degree in general physics and nothing more specific?</p>

3

<p>An undergraduate physics degree is good for persuing graduate studies in literally anything from law to medicine to engineering to even philosophy. However, you can't really get a job with an undergraduate physics degree. Maybe i-banking (if you're from a top school) but really nothing else.</p>

<p>To the OP, </p>

<p>I recommend you major in engineering for undergrad because you have the freedom of persuing physics as a grad student. You also won't be forced to persue graduate studies and can settle down and work if you'd like.</p>

4

<p>Yes, that was more of my question, what jobs can you get with a BS in just physics?</p>

5

<p>I'm going to do a double major no matter what, but I don't know from which field to pick both majors from. Doing Physics and ME would seem unecessary because I am going to end up in either theoretical Physics or engineering, so I might as well pick which field.</p>

<p>Doing Engineering during undergrad is fine, and so is Physics, but Engineers seem to earn less money. I want to be earning a lot of money and live life freely and without any worries. I just want to see if Engineers really do earn less. </p>

<p>I know an Astrophysicist, PhD, working at JPL who earns $90k, but it took him quite a few years to get up to that salary. I also know a Physicist, MS, who is earning $80k and also working at JPL but he is already pretty old and had a lot of stuff happen with his life. However, I have not met any Engineers to be able to ask them about their jobs. Thus, I have no personal evidence...<em>sigh</em>. What do you guys think?</p>

6

<p>If you are looking to get to a higher salary as quickly as possible I wouldn't double major. If you want to do something different, get a master's in something different than your undergrad.</p>

7

<p>Why do you reccomend against double majoring as a negative salary factor?</p>

8

<p>You should never really factor money into your major. Otherwise, you'll regret the 4 years of your college life. Choosing physics over engineering because physicists make more money in the long run is a wrong decision. You choose physics if you're more interested in theory than applied sciences. Or, you choose engineering over physics because you like a specialized, applied part of physics like EE or MechE.</p>

<p>As far as money is concerned, both make the same amount of money in the long run. Engineer's don't have to persue a graduate degree like physicists and the engineer's salary rises and peaks out at around 70K but if you work long enough and manage not to get passed on promotions, you'll become manager and make 100K.</p>

<p>The benefit of getting a physics p.h.d is that a job in physics can be more relaxing and less stressful. I mean you don't have to put up with meetings everyday and projects deadlines. Instead, you'll be teaching and doing research or just doing research. </p>

<p>Physics p.h.d's also tend to be amazingly versatile. I've personally studied under two phys. professors. One of them worked for the CIA, also got his JD at law school and practiced law, and he even became a commercial flight pilot. The other professor became a physics p.h.d and after a while got his JD in law, became a lawyer and made a ton of money.</p>

<p>Physicists just have that mindset where they can literally do anything. Indeed, they have the remarkable fire of an imagination where they will switch jobs and careers just for the heck of it. I plan to do the same in life but I don't feel like getting a physics p.h.d.</p>

<p>Engineers, interestingly enough, also tend to very versatile. Many engineers do engineering because it is a rigorous, quantitative major and provides an excellent backup and almost guaranteed job offers. I've seen many engineers go to law school, medical school, and quite a few go into investment banking and make a ton of money. </p>

<p>If your interested in money, it will come later on in life. Like I said, your never constrained to one profession. A degree in physics or engineering will train and prepare you for anything and most importantly, it will teach you how to think.</p>

<p>The decision to choose between physics and engineering must be of interest. What subject do you like more?</p>

9

<p>Jobs that you can get with a BS in physics (or chemistry, biochem., and biology and other pure sciences) are really non-existant. Like I said, if you're from a top school (ivy league schools, MIT, Stanford, chicago, Michigan, Illinois, Berkeley, Wesleyan, Swarthmore, etc...) and you end up graduating at the top of your class, you can go into investment banking/consulting and get an analyst position. Analysts make a ton of money (start of anywhere between 75K and 100K). </p>

<p>Otherwise, a BS in physics /other pure sciences is useless if your looking for jobs.</p>

<p>Engineering is different because you can get a job right after graduation with a solid salary (50K+) in engineering firms (duh) and / or choose to work at i-banks/consulting firms if your college is elite enough to be recognized by the firms.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
It seems to be a commonly shared statistic that Physicists and Astronomers make more on the Average and High level than do any engineers, just not at the Beginning level obviously.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I STRONGLY disagree with this. I think what you are looking at is that PhD physicists and astronomers are doing OK for themselves. But that doesn't mean that you will, for the simple fact that you may not want to get a PhD. </p>

<p>Obviously PhD physics/astro people are probably making more than the average engineer, but that's because the average engineer does not have a graduate degree. You need to be looking at the average salaries of people with comparable degrees, which the BLS does not show you. Basically, a person with a BS degree in physics/astro is not really qualified to be a physicist in the BLS sense of the word, but somebody with a BS degree in engineering is very qualified to be an engineer. You really ought to have a PhD in physics before you can get a real physicist job. </p>

<p>Don't believe me? Read about it yourself:</p>

<p>"Because most jobs are in basic research and development, a doctoral degree is the usual educational requirement for physicists and astronomers."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos052.htm#training%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos052.htm#training&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Doing Engineering during undergrad is fine, and so is Physics, but Engineers seem to earn less money. I want to be earning a lot of money and live life freely and without any worries. I just want to see if Engineers really do earn less.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Here's some more data about the grads from Berkeley. I would advise you to look carefully at the starting salaries earned by the physics majors compared to the engineering majors.</p>

<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/CarDest/2004Majors.stm#salary%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://career.berkeley.edu/CarDest/2004Majors.stm#salary&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

11

<p>nic767,</p>

<pre><code>In the time it takes to double major you probably can get a master's degree. Of course it depends on how much overlap the two majors are. But if they overlap a lot, what is the real benefit? But there is a measureable salary benefit to a Master's degree.

Many employers are looking to hire the best engineer possible, regardless of major. Notice I didn't say "mechanical engineer" or "electical engineer". Many of them just want the best engineer. And even when they are looking for a certain type of engineer, what are the odds they are looking for a combination of majors? Sure, some will be impressed with a double major but I don't think it will carry near the weight of a master's degree.
</code></pre>

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<p>I had already acknowledged that Engineers have a higher starting salary, which is what the data from Berkeley indicates. How would the comparison be between the salaries of PhD Engineers and PhD Astrophycisits or Physicists? I will definitely try to pursue a PhD in my field, so that is not the question. It really does seem like Phys and Astro make more on the PhD level and their salaries rise too, and don't cap off for a long time.</p>

<p>wingardiumLeviosa, you have revived my interest in double majoring in Physics and ME. But still...I think that maybe I should choose between the two. I don't know. Hopefully, I will be able to decide after my first few Engineering courses and Physics courses. I don't know which subject I like better.</p>

<p>I know that a PhD is usually required for Phys and Astro, and that is what the BLS statistics are probably based on. </p>

<p>I don't want to be doing either research or some kind of Engineering job and have my income cap off at around $70k. I want to make more, but still stick with the mathematical and real Engineering work.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
I don't want to be doing either research or some kind of Engineering job and have my income cap off at around $70k. I want to make more, but still stick with the mathematical and real Engineering work.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If you're really good and eligible to join the core design team at Microsoft, Intel, AMD, etc, you may get upto 300K for pure technical jobs. Above that, it's normally offered to management people. An alternative is to be top engineering school professors (which turns out to be very difficult), or produce some marketable singale/shared patents.</p>

14

<p>"If you're really good and eligible to join the core design team at Microsoft, Intel, AMD, etc, you may get upto 300K for pure technical jobs"</p>

<p>....that's quite laughable, I'm sorry. Top engineers max out at 90k for junior positions, and 140k for senior (20+ years experience, published books etc.) I know smart engineers from stanford/cornell/berkeley that don't break the 110k barrier after 5 years of experience.</p>

<p>If you want to make money, then become a doctor. If you love engineering, and don't mind working for the next 30 years with a top ceiling of 110-120k, then go into engineering. This will generally be true for 99.9% of the engineers....the lucky 0.1% are just that; lucky.</p>

15

<p>Hmmm, well...I think I love Engineering. I would not mind a ceiling of $100k or $110k, that would be perfect. That is exactly what I am talking about. However, it seems that Engineers don't reach that for a long time...and usually ceilings are around $70k or something, as stated in a previous post. What would be the most likely outcome?</p>

<p>As for doing Engineering during my undergrad (if after taking my Physics classes, I decide that I do not want to pursue research in Physics), what would be the best combination of majors? The current engineering majors that I am considering: ME (most definitely), AE, Materials Engr, and EE (don't know..).</p>

<p>I just have a love for building/constructing things and them being something that I had not normally been exposed to. Space is a very large interest of mine. I think ME would be my main major because it is so versatile and almost anything can happen with my interests. AE, I would probably study even if I didn't do it as my major because I am very interested in everything that AE encompasses. EE, I really don't know about because I don't seem to have too much of an interest in electricity or anything, even though I am getting to love Computer Science (from my current Fndmntls of Comp Sci class) and possible programming for Engineering uses. I was extremely interested in the autonomous vehicle challenge that took place in the Mojave desert. I was overwhelmed with joy with the prospects of what I may be doing in the future. It seemed to me that I was following the direct path towards something like that by doing ME and learning a lot of comp sci. Materials Engr seemed like a good option because it would be rather interesting to study and I thought that it would be a good combo with ME because of how they are related in the real world. </p>

<p>I will never become a doctor. I will never become a lawyer (or maybe I will..I seem to be good at forming arguments and debating..but I doubt it). It's something my parents are obsessed over making me become and I have found them to not be of prime importance for me. That goes for pretty much everything else that is not related to my current interests in the sciences.</p>

<p>Any advice? =)</p>

16

<p>I wouldn't rule out being a doctor if I were you....they in fact do a lot more "problem solving" than engineers on a daily basis, and spend most of their time doing actual work. Engineers are in meetings 25% of the time, making project plans the other 25% of the time, checking other people's work (30%), and only spend 10-20% of their time doing real work....it's a lot more political than you expect, and you can easily age yourself out of the market by the time you're 30 -- after which you'll almost be pushed into management.</p>

<p>I think a lawyers job is the worst of the three....but doctors are very, very happy doing their job and getting paid an extraordinary amount for it.</p>

17

<p>How does an engineering degree relate to i-banking? And what exactly is invest banking/what does a consulant or analyst do?</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
I think a lawyers job is the worst of the three....but doctors are very, very happy doing their job and getting paid an extraordinary amount for it.

[/quote]

I think this is a pretty broad generalization. I know some doctors who are quite dissatisfied and some lawyers who are happy in their careers. Also, not all engineers over 30 are banished from their technical fields to management, although some get their MBAs because management is where they want to be. There is no formula for happiness or even for success for that matter. Everyone is different.</p>

19

<p>Thank you, lkf. Saves me a rant. =)</p>

20

<p>"I know some doctors who are quite dissatisfied "</p>

<p>Many doctors are very dissatisfied, and leaving the profession. The physician in our family has strongly discouraged all the up-coming college students in our family from going into the field.</p>

<p>Selecting medicine or engineering as a career because you want to make a top income is a serious mistake.</p>