<p>
[quote]
"How much money do you need to live comfortably?" Then people will ask what is your definition of living comfortably...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's true. It's all relative. I grew up on food stamps, so $120k is a lot to me. It's 3 times what my parents make while raising 2 kids in New York. $120k would not be a lot to a child of a doctor and a lawyer growing up in an apartment bordering Central Park.</p>
<p>Heh, 60k would be considered really good where I come from.
All these spoiled brats on CC...</p>
<p>I Didnt Say That You Couldnt Live Comfortably For 120k Anywhere! Go Back And Read It! I Just Said That It Is Not As Much In Some Areas As Others, So Be Careful To Look At Where The Figures Come From! My God! This Is A Nonissue!</p>
<p>way to pick one part of what i say and twist it! leave it to CC to do that!</p>
<p>I never said you said anything, I was speaking in general...</p>
<p>Firstly making a 120k is a good living anywhere in the U.S. even if you have an average family. Now...120k where I live (Wisconsin) is considered wealthy. </p>
<p>Anyways it seems this thread has gone well..off topic. Fact is with an MBA or not you can make an excellent living doing engineering. If you get an MBA it will only increase your salary if you get promoted to management. Otherwise you are better off doing a master is something related to your field and moving into a "senior" position. A lot of engineers do end up in management and a lot choose to continue doing engineering...it really depends on what your goals and interests are. Is there a large salary gap between management and senior level engineers? No. Excluding upper management of course.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I Didnt Say That You Couldnt Live Comfortably For 120k Anywhere! Go Back And Read It! I Just Said That It Is Not As Much In Some Areas As Others, So Be Careful To Look At Where The Figures Come From! My God! This Is A Nonissue!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I never said you said that. If you read post #39, you can see that I changed the question. Nobody's actually been disagreeing with you apart from the $120k being not that much.</p>
<p>OP never really stated if he was seriously interested in engineering, seems like his main focus was salary but I could be wrong. I wouldn't recommend majoring in engineering if you don't have a solid interest in it because you wouldn't really survive the curriculum...</p>
<p>I have to highly disagree. $120K may be a lot of money in a lot of places but definitely not all. I live in Orange County, CA. I actually make a little less than $120K. I am single no dependents and in a 40%+ tax bracket. I pay $2200 in rent for a 2 bd room, and pay a car note, & student loan. I definitely don't live exotic. I live check 2 check.</p>
<p>Now that I am about to complete my MBA, how do I tie my (electrical) engineering degree in. I hear stories about high tech firms looking for MBA with engineering backgrounds to work as analyst, but I never see those jobs posted. Any suggestions on what industry I should target?</p>
<p>** I WAS USING 120K as a GENERIC NUMBER! I could have said ANY NUMBER! PLEASE STOP FOCUSIN ON THE NUMBER! The lesson was that the value of a dollar is different in different areas of the country!**</p>
<p>there is no golden ticket to success. This isn't Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. If you want to make money, any field will have risks you have to overcome. </p>
<p>Medicine: you don't get into med school, often times stuck with low-paying biology, chemistry, etc. degree, medical compensation going down.</p>
<p>Dentistry: certain technologies taking up your job, don't get into dental school</p>
<p>Law: Don't get into a T14, for corporate law, economy goes down</p>
<p>Engineering to MBA: Get a MBA, but don't move up because Daddy's boy got the job.</p>
<p>Investment Banking: Don't get in, Economy crashes, etc.</p>
<p>you can't guarantee success no matter what profession you choose because there is something that can go wrong. Sure some have a higher probability of success than others, but if you like what you do, you'll find a way to stay on top of things and avoid a collapse.</p>
<p>would a PhD and MBA be overkill?</p>
<p>I guess I don't see the point of doing a Phd and an MBA. Those who do MBA are basically trying to get out of the engineering position and into a management one. Getting a Phd either means you want to be a professor or you want to do really hardcore design.</p>
<p>
[quote]
would a PhD and MBA be overkill?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Do you have any real concept of how many years that would take...?</p>
<p>well. i noticed that some of the top execs at defense contractors have that combination.</p>
<p>They likely picked up the MBA along the way. Actually, they might have picked up the PhD along the way, too, since a lot of defense contractors will pay for you to work part time and pick up your PhD at a reputable nearby university, if they see that you're worth the expense.</p>
<p>It's not really going to help you to just rack up credentials, though.</p>
<p>really? but i want to have my name written as, F. Middle Last, PhD, MD, JD, DD.</p>
<p>initials are soooo cool.</p>
<p>
[quote]
really? but i want to have my name written as, F. Middle Last, PhD, MD, JD, DD. initials are soooo cool.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So get those, and a podium to stand behind at all times, and top-secret clearance. Then go around saying, "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you." You would then be the most awwawesome person alive.</p>
<p>You can rack up initials for free with professional societies, too. The ASCE refers to me as Aibarr, A.M. A.S.C.E, in all their correspondence. If I go for LEED certification, then once I get my PE, I can be Aibarr, A.M. A.S.C.E, P.E., M.S.C.E., LEED A.P., E.I.E.I.O.</p>
<p>That might be kind of pretentious, though. Also, would not fit on a business card.</p>
<p>ok. my post was obviously a joke (well it could have been mistaken cuz there are really intense people like that on CC).</p>
<p>i honestly just looked at the websites of the companies that i would want to be a part of, looked at the exec jobs that i would want, and checked out their stats. a lot of them either have ms+mba, phd+mba, or just phd.</p>
<p>actually i also got to talk to some engineers of a variety of levels from one company in a conference call....quite cool...but that really isnt relevant.</p>
<p>
[quote]
my post was obviously a joke
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Apparently mine wasn't, though...?</p>