<p>We engineers are not that bad… We are just misunderstood.</p>
<p>My engineering grad husband is not very empathetic, but I thought it was because of how he was brought up and his military training. Happy to know it’s because he trained as an engineer.</p>
<p>Hmm, I think I’m pretty empathetic, and I’m an engineer.</p>
<p>I think part of the “problem” could be that engineers are trained to find solutions. So when we hear somebody whining about how tough their life is, our first thought might be that they could be doing SOMETHING to improve their situation. If that’s a lack of empathy, I guess I’m guilty.</p>
<p>I think people have a perception about themselves and find a profession that matches that perception. Catch: sometimes it turns out that the reality is far different. The caring doctor, not being so caring at 3:00 am in the emergency room of a county hospital, or the not so social computer engineer working in a modern IT company with a close nit work force. People can evolve beyond stereotypes and as many pointed out, studies are as good as the opinion of those conducting them. You can forget that a few years back we were all eating pasta because meat was bad for us (90’s). Now carbs are toxic.</p>
<p>If engineers are cold and dead inside…imagine the managers! :D</p>
<p>Oh yeah…we got lots of Engineering Managers post in here and their comments are showing, very icy cold…LOL…cheers!</p>
<p>I was an engineering student (not working as an engineer, but in a related field) and consider myself to be empathetic as well. I’m a sucker for charities, fundraisers and romantic comedies, haha.</p>