<p>I hear a lot of talk about how lucrative and sensible it is to enter into the field of engineering - with the good money, the job security, the easy accessibility into the market once graduated, and all. But after investigating these types of jobs more thoroughly, something just doesn't add up. I seem to be encountering a lot of engineering friends who, while on paper seem to have a really nice career in the making, seem to actually be getting a really bad deal.</p>
<p>For example, a friend of mine recently accepted a position at the big three as an electrical engineer, with a starting salary of $60,000 and full benefits with vacation. Ostensibly, that seems like a great way to kick off a career. But after further probing I uncovered a really haunting detail: they've been working him at nearly 70 hours a week, without any additional compensation. While I don't consider my mathematics skills to be anywhere near the level of my engineering friends, my calculations tell me that this formulates to a terrible hourly wage - in fact, it's just around $18 an hour. That hardly seems lucrative to me. </p>
<p>To this end, I've met plenty other new engineers who are experiencing the same miserable working conditions - long hours, tumultuous days, and intense pressure and scrutiny are all common complaints among them. It kind of makes you wonder if engineering is worth it? I mean, I suppose that a job is better than no job. But when you deduce what the position is actually paying, it kind of seems like it's not worth it. I thought these guys were supposed to be good at math? =P</p>
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<p>Most college graduates transition from hourly workers to salaried workers. Most succesful people work more than forty hours a week without additional pay. Welcome to the working world.</p>
<p>Well, it won’t seem like work if you love it. Look at it that way. If you do not like math and science and thinking, you should never consider engineering.</p>
<p>^interesting way to put it</p>
<p>Get a government job</p>
<p>If you like engineering then yeah it is…if not then do something you like doing.</p>
<p>Ok what would you rather be doing:</p>
<p>A) Liberal Arts Bull*****, like History/English/Philosophy etc</p>
<p>B)Getting down on your knees for your higher ups to climb up the ladder (business, etc)</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>C) Making seriously cool stuff like bridges, skyscrapers, cars, computers, software, vaccines, clones, etc and advancing the core of the human civilization in doing so?</p>
<p>well if you’re gonna put a negative spin on the others then you might as well say:</p>
<p>C) Working for a defense contractor thus requiring a constantly aggressive foreign policy and expansion of empire in order to keep the paycheck flowing</p>
<p>Except in that case, the engineer’s math/science/reasoning/thinking/critical skills are all valued above those of any other major. </p>
<p>You can be a CompSci major and go into the field of business, but you can be a business major and work for a technical job at Google. </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>and if you’re a History major, you can do anything at all…</p>
<p>And apparently if you’re an engineer you “can” differentiate between “can” and “can’t.”</p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>Engineering is a great career if you love it and if you’re good at it. No career is going to be fun if you hate it and suck at it. Personally, I’d be extraordinarily miserable as an engineer. There are tons of people that would. And at the same time, there are tons of people who would LOVE being an engineer and thrive in the industry. A lot of good paying jobs have long hours…you’ve got to love it to find it to be worth it. If you hate it, then of course you wouldn’t find it worth it. So for your friend, it might be worth it. I would not find working 70 hours a week as an engineer worth it, but I would find working as an attorney 70 hours a week worth it. It just depends on the person, really.</p>
<p>I hate how they don’t let you edit out your typos on here…</p>
<p>The post should read:</p>
<p>"Except in that case, the engineer’s math/science/reasoning/thinking/critical skills are all valued above those of any other major. </p>
<p>You can be a CompSci major and go into the field of business, but you can’t be a business major and work for a technical job at Google. </p>
<p>and if you’re a History major, you can’t do anything at all…"</p>
<p>they take it away after a certain amount of time has passed : (</p>
<p>Every career has it’s pros and cons. Similarly engineering career suits those who like solving technical problems. Those who finds science and math interesting also excel in this career. In general engineers are problem solvers who use their expertise in science and math to do their job. But then you should be very cautious while choosing your career, as that only decides whether you would be successful or not. No doubt there are a lot of opportunities for engineers and they are also paid very well, but then you have to be passionate for it. If you are not comfortable in any career then sustenance would become difficult.</p>
<p>Engineering is awesome, man. Awesome.</p>
<p>its a great faculty…</p>
<p>But i’ll advice you make a choice that goes with your heart</p>
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