<p>This question is not necessarily college-related but I figured I might have some luck here since a few of people on this forum probably have already graduated or have a fair amount of work expereince.</p>
<p>I have a question regarding the life as an aerospace/mechanical/civil engineer after graduation. I have heard stories that engineers work extremely long hours and are underpaid. Of course everyone tends to complain about their job no matter what their profession is. I understand that engineering is probably not a "9 to 5" job - especially in the private sector. As everyone knows, it is difficult to have a social life while being an engineering student, so I was wondering if this carries over after graduation. I'm wondering if your job becomes your life.</p>
<p>So my questions are:</p>
<p>1) Are practicing engineers allowed to have a decent social life?
2) Do you have weekends free?
3) How does the workload compare to the workload you had as a student?
4) If any of you have friends that are doctors, lawyers, or working in finance, how does your workload and hours compare to them?
5) Do you feel you are you are underpaid considering the skillset you bring to the company?</p>
<p>Obviously nobody needs to answer every question above, but if you even have an answer to one of these questions it would be very helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>