<p>Okay, I'm a HS senior who's pretty fluent in physcal sciences and mathematics. Thus, I've naturally looked into engineering.</p>
<p>I've read that jobs in pure sciences more or less suck, because they are so few, and the ones that are found are usually for lab-monkeys (i.e., someone with a BS or MS in chemistry). Even PhD's don't get too far with academia-jobs. Please crrect me or verify these statements :X haha.</p>
<p>Soooo, I've also read that all these pure-science majors wished that they had tried out engineering because of better pay and security and so on. Engineering sounds pretty exciting to me because I'm more of a number-cruncher than a theorist (well, I think..). Or, I may just be a mixed fan of both theory and application, who knows. But then I go and read about engineering, and I see that everything starts out amazing, but an engineer typically hits the career "ceiling" pretty soon after employment? Is this true at all?</p>
<p>Can anyone comment on or verify what I've heard about pure-sciences and engineering? Also, what are some different career-paths for engineers to avoid a "ceiling" in growth?</p>
<p>For engineering, it’s pretty much the same across the board. </p>
<p>Unless you are doing something extraordinarily innovative at a company, your pay will top out in the 120k range. Many engineers complain about this, but they don’t understand how businesses work. An employee can’t get paid more than they produce. </p>
<p>On the other hand, any job that pays you 120k to work only 40 hrs/week is a good job. Particularly, when you only have a bachelor’s degree. No other field does that. </p>
<p>So for engineers who want to make more money, they either gravitate towards managerial roles in companies, become a partner in a consulting firm, or start up a company. That’s pretty much the same across every field of engineering.</p>
<p>The ceiling is pretty low for engineers. You have to keep in mind, though, the amount of hours you work. The average doctor makes around 150K a year, but they work many more hours a week than engineers do. Same with biglaw lawyers. Professors, as you mentioned, will probably only make 80-90k a year, but after they’re tenured, they basically do research, and maybe lecture 3 hours a day, 3 days out of a week. On top of that, they get summers off. That’s a ridiculous amount of money when placed in context.</p>
<p>Dude if you want to be rich, get out of engineering while you can.</p>
<ol>
<li>Pursue something else like consulting or banking out of undergrad</li>
<li>Work as an engineer at a F500 for a few years, go to B-school then jump to a typical post b-school job</li>
<li>Work in the company as an engineer and try and work your way up into management.</li>
</ol>
<p>Option 3 is a waste of time. By the time you make any progress a guy from McKinsey 8 years younger than you will be your boss. That guy from McKinsey could have been you if you pursued option 2.</p>
<p>I rolled with option 1, but I think option 2 is the best bet for any engineering student who wished to make the big bucks without taking entrepreneurial risk.</p>
<p>If you really want to be a career engineer then your best bets are starting your own engineering consulting firm or becoming a Professional Engineer at a F500 and seeing where that gets you.</p>
<p>Juding from your post, I doubt you want to pursue the academia route. Research professors at top schools earn big bucks too, but those positions are limited and require years of school and research. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, you’re not going to run GE by starting off as an engineer in a factory and working your way up. This is 2011.</p>
<p>Some companies promote engineers through the ranks, but a lot don’t. Those M7 MBAs and leadership programs are so sexy lol.</p>
<p>How true. There’s no respect for engineers and there’s mad respect for investment bankers. You know, the guys who trashed our economy. Yet still its where the money is.</p>
<p>I’ll be a graduated Comp Engineering in a year. After a few years working for corp I want to break off and start a company with some friends/colleagues.</p>
<p>All I’ve ever heard about career growth in engineering is that you pretty much have to switch jobs (sometimes come back) to gain title/salary</p>
<p>If you work as an engineer, there is a ceiling. Start with mechanical engineering. This gives you the fundamentals of engineering. That is like the General Practioner in the medical field. You can branch into other fields of engineering after your BS degree (as in the residency programs for a physician). If you are innovative, an opportunist, and an optimist, you can go to greater heights since you now can be an inventor, a developer of new ideas. When you partner with investors, you can be your own boss and earn much more. Don’t let the general notion of “I wil become a millionaire at 30” fool you. Many young folks think that way. Few get there. However, you HAVE to think big to attain higher goals. Get your basics done first, then pursue your next step towards richess!</p>
<p>I am not sure what you decided to do, but I hope you chose engineering. Everything you said in your original post about both hard science and engineering holds true, including the income ceiling for engineers. </p>
<p>However, note that engineers have several options for overcoming this. It all just depends on where your secondary talents lie. If you are a good writer, you could become a patent lawyer and make very lucrative sums. If you are more of a people-person and can see yourself running a company, then there is no better preparation for that than an engineering degree followed by getting a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). The options are wide. </p>
<p>I come to you as a senior in chemical engineering, hoping that you chose the right path.</p>
<p>If you’re a ‘grunt’, there is a ceiling in almost any field.</p>
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<p>Actually, there are better options but it depends on your situation. When I was in undergrad, I thought the same way. Ever since I started working, my perspective has changed. Just a little background: I currently work as a software engineer in the defense sector and I currently serve as an executive officer and acting company commander of an Infantry company in a state where the National Guard isn’t a typical joke. The assumption is that engineers have a ceiling which is a “half truth” in the context that people are referring to incomes. Your jaw would probably drop if you knew the amount I make with a Top Secret with Full Scope Polygraph and Special Access Program clearance and working for no more than 40 hours a week with over a month of vacation per year. Also, an MBA may be nice, but in the sector that I work in your military rank, assignments, experience, and network matter far more than which school printed your MBA diploma.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that if you’re the guy in the room that the bosses ask and go to for “So-and-so, what and how do we move this organization forward?” If you have 90% of the answers for that question, then the ceiling is as high as you make it and the sky is the limit.</p>
<p>Many engineers are perfectly content to do engineering for a career, earning a good paycheck that is more than sufficient for their (less spendy than average of people of similar income) living expenses.</p>
<p>Some, of course, try to climb corporate ladders in an attempt to reach the C<em>O positions, or attempt to start new companies. Both of these are potentially more financially rewarding, but could be more risky and stressful compared to just working as an engineering for a career. Of course, people from non-engineering backgrounds are also competing up the corporate ladders in an attempt to reach the C</em>O positions.</p>
<p>How do you guys think about going from engineering to management consulting? MC has pretty high starting salaries and bonuses- you could eventually work your way into management of a top company with the experience.</p>