<p>Engineering was <em>difficult</em>, but the fact that you consider it to be <em>painful</em> is probably why you didn’t stay in engineering… Many of us find engineering to be a ridiculous amount of fun, and the theory that we have to learn to support our knowledge of engineering is one of the things that we just have to do in order to get to what we love. Same thing as music majors having to take theory courses in order to get to be a freelance violinist when they go out into the real world.</p>
<p>It does irk me that as engineers, we aren’t paid what we’re worth. (And I’d like to say that the fact that lawyers and bankers work ridiculous hours and don’t have time to spend their money makes me feel better, but I put in 60 hours this week and don’t particularly feel like I’m in any better boat than they are! And honestly, I begrudge them the doctoral stripes far more than the pay. 
) Just because I’m a little irked, though, doesn’t mean that I look out our window at work downtown, from the office space in the skyscraper that our firm designed, down at the two professional sports arenas that our firm designed, to my computer models of the most complex elevated pedestrian walkway in the <em>world</em>… that I’m designing… and think that it wasn’t for a moment worth it. I would never turn to another field. At the end of the day, I have something tangible that I can say <em>I</em> designed-- a place that will endure; that people will live in, work in, worship in, heal in, cheer in-- that will last far longer than my own personal compensation.</p>
<p>And at age 26, I still have money left over for a plasma TV and Lexus. My husband’s in our living room shooting terrorists on our Wii. It’s not like we’re hurting, here, and structurals are paid less than most engineers. It’s a good life! I get to do something I love, and I’m lucky enough to be able to make a pretty good living doing it. We’re never gonna have a mansion and a garage full of Bentleys, but it’s not what we want.</p>
<p>If you don’t love engineering, don’t do it. Do what you love. If you hate your very existence, money’s not going to make it all better…</p>