What's the fastest engineering track to six figures?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Okay, so everyone knows that engineers are the highest paid people coming out of college witha four year degree, but it's also pretty well known that engineering has the least room for advancement into big bucks. I'm going to be studying EE at Cornell this fall, and for all the money that school costs, I want to have a career that justifies it. Now don't get me wrong; I love math/science just as much as the next guy, and I'm not trying to make a career decision on money alone, but I do want to study somethign that will lead to bigger things than 80-90k a year at the end of it all.</p>

<p>Is it better to combine an engineering degree with experience in business classes? Better to explore private practices and consulting firms? Better to go straight through like everyone else and just hope for a good offer? Or just hope that you marry Bill Gates's daughter? I grew up in a house where money was tight and I don't want that. EE is what I love, and it's what I want to do, but I'm worried that there's not as much money as I'd like in that field.</p>

2

<p>If you're interested in consulting or i banking then stick with EE. From what i hear, many of the top management consulting and ibanking firms recruit engineering/math graduates from the ivies and other top schools.</p>

3

<p>I was wondering the same thing myself. ive looked into it a bit and it seems there are several options:
1. Get a law degree and go into Corporate law or patent law
2. Get an MBA and go into IB, Consulting, etc.
3. (This may also involve an MBA) Try to work up to a position like Director of Eng. </p>

<p>Better answers would be awesome though, as Im curious too! This actually relates to my discipline thread. I was thinking, if you do like Civil eng. it wont really help for any of the above, mechanical seems the most fun but electrical seems to be the one that opens doors. Anyone have insight on that?</p>

4

<p>You're going into the wrong profession if those are your goals.</p>

5

<p>I was thinking the same thing myself. I will be going to Cornell too, for a PHD in BME. I want something more than 80-90k a year with all my training. The best bet is to work your way up to positions like director or VP of R&D or production. Consulting, management (like managing a research team or dealing/bringing in accounts) will also bring in a bigger salary. </p>

<p>A friend of mine in industry has told me that the people that are very good technically do not necessarily have the highest salaries. It's the people that can work well as a group, have good verbal skills, be able to deal and communicate with people that get ahead in industry. That way you'll be able to manage a team or head your own research group or whatever. You may want to think about that when picking classes/electives to take.</p>

<p>I'm not saying my advice is correct because I am curious too, but this is what i have gathered so far. </p>

<p>as a side note, my dad is a civil engineer for a some company and he was able to get into six figures fairly early in his career based mainly on technical abilities (he lived in asia all his life and got his PHD in america - so he wasn't too great at giving presentations and talking with other people early in his career). So you're not in the wrong profession if you have these types of goals.</p>

<p>hope this helps</p>

6

<p>Well is electrical the best field to open up opportunities? Mech or civil seems soo much more interesting</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
but it's also pretty well known that engineering has the least room for advancement into big bucks

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nah, that can't be true. Believe me, a lot of liberal arts degrees not only start out low, but also have very little room for advancement. Ask yourself - what kind of advancement opportunities do you have with an Art History degree? </p>

<p>Engineering may not be all peaches and cream, but it's a lot better than most of the alternatives out there. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Is it better to combine an engineering degree with experience in business classes? Better to explore private practices and consulting firms? Better to go straight through like everyone else and just hope for a good offer? Or just hope that you marry Bill Gates's daughter? I grew up in a house where money was tight and I don't want that. EE is what I love, and it's what I want to do, but I'm worried that there's not as much money as I'd like in that field.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If you want money, then go to investment banking or other such high finance jobs. Only entrepreneurship can beat the kind of money you can make in finance. You can still get an engineering degree. Just don't work as an engineer. Instead, get a finance job. </p>

<p>Of course, you'll have to be prepared to work ridiculous hours and basically have no life. But that's how the world of finance is. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I was wondering the same thing myself. ive looked into it a bit and it seems there are several options:
1. Get a law degree and go into Corporate law or patent law
2. Get an MBA and go into IB, Consulting, etc.
3. (This may also involve an MBA) Try to work up to a position like Director of Eng. </p>

<p>Better answers would be awesome though, as Im curious too!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Like I said, the best thing to do is go to IB straight out of undergrad. If you can handle working 100 hours a week, then IB is the way to go. </p>

<p>
[quote]
mechanical seems the most fun but electrical seems to be the one that opens doors. Anyone have insight on that?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I would say that computer science is still the best path, not because it is the highest paying on average (Petroleum E and ChemE are the highest paying), but because CS is the most RANGE in pay - meaning that if you're really really good at CS, you can get really high pay, whereas even the best chemical engineer is not going to get paid significantly more than the average. ChemE and PetE are good if you're mediocre, as even the mediocre people get paid quite well. But it's far far more lucrative to be a star CS guy than a star in any other engineering discipline. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I was thinking the same thing myself. I will be going to Cornell too, for a PHD in BME. I want something more than 80-90k a year with all my training. The best bet is to work your way up to positions like director or VP of R&D or production. Consulting, management (like managing a research team or dealing/bringing in accounts) will also bring in a bigger salary.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If you want money, then don't get a PhD in anything, and certainly not in BME. Just get an MBA and get a job on Wall Street. Bulge bracket is now paying about $200-225k (including bonus) for people fresh out of B-school, with companies like Bear Stearns actually GUARANTEEING at least $200k in total pay in the first year.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
EE is what I love, and it's what I want to do

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</p>

<p>How would you have any idea of that without having taken a single EE class?</p>

9

<p>Do many engineers get jobs in financial positions, such as ibanking? And if so, what kind of engineers?</p>

10

<p>How difficult would getting an MBA and going into IB be compared to getting an engineering undergraduate degree?</p>

<p>Also, all IBs work 100-hour weeks all the time?</p>

<p>And, what's the starting salary for a Petroleum Engineer?</p>

11

<p>i heard you could also do management consulting. that sounds waaay better than IB.</p>

<p>idk what petro eng. start at, could be VERY high if youre willing to work in Saudi Arabia, but its really not worth it as oil is said to be becoming obsolete</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Do many engineers get jobs in financial positions, such as ibanking?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, very few actually. The ones that do tend to come from the best overall schools. Note, not necessarily the best ENGINEERING schools, but the best overall schools. For example, an engineer from Harvard is far far more likely to get a banking job than an engineer from Purdue. </p>

<p>
[quote]
And if so, what kind of engineers?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>At the top overall schools, it doesn't really matter what you major in . You can major in Art History at Harvard and still get into banking. </p>

<p>However, the engineering major that seems to be the most promising in terms of getting people into finance is EE/CS. </p>

<p>
[quote]
How difficult would getting an MBA and going into IB be compared to getting an engineering undergraduate degree?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>The former is almost certainly harder, in the sense that if you just want to get an eng undergrad degree, all you have to do is get a 2.0 GPA in your classes, and you will have the degree. Engineering is hard, but it's not THAT hard to get just a 2.0. In contrast, most people who want to go to a top MBA program, where the top banks tend to hire, will not get admitted. And even if you are admitted, that doesnt' mean that you will get a banking offer when you graduate. </p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, all IBs work 100-hour weeks all the time?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Sales/trading jobs may only work 65 hours a week. But it's a highly stressful 65 hours. </p>

<p>
[quote]
And, what's the starting salary for a Petroleum Engineer?

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</p>

<p>Nowadays? Probably around 60k+. It can be more (substantially more) if you are willing to work in foreign countries. </p>

<p>But keep in mind that the PetE lifestyle is not exactly fun. You are often times stuck on an offshore platform for weeks at a time with absolutely nothing to do but work. You can easily find yourself in a dangerous foreign country. </p>

<p>
[quote]
idk what petro eng. start at, could be VERY high if youre willing to work in Saudi Arabia, but its really not worth it as oil is said to be becoming obsolete

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No way. Oil will be with us for the next 40 years at least. People have been saying that oil will be obsolete for a century now, and it hasn't happened. The truth is, oil is still the basis for the vast vast majority of the world's transportation energy needs, and that's not going to change for a very long time. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that energy technologies change very slowly. Coal, for example, is a centuries-old energy technology, and it STILL is in wide use, being the source of the majority of the world's electricity energy.</p>

13

<p>Do not...I repeat do not make undergrad and grad school that hard.</p>

<p>Use the degrees (BS/MS) to GET the job and the initial salary and use professional certifications to boost the salary and keep yourself marketable.</p>

14

<p>What types of lucrative jobs can a star CS guy get that an engineer cannot?</p>

15

<p>Justin,</p>

<p>It does not matter what the major is...at least in the Washington DC area. If the Industrial Engineering major has the sufficient Oracle, Unix or Java background...he/she will get the job before a CS major with less background.</p>

<p>It also depends on the CS emphasis that the star CS major has. If it is databases...yeah, you will get recruiter calls at 2 am trying to give you an offer.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
What types of lucrative jobs can a star CS guy get that an engineer cannot?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What globaltraveler said is basically true. A CS guy who has strong experience in, say, EJB or Oracle is going to be paid significantly more than just a regular engineer. Knowledge of Cisco networking, or Microsoft Exchange, or Solaris will also get you far. </p>

<p>But even these steps will only get you so far. Like I said, if you really want to make huge amounts of money, then forget about working in computers. Just become a banker.</p>

17

<p>-How would you have any idea of that without having taken a single EE class?</p>

<p>Well, you do have a point that until I take the classes I'm not totally sure, but I've taken CS, and I've worked with computers(in terms of hardware) and I like what I've seen. I've also sat in some classes that involve circuit building and stuff like that. Plus power and current and induction were my favorite parts of high school physics. So while I don't know for sure until I go to school, I have a general idea that this is what I want to learn about.</p>

<p>-The former is almost certainly harder, in the sense that if you just want to get an eng undergrad degree, all you have to do is get a 2.0 GPA in your classes, and you will have the degree. Engineering is hard, but it's not THAT hard to get just a 2.0. In contrast, most people who want to go to a top MBA program, where the top banks tend to hire, will not get admitted. And even if you are admitted, that doesnt' mean that you will get a banking offer when you graduate.</p>

<p>Cornell has a six year program that I am interested in that leaves you with a EE degree, a Masters of Engineering Management, and an MBA. This so far seems to be the best plan in terms of opening the most doors for my future, but is it the most advantageous way to get an MBA? Will that be seen by some firms as a con if I get my MBA at the same place? Is Cornell's business school a good place for my MBA?</p>

18

<p>If you want us to say that Cornell is a top business school at the level of HBS or Stanford, then I'm afraid that we will have to disappoint you. The Johnson School is a good school, but it isn't one of the very top ones. </p>

<p>I wouldn't say that it's a "con". The problem with this program, and with the 5-year program is that they force you to commit to it before you can see all your options, and specifically, what kind of job you can get right out of college. Obviously if you can only get a crappy job right after graduation, then clearly you're better off just staying in school. However, if you can get a top-line engineering job (i.e. Google), or can get into one of the premier consulting or banking firms, then you're probably better off doing that. The problem is, by taking the combined program, you will never know what kind of job you could have had right after undergrad. And the truth is, the admissions criteria for the combined program is such that if you're good enough to get into the program, you're probably also good enough to get one of those premier jobs.</p>

19

<p>Fastest engineering route to 6 figures. </p>

<p>1) Sales
2) Investment banking/financial engineering</p>

20

<p>What's financial engineering?</p>