Where does the top Mechanical Engineering talent in the US work?

[noimagination]

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But far more importantly, to this day it still remains extraordinarily difficult to pinpoint exactly what social value-add that consulting (and finance) actually provide to the world, where I doubt that anybody would dispute that engineering provides significant value-add. We live in a clearly far more technologically advanced world than we did even a decade ago. Much (probably most) of consulting and (especially) finance seems to be parasitic in nature, extracting revenue generated by a de-facto oligopoly. Imagine if we could shift that revenue towards boosting engineering.

And is that a good thing? How much is that technology improving the quality of life for people, overall? These are subjective questions.

They represent lost human capital that was trained for engineering and should optimally be working in that field. It is quite clear - at least to me - that the world benefits from the greater technological innovation that the top engineers disproportionately provide. Imagine if we could produce a viably clean and cheap energy source or a suite of medical devices that could perfectly replicate the functions of any damaged organs (e.g. a prosthetic eye for the blind, prosthetic limbs for the paralyzed), or a lightweight long-lasting battery that allows you to use your Iphone uncharged for months at a time. That is the promise of engineering.

Again: if you want to argue for structural changes to the US economy, there are economic and political forums where that kind of discussion is appropriate. CC is not one of them.</p>

<p>Whether the consequences of an event are good or bad depends largely on perspective. In ten years, the owner of the Houston Rockets can perhaps tell us whether, in his hindsight, the amount paid for Jeremy Lin was justified. That is his business, and all you have to decide is whether to be a Rockets fan or not.</p>

<p>My opinion is that engineers are very well-compensated in relation to most of American society, and that American engineers are exceptionally well-compensated in relation to most of the global population. It seems very foolish for the people near the top of the pyramid to question the status quo in the hope of a more lucrative (but also more competitive) lifestyle. Surely the downside potential is greater.</p>

<p>If you have clear, actionable steps that will allow engineers to get higher pay, then please feel free to share. Otherwise, your posts don’t seem to do much besides sell careers in finance and consulting to prospective engineers on CC. Just my opinion, in the hope that you will find it useful.</p>