<p>Something that's been on my mind recently is just how idiotic it is to get an Engineering degree these days. Engineering degrees get hired by firms and for the first 5 years or so, you do something that's relevant to your studies, but then, after all your skills and knowledge have become outdated or outsourced to a foreign company, your company simply put's you into management.</p>
<p>It seems to me that getting an Engineering degree so you can do engineering for 5 or so years, before moving on to management for the next 30 is extremely myopic. Why not just study business and get a jump on your eventual competition?</p>
<p>A lot of engineers go back to school and get an MBA or something to compliment their outdated skills..or they start a firm and employ other young engineers, where the vicious cycle continues. They almost always become business men in the end.</p>
<p>Of course their are exceptions...you can code for a living...but really engineering in the west is nothing more than "business..with a focus on technology". </p>
<p>You can get an MBA with a technology focus and find yourself in the exact same position as an engineering major. The only difference is..you actually know what you are doing.</p>
<p>Is Engineering, particularly in the west, outdated?</p>
<p>Because engineers get paid more than business grads at the beginning, and become better managers later because of their analytical skills and ability to understand technical issues. Engineers have skills to start a business with if they want to be an entrepreneur. Business grads end up starting painting companies or coffee shops.</p>
<p>It’s natural to be concerned about your long term career prospects, and I think it’s good that you’re thinking critically about engineering. Too many students base their decision to study engineering solely on the idea that they can get a decent paying job immediately after they graduate.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it’s clear to me that you don’t really have any real experience in the tech industry. How did you come to the conclusion that engineers become obsolete after 5 years; whereupon they are forced into non-technical management jobs? That’s simply not true from what I’ve observed in the industry.</p>
<p>Engineers are much more likely to go back to grad school in their respective fields (something I’m doing now) rather than go to business school. Personally, I’ve worked with very few people who have MBAs and even fewer who think that MBA programs are useful.</p>
<p>I teach in a business school. I haven’t met a business school professor yet that would prefer their offspring to get an undergrad in business rather than a different degree and then an MBA. Simply no comparison. And the combination of a technical expertise and industry experience along with an MBA is so much more powerful than one doing an undergrad and then an MBA (which actually makes very little sense though tis done not infrequently).</p>
<p>This is the first time I have heard/read someone stating that getting an engineering degree is idiotic. Perhaps I am biased but based on my experience getting an engineering degree is the furthest one can get from being idiotic. Why would your skills become outdated if you are working in your field? This makes no sense. In addition, it is up to the individual to keep their skills up to date, not the degree you have. </p>
<p>Even if you decide that engineering is the wrong field for you, an engineering degree provides a solid foundation to build upon. Again, I may be biased, but I do not think this can be said for all degrees. Obtaining a degree in engineering opens more doors for you, while not closing any in the process. </p>
<p>Basically, I cannot find one statement in your post that I can agree with. </p>
<p>BTW, I am looking at going for an MBA some time in the future. One of the main reasons is due to what you are advocating. I rather have someone with an engineering background and an MBA managing the projects then someone else that has no experience with engineering processes making the decisions that the engineers have to live with and sustain.</p>
<p>One of the reasons I chose engineering is it seems like a field where you always learning. Your skills won’t become outdated if you keep them updated. It seems like it would be pretty difficult to outsource civil, mechanical, and chemical. Lots of on site work. Others may have that problem but I don’t think its enough to not pursue a career in an engineering field.</p>
<p>I actually prefer managers who don’t have technical backgrounds. I think they often make better managers for a variety of reasons that I won’t get into. At my current company, we have both a program engineer (an engineer in charge of managing the other engineers) and a program manager (someone who manages the overall project, finance, staffing, and customer interfacing). I think this approach works really well.</p>
<p>The more I read the original post, the more presumptuous it seems. The idea that you will automatically be put in a managerial/leadership position after just 5 years is completely ridiculous. How does an undergrad engineering student get these kinds of beliefs in his head? Problems in the industry are much more difficult and complex than the kinds of exercises you encounter in your undergraduate courses. Why do you think you will be able to master them in just 5 years? My current company is the leading innovator in wireless technology, and let me tell you – it’s complicated stuff. It takes more than 5 years to become an expert in what we do, and the people who have become experts in certain aspects of our business are highly valued. And guess what? Most of those experts are older engineers – not some snot nosed kid just out of college.</p>
<p>So go ahead and go to business school and get an MBA “with a focus on technology” and see how far that gets you.</p>
<p>I wonder where you getting that you will be in management in 5 years. In 5 years you are still considered junior engineer FYI. It will take you 10-15 years to actually know what the hell you are doing and be in a Program Manager position. Besides you don’t have to go into management positions if you dont want, there’s plenty of high level skill jobs out there.</p>
<p>Agreed but if you look at the OPs earlier posts, she or he makes all kinds of ridiculous, absolutely off base comments about a lot of majors that only serve to llustrate that he or she doesn’t know anything about what she or he is saying (almost no evidence, other than some crazy made up opinion based on an intro course or something they read once). Probably just ■■■■■■■■, or finds it a way to get information on CC. I dunno but most of the posts make no sense at all on areas I know a lot about.</p>
<p>Something that’s been on my mind recently is just how idiotic this post is…</p>
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<p>Not really an accurate statement. It seems people with absolutley no engineering experience are always talking about outsourcing for engineers, yet neglect to realize that business majors are not immune to outsourcing either. Outsourcing in general is way overblown by people with no experience.</p>
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<p>Is this a joke? </p>
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<p>Not true whatsoever. Before you make statements like this, you might want to actually check the facts. As an engineer, I can tell you this is simply not true. </p>
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<p>Another swing and a miss. Again, not true. Most technical management positions require an engineering degree and a strong technical background.</p>
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<p>No.</p>
<p>In terms of versatility, an engineering degree is second to none. Like I always say, engineers can work in business but business majors cannot work as engineers. Majoring in engineering opens up many doors that would not be open to a business major.</p>
<p>iiswhomeam, as an engineer, I can tell you that your assumptions are completely wrong. If you are one of these people simply trying to justify to yourself that business is superior to engineering, you would be wise to take your rhetoric elsewhere. If this was a serious post, all I can say is you are misinformed. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with majoring in business, but if you look at job prospects, salaries, etc., you will see that your assumptions are incorrect.</p>
<p>Some of the people in this thread seem to worship engineering as if it is some kind of anointed-by-God degree that can take you anywhere. It is one of the most volatile and risky majors you can have now. Many engineers in their later years are cut loose and never work again, certainly not as engineers. Just try going into another career in sales for example when you’re over 50 and worked as an engineer for 30 years. Good luck.</p>