<p>Got some questions here would really like if I could get any of them answered.
I am from New Zealand and have been accepted into Engineering, Optometry and Pharmacy. I am having trouble choosing between these professions. I have posted on medical forums but I know that the information is biased from a medical point of view so I decided to post in an engineering forum.</p>
<p>Right now I would like to know out of these 3 professions which one you guys think will be generally overall the best to get into at the moment, taking in account, job prospects, money and job satisfaction. I have been searching on salary.com and other salary websites and been sorta confused that the engineering field tends to have quite a lower salary in comparison to medical. Is there under the table payments, profit shares or things like that were not taken into account? Or did the doctor's salary not take into account insurance, clinic costs and stuff like that?</p>
<p>How much do you enjoy engineering?
Which engineering field is supposedly good to get into atm?
What is the actual salary of an engineer?
Is it difficult to run a firm?
How is all this compared to Pharmacy and Optometry?</p>
<p>I think the better question here is which profession do you really enjoy? Nobody on here is going to be able to tell you which one would be the best choice. It is entirely dependent on the individual. All 3 professions you listed can lead to very solid careers. </p>
<p>However, as an engineer, I can give a little insght. Engineering is a challenging career that can lead to many opportunities. There is always demand for good engineers, even in slow economies. Engineers get to work on some very interesting projects if you are interested in the technical aspect of things. Engineers can also become managers or go into sales or other areas of business so you are not limited to technical work. In terms of salary, it will really depend on how good you are. Engineer’s have the highest starting salaries out of almost all other undergraduate degrees. On average a doctor does make more than an engineer, but becoming a doctor requires more education that is quite expensive that many people do not take into account. Medical school is not cheap and can lead to huge student loans. If you advance as an engineer, become a consultant or manager, or start a company you can make as much or more than a lot of doctors so thinking only about salary when making your decision is not wise. Medicine, pharmacy, and engineering all pay quite well. I also recommend researching these careers on your own.</p>
<p>Bottom line is do what you think you will enjoy the most.</p>
Definitely a question for the medical forum - I cannot speak with authority on what expenses optometrists and pharmacists have. I do know that I have essentially zero personal costs to be an engineer unless I want to contract or start my own business.</p>
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Quite a lot, actually.</p>
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Depends on who you ask… I have always strongly encouraged Electrical and Mechanical, just because they are versatile, but Chemical and Computer are very strong right now.</p>
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Typically $50-70k starting, depending on specialty and region. You can figure on doubling your initial salary (in todays currency) within a decade with good performance, and some positions can go as high as $250k. If you go into management or start your own company, you can make millions.</p>
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Not an issue for a starting engineer, but I would expect it to depend a lot on your management ability.</p>