<p>Personally I look at it as an investment to maximize marginal utility. (Sorry, too many economics courses.) My utility function has money as one component, but only one; it also includes a number of other factors that combine to form overall psychic well-being.</p>
<p>My oldest is now attending an expensive private college and I have no idea what she'll wind up doing. The plan now might involve a college career that at best will be no more remunerative than engineering. She chose it because it seemed like the environment in which she would be most likely to thrive and grow over the next four years. We agreed to pay the freight, rather than force her to attend a state university here for less money, because we agree with her.</p>
<p>Engineers do well enough financially, and have jobs that they find personally and intellectually challenging, in many cases. Many of them could have headed to careers that paid more money, but they want to be engineers because that's what they want to do. That's what they are good at. That's what they are born to be. In many cases. Some also start out as engineers but switch careers down the road.</p>
<p>It appears to be true that one can possibly get comparable engineering education at some state universities to what one can get at some of the good private colleges. But some people still choose to study engineering at private colleges, for many of the diverse reasons that lead people studying anything else to choose private colleges over public ones.</p>
<p>I personally would find it very entertaining if you posted thoughts along these lines on the Musical Theater board. You're complaining about the expected payoff of engineering...</p>
<p>I've alreaduy weighed in on my feelings about pinning ones hopes on musical theater....Though doesn't it amaze the economist in you how many parents are OK with it?</p>
<p>Based on my personal journey through the business world, I believe there is no necessary correlation between college major and future earning potential. In my last job with a Fortune 500 company, the CEO of my division had a degree in English Lit from a bad school. The most impressive person I've met in business had a masters in Art History. The company he founded was the darling of Wall Street for a time. I've known numerous investment bankers who majored in English or various aspects of the liberal arts. The best analyst that ever worked for me when I was an investment banker was an anthropology major.</p>
<p>I personally know at least three engineering majors who are millionaires. Interestingly they all went to Cornell, though I only knew one of them from there.</p>
<p>At the other extreme, I know at least three people with law degrees, and two MBAs from top programs, who don't even work. (Actually all of them are very wealthy, because their spouses work. I'm not crying for doctors, myself).</p>
<p>You get a job, and then you learn what that job and that vocation is about. Most of them do not have much to do directly with whatever you studied in school. Things take off from there, in trajectories you might never anticipate.</p>
<p>Private schools like HYPSM don't care what major you put down (at least that's what they say), so it's equally hard to get into Yale Engineering as any other major.</p>
<p>Yale's reputation:
undergraduate: super. (as Y is in HYPSMC)
law school/English/history/performing arts/psycology: super (in top 5)
Medicine/Bussiness school/science majors: excellent but NOT Super (in top 15 bot NOT in top 10)
engineering: GOOD (in top 50 but NOT in top 25)</p>