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Almost all of the top paying degrees are engineering, and to top it off way more people are majoring in liberal arts, social science, etc type of degrees. How exactly did things get so messed up? It seems pretty obvious that the world needs more engineers than say History majors.
"There are far fewer people graduating with math-based majors, compared to their liberal-arts counterparts, which is why they are paid at such a premium. The fields of engineering and computer science each make up about 4% of all college graduates, while social science and history each comprise 16%, Koc noted."
"As a result, salaries for graduates who studied fields like social work command tiny paychecks, somewhere in the vicinity of $29,000. English, foreign language and communications majors make about $35,000, Koc said."
There's a caveat to this argument though. Most of the good opportunities for fresh engineering graduates typically go to those who finished near the top of their class. Someone who just passed his/her subjects won't get as many job opportunities. Also, engineers are not immune to layoffs or replacement by younger, cheaper workers as evidenced by the job losses in the automobile companies, airlines and construction firms.
One important thing the article does not say is what it takes to be a good lifelong engineer. It's not a simple matter of taking a lot of math and science courses in high school and majoring in engineering in college. The habit of manipulating objects to the point that it becomes an art starts at a young age. I read a story about a John Deere mechanical engineer who worked on fixing old tractors in her family's farm starting when she was 6 years old. Linda Cook, a petroleum engineer who headed Shell's gas and power group, spent childhood summers working in gas stations.
Unfortunately, many middle class families no longer want to expose their kids to bare-knuckle workshop activities like carpentry or fixing the car and instead spend more of their kids time on developing "soft skills" like "leadership" and "teamwork" in the hopes that their kids will land office jobs when they grow up.
Also, engineers are not immune to layoffs or replacement by younger, cheaper workers as evidenced by the job losses in the automobile companies, airlines and construction firms.
Who is? I guess history/LA majors are immune to layoffs because they don't have jobs to begin with...
Of course! Nobody is immune to layoffs and boom-bust cycles. You can see the point I'm trying to make in the rest of my post. It takes a lot more than getting an engineering degree to do well as an engineer. And some of the things that need to be done have to be done early in life, which the article does not mention.
One important thing the article does not say is what it takes to be a good lifelong engineer. It's not a simple matter of taking a lot of math and science courses in high school and majoring in engineering in college. The habit of manipulating objects to the point that it becomes an art starts at a young age.
I disagree!
My daughter had NO interest in "manipulating objects to the point that it becomes an art" as a child OR as a teen.
She went to college not sure what she was going to major in. All she knew is that she liked physics and math.
She took an optics course freshman year and fell in love with the subject. She signed up for an engineering major the next term.
She is now an employed optics engineer, and she loves what she does - which involves lasers and fiber optics.
On the other hand, my son was great with his hands, and with dismantling and assembling things. He's a graphic designer....
I would agree that the starting salary for engineers is among the highest compared to other professions. I see a big problem with companies not taking more of an interest in entry-level engineers. If you only hire "senior" engineers, eventually they will retire and then what? I think the current level of involvement by both universities AND companies is poor as far as smoothing the transition from the school graduating engineers to getting those engineers into careers. Entry-level is a misnomer. They usually assume there was some internship work done in college. What if you didn't have those opportunities? I think companies are leaving a lot of good talent on the table by not taking more of an interest in bringing in more new graduates.
I have been trying to get my engineering career on track for nearly 10 years. As much as I would like to continue to try to get one of those great engineering salaries, I cannot afford to wait for the industry to see the error in its ways. The industry will likely lose me to another more stable profession with equivalent or better pay.
My daughter had NO interest in "manipulating objects to the point that it becomes an art" as a child OR as a teen.
She went to college not sure what she was going to major in. All she knew is that she liked physics and math.
She took an optics course freshman year and fell in love with the subject. She signed up for an engineering major the next term.
She is now an employed optics engineer, and she loves what she does - which involves lasers and fiber optics.
On the other hand, my son was great with his hands, and with dismantling and assembling things. He's a graphic designer....
Youn didn't understand my post. A good engineer needs the be BOTH good in math and science AND manipulating objects.
What can your daugher do besides designing lenses, especially when it comes to the point that younger workers or foreign workers learn the same skills? Ferdinand Porsche could design and build cars to-order, and he never had a problem with that.
What can your daugher do besides designing lenses, especially when it comes to the point that younger workers or foreign workers learn the same skills?
Lenses? She is NOT an optician...
She is an optics engineer, working with lasers and fiber optics...
WITH federal security clearances which foreign workers don't usually get...
and she's 25. How much younger are you talking for an engineering degree?
Oh please, engineering careers are fickle. I got two degrees in aerospace engineering and that's de facto freelance work. Furloughs every 7 years chasing a job criss-crossing the country. No thanks. As to shortage of engineers? Gimme a break. The majority of domestic engineering graduates never pursue an engineering job for a career, count me in on that list. There is a GLUT of engineering graduates in the general economy. The only shortage is the shortage of jobs that contain the compensation and job stability all these engineering graduates went to school for in the first place.
Furthermore, engineering salaries plateau early. a 75-85K salary after doing drudge work for 7 years is not that impressive. Therefore every swinging working engineer out there has the MBA to management plan in their head as their meal ticket to making the six figures they expected to make. Well, guess what, the line is long and that avenue is flooded and tired.
Bottom line, engineering is hardly a high-compensation field in aggregate, nor is it particularly stable or homestead-friendly. I'd pass on it and I got two of those pieces of paper, I should have gone to dental school......
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