Lies and propaganda

Does anyone remember the statements made by high school guidance counselors and university administrators about the glories of enrolling in engineering?  Such lines as "you'll always be in demand" and " a bachelors degree in engineering gives the highest starting salary of any bachelors degree."  These are designed to lure people into engineering who have not done their homework regarding the truth about these statements.  As for starting salaries, does anyone know the range of salaries offered by companies employing engineers?  Some are very low and not much different than what a person could get based on their own natural abilities.  Many interstate truck drivers make more in their first job than an engineer but without the high cost of a university education.

Looking at the demand part, many engineers have discovered that they are part of a boom-and-bust cycle (mining and petroleum) and will have to budget that into their careers.  Some fields of engineering have become derelict and obsolete (metallurgical engineering) and have largely disappeared from universities due to poor demand.   So it's not a rosy guaranteed life, in fact by choosing engineering you are choosing a very difficult life with a lower than average career span and job security compared to other university-based careers.  Choose wisely.

I know I'm feeding a troll, but I would disagree with the bulk of your post.

Engineers are in demand: Yes, some fields of engineering are boom or bust (petro is a prime example), but they are only boom or bust in localized markets. You have to consider your job market as a whole and the other limitations you impose on your career. As a civil engineer, I would have a hard time finding gainful employment in rural areas, so that means I have to move to an area with more sustained growth (cities). The same can be true of most careers, not just engineering. Hard to find a job as a nurse if there aren't any clinics or hospitals nearby, huh?

Not sure who told you that engineering gives the highest salary, but when you compare starting salaries, *most* trades jobs pay more money. However, those trades also have a VERY flat growth ladder. Sure, you'll make $50k a year as a truck driver, but where do you go from there? You'll make $50k a year for the rest of your life.When I graduated college, engineers were making around $45k, but I have more than doubled that in less than 15 years.

If you look at the short term, localized market, you'll always be limited. Opening yourself up to living where the work is in demand and being willing to adjust your job description to what is needed will ALWAYS keep you gainfully employed.

New grads won't even talk to us for less than $55k and within 5 years most are knocking on 6 figures (90's)...

success comes before work, only in the dictionary. especially if you Are whining the whole time...

this is funny.

Did you also know that people with extremely poor people skills tend to make less money and have to move jobs more often?  

Hmmm...

:sucks:

I don't know where the theory of "localized markets" for engineers comes from, but I am willing to bet that for 99% of engineers their job market is their country of citizenship.  I do not know a single engineer who would rather deliver pizza/drive Uber/wash windows where they are because they will not move to a location where they have a job offer.  Sure, a graduate who does not want to move from their campus housing for their first job will not have good prospects or much of a career but that goes without saying, so why say it Captain Obvious?  

Yes, trades will pay higher than a Bachelors in engineering but I was only referring to highest starting salaries among Bachelors degrees.  Trades are not part of a Bachelors program in any university and in fact universities do not want to get involved in anything suggesting "job training" or "career training" because they only want to provide "academic training" and most of that non-applied academic training.  However in saying that trades have a very flat growth ladder you are not taking into account the far greater opportunities for self-employment in the trades compared to engineering.  Self-employed tradespeople will make far more than employee engineers.   

Somebody's gotta dig those ditches.  Might as well be you.

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