Should engineers with only a B.S make more than...

VTBoy · 01-17-2005, 08:36 PM

Right now egineering is the highest paid degree. These people are making big money. Infact most Engineers with only a B.S make more than people with Ph.Ds in fields like genetics, pharmacology, toxicology, immunology, biochemistry. Hell engineers with B.S are making almost as much as primary care doctors. Do you think engineers deserve the massive pay they seem to get.

thomaschau · 01-17-2005, 08:41 PM

Well I think that's kinda exaggerating it, considering only the top 10% of engineers make over 100k...

But engineers do contribute a great deal to the nation's strength and provide an invaluable service to civilization as a whole. Their skills are impressive and the training is very, very difficult. I'd say they deserve it.

Now, whether those lawyers and accountants and executives deserve their pay...

VTBoy · 01-17-2005, 08:49 PM

But do they deserve to make more than medical researchers who have Ph.Ds because they do. Shouldn't someone who helped find the cure for a disease make more than some engineer. A pharmacologist or toxicologist with a Ph.D working to help advance medicine makes only around 70K a year on average, much lower than engineers with B.S degree only.

jamimom · 01-17-2005, 08:53 PM

Many of my friends who are engineers are currently very worried about the outsourcing to foreign countries. They seem to feel that this and the many contract engineers are eroding the pay structures for them. There is also the feeling that though the pay level is very high right out of school, the ceiling is rapidly reached, and hard to exceed. There is also intense competition with international students who are willing to work for a lot less.

I do believe that engineers deserve to make a lot of money because of the difficulty of learning the material that they must know. IT is not easy to train someone in this field. They have to be very smart, be wired for math and have much diligence.

VTBoy · 01-17-2005, 09:01 PM

Jamim I know it is not easy, but do you think they deserve to make more than someone who works on finding the cure for diseases like Cancer. A Ph.D in Pharmacology is much more difficult to get than even a Ph.D in engineering, but a person with a B.S in Engineering makes tons more than a medical scientist with a Ph.D.

Not just mecical researchers, Engineers on average with only a B.S make more than most lawyers. Going to law school isn't easy you know.

fei · 01-17-2005, 09:10 PM

look the world is not fair..I mean how do you explain sports stars making millions a month..?

VTBoy · 01-17-2005, 09:18 PM

Fei i am not saying the world should be fair. I was just asking do you think Engineers are over paid. I for one do. I think it is the most over paid degree you can get.

dukedreamer · 01-17-2005, 09:19 PM

thats really a non issue...if money is your top issue, then you simply arent fit for scientific research. you do research for the good of mankind, not to make a 6 figure salary. And isnt hte avg around 60 K for engineers anyway??

VTBoy · 01-17-2005, 09:30 PM

60K is the average starting salary, but average overall salary is around 100K.

fei · 01-17-2005, 09:47 PM

really? engineering is hard...I don't think they are overpaid. plus I wouldn't say that 60K is that much especially if you live in pricey states such as CA. Hell I heard that my PE coach in HS makes close to that amount.

jamimom · 01-17-2005, 09:56 PM

Well, it's more of a supply and demand sort of a thing. We are a captialistic society, you know. But our pay for engineers is fantastic as compared to much of the world, looking at the influx here. As to whether it is more difficult to get a PHD in Pharmacology, I really do not know. I do know that as a rule, most research physicians do not get paid anywhere near what there practicing specialty counterparts do, and the brainpower value certainly can be debated. I mean, really, a cosmetic surgeon in the right part of the country can clean up and be truly wealthy whereas the cancer researcher at NIH make peanuts in comparison, but the intrinisc value of the jobs, well, who is going to vote for the dermatologist? And I am not talking about the ones that do reconstructive surgery on damaged faces, I mean the one in Beverly Hill doing breast implants and face lifts.

You can make more money in engineering if you find a lucrative niche, start your own company, do a lot of contract work and hire out most of your business. I know those who have done this. But it is difficult to make alot of money in any field as an employee unless you are on the top of the hierarchy.

Marines920 · 01-17-2005, 10:07 PM

Many research physicians live off of grants and have their own perks... except some that work for the government...

ANYWHO....
Don't do engineering (or any career path) just for the money. Do it because you'd enjoy it. You don't want to have a job that pays well but be miserable.

01-17-2005, 10:26 PM

VTBoy, engineers don't make good money.

VTBoy · 01-17-2005, 10:34 PM

Jeff yes they do. Engineering degree is the highest paid one. They are the few degrees they make more than lawyers and medical researchers with graduate and profesional degrees.

macattak · 01-17-2005, 10:42 PM

Where are you getting an average starting salary of $60k?. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that ChEs have the highest average starting salary at $52k and CiEs at the low side with $42k. These are fall '04 numbers.

If you want to talk about salary inequity, shouldn't K-12 teachers be paid much more than they are? They have a profound impact on nearly everyone.