Why dont we get paid more.

[sakky]

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Physicists and Mathematicians I believe usually work in academia, where they are professors.

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<p>Yeah, if they have the ability and tenacity to stick it out all the way to the PhD. Having just a bachelor’s degree in physics or mathematics is not particularly marketable. This is why I say that an engineering bachelor’s degree is one of the most marketable bachelor’s degrees around. </p>

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From a Canadian perspective, there is huge oversuppy of engineers. For the first time yesterday, I saw a campaign on tv to hire foreign professionals. The add involved someone from the middle east applying for a fast food job with a master’s in mechanical engineering.

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<p>Hey, this happens commonly with people who have other kinds of degrees. I know people with master’s degrees in humanities who have ended up working as secretaries. There are perennial stories of people with PhD’s in the humanities who drive cabs. </p>

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This issue has been raised with the government because many engineers in Canada drive cab and other work. Many like myself, never find work in their field (chemical eng).

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<p>I personally think that the problem is that a lot of engineers simply expect too much. The simple fact is, most people in most majors do not end up getting jobs in their field. After all, how many history majors actually become historians? How many poli-sci majors actually become political scientists? How many sociology majors actually become sociologists? It is well understood by most people that they will probably end up having to find work in a different field from what they studied. One issue with many enigneers that I see is the sense of entitlement - that they think they automatically deserve a job in their field. </p>

<p>Take a gander at the history graduates from Berkeley and you will see that the vast majority of them took jobs that had nothing to do with history. For example, I see a clerk at the FBI, I see a cop, a realtor, a customer service rep for Stubhub, and even a ski patroller at Perisher Blue (an Australian ski resort company). And remember, this is Berkeley we’re talking about. Berkeley is supposed to be one of the top schools in the world, with a highly regarded history program. So if even graduates from that program usually end up not working in their field, just imagine what the situation is like for a person coming from a no-name history program. </p>

<p><a href=“http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Hist.stm[/url]”>http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Hist.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>One major issue that I see with engineering students is that some of them are apparently just unwilling to move. Want to find engineering work in Canada? Move to Fort McMurray in Alberta. You’ve gotta be willing to go to where the jobs are. Even that history guy who took the ski patrol job was willing to move to Australia to do it. If you’re not willing to move, then you shouldn’t be surprised if you can’t find a job.</p>