<p>We and DS discovered the pay descrepancies when he was looking in 2011. The pay differentials are also noticeable in the PNW compared to CA. However CA has a critical mass for technology innovation and job mobility.</p>
<p>“Based on table discussions with two engineer parents neither of my kids wanted to touch engineering with a 20 foot pole, even though I bring home all kinds of cool gadgets and Tiger mom gets to work for a worldwide renowned company doing equally cool stuff. Interestingly enough, I have lots of dual engineer friends and few of their kids end up in engineering… Most go for medicine etc…”</p>
<p>Opposite in this house. Only we bring home gruesome tales of illness or woe. No more cool stuff with the new rules for the drug reps.</p>
<p>One of my nieces has a dad that’s an engineer and a mom that was trained as an engineer and worked in the field for a few years with an engineering major and started work this past spring. She will be attending medical school this fall.</p>
<p>I’m startled by the divergent views in this thread. If there’s one professional field that SHOULD be stable, it’s Engineering. If we take the Georgetown University figures on faith (which I don’t, but one has to start somewhere), then bright students are turning down “an easy $100K/year, with plentiful opportunities for more if money’s important to you.” (Median salaries should be easy to achieve, surely.)</p>
<p>Well, it states 7+% unemployment for this “easy” moneymaker. This number is for graduates and I’d guess that around 1/3rd of students that start engineering actually finish it so the ones that finish are probably the bright students.</p>
<p>I think that students should go into engineering if that’s what they love because students will be given tons of reasons to drop it along the way and that love better be there to see you through the tough times.</p>
<p>Agreed. That happened to my DD–she dropped engineering after losing her full tuition scholarship for lower engineering grades. She decided finishing college in a computer related field was a better option than sweating out the engineering grades each semester from pompous instructors who didn’t know how to teach or speak English clearly. Got her scholarship back after one semester in her new field.</p>
<p>Our DD actually HAS her degree in engineering. She says it is highly unlikely she will ever work in the engineering field. She had a double major and will pursue a career related to that. While she liked her engineering coursework, she hasn’t yet heard of an engineering job that appeals to her.</p>
<p>That’s definitely an interesting situation about engineering with your daughter,thumper ,so luckily she double majored so she could pursue something else. A little surpised she continued on with engineering if she didn’t see a career path for herself there. In both kids’ schools, they had/have major career fairs to start looking at potential careers and employers fairly early on. We can sure use more women in engineering but I wish her the best with her other career!</p>
<p>People with engineering degree do not necessary need to pursue the engineer career. Employers recognize it is a hard major, graduates tend to be hard working with good analytical and problem solving skills. They are good project managers.</p>
<p>I agree, oldfort. Some of those kids will probably gravitate to things like consulting, ,management. They will still use what they learned in engineering though, including probably thumper’s daughter.
turbo, in regard to burnout, I think some of your posts have indicated there can be a problem with it. I know it exists but not with everyone. My husband is a 30+ year practicing P.E. with management experience who has had a very satisfying career.</p>
<p>I agree. My response was not to imply that these skills could ONLY be learned in engineering. That just happens to be one of 2 majors that thumper’s daughter had and the one we have been discussing in this thread.
I believe you can find burnout for some people in just about any profession-teaching,social work,law,investment banking,etc. It can happen anywhere.</p>
<p>What I was trying to say (in response to the title of this thread)…my DD’s situation shows that some kids leave engineering because they realize they do NOT want to be engineers.</p>
<p>The rewards in an engineering career often come not really as financial or status rewards but, as Tracy Kidder’s character put it in “Soul of a New Machine”, “it is like pinball. You play well, you get to play the next game for free”. Meaning, you do well and deliver, you get another chance, and another… You mess up… And it’s game over.</p>
<p>One more thing that is not being taught in Engineering 101…</p>
<p>LongPrime,I think I missed the buildup/backstory with your son. So, can you recap, why do you seem to feel he needs your assistance in finding a woman? How has he been doing on his own? No major thread detour is encouaged but I’m just curious since this seems to keep coming up! Todd Rundgren keeps running through my head-“We gotta get you a woman.”</p>