Posted on 06/17/2021 7:26:41 AM PDT by fireman15
I am not sure where you got those figures. I was making good money before I retired but get less than half of what I was making in retirement. Typically west coast firefighters and police are payed more than people on the east coast. I am getting no where near what you say the Broward County cop is making.
But regardless... you make a good point. But it is equally interesting to me why people who pursued a basically worthless degree during four to five years of partying and merriment believe that their degree entitles them to make more for the rest of their lives than those who actually get their hands dirty doing the actual work or in the case of engineers calculations.
My brother has no degree, but he has been a captain at a major airline for decades. He calls himself a glorified bus driver; I don't even want to tell you how much he makes. But he is good at his job and is responsible for many millions of dollars of equipment and dozens of lives. These days you get payed mostly for what you do and not so much the degree that you were pursuing in your youth. Coal mining is not what it used to be. It is largely running heavy equipment in often challenging conditions, something your wife would have no clue about. Coal mining still can take a terrible toll on your health as well.
I went to a high school prom with my best friend's sister. She became a vet. She thought that she should be entitled to more money than others for mostly spaying puppies and kittens and giving them shots. She was always unhappy about something and eventually killed herself.
Same here. The last 20 years I owned an engineering company. I was married to it night and day. We had people all over the world working 24/7 so there was never a minute something could not happen and usually did. If you are not getting a risk bonus by being self-employed and owning a business you need to reconsider your line of work or your business model. Most people don’t understand that at all.
I never lived the glamorous life of an executive, did not take but one sort-of vacation in 20 years, never had sick leave. I laughed when someone once said it must be nice to be your own boss since you can take off anytime you want to. If you do that you won’t be your own boss for very long.
There are some victories and some good pay days but there are also some spectacular failures and losses. Nobody will be there to kiss your boo boo and get you back on your feet again. You have to do it all yourself and you have to get back up FAST! There is no time for any sort of self-pity, reflection or recovery.
A good friend said, “You’ll never get hit by the lucky truck if you don’t get out in the heavy traffic.”
People who are successful have worked their asses off and have earned every penny. They will have more because they have earned more.
In 1970 my academic advisor told me to stay away from aerospace related engineering. All the big companies were laying off thousands at a time.
I liked airplanes more than I liked his advice. I completed my degree while in the USAF where they also taught me very practical avionics real world skills.
The short version is that my peer group, age wise, was always in a critical shortage for my entire career. Meanwhile, all the social justice warriors and sociologists of the 1970's went hungry unless they ate some of the fries they were serving at McDonalds.
To be an “individual contributor” and do any good at all you have to be a SIGNIFICANT individual contributor. Very few have the stuff it takes for that. Most are a unique combination of wisdom, business acumen and exceptional engineering talent able to get to the heart of the whole problem very quickly cutting through layers of nonsense, confusion and previous errors and driving to an economic and technical solution nearly effortlessly. They choose to be engineers when they could be anything they want to be.
When they walk into a board room they may not be the highest paid person there but they are the only person smart high paid people listen to when they want answers and solutions.
Many thanks for taking the time to prepare this concise list.
Yep...Son, pushing 50, has done very well in ME; but he had to network very energetically to move up into better positions over the years.
Graduates in marine engineering from the state Maritime Academies and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy also seem to be in high demand now, both for sea-going positions and shore-side positions.
I am 35 years into my computer engineering (programmer) career and 25 years at my current company. For the past 10 years I have been repeatedly offered ‘promotions’ into management, but turned down every one of them. I earn more than all but one manager I have ever had at this company. They have a 7 level technical track where the top 2 or 3 levels can actually earn more than the engineering managers. I am currently at level 6 and have been told I can expect to be promoted to level 7 next year. My late career earnings blow away all 8 listed here. I have a few friends working for other companies that have expanded engineering career paths similarly to keep good engineers doing what they do best instead of forcing them into management.
Amen. Would never recommend an engineering degree. Spend the time and money on certifications. Welding, plumbing, mechanic.
Welding, plumbing, mechanic = lifetime of little or no heat and AC work environment.
I am a little over 20 years into my career. I now make 6 figures, but not as an engineer.
One company I was at told me “I can get three engineers from China and pay half of what I pay you. It is unreasonable to expect another raise.”
So I left and the spent 5 years and 8 engineers trying to figure out what I did.
Tell that story to the many engineers who lost their jobs when Biden decided that we should become energy dependent again.
Engineering has become a profession of the past since the jobs moved overseas. There was a bright light for engineers during the MAGA years but things have changed since then. Ask the people at Bechtel,Fluor and Kellogg what their job prospects are. Then talk to the engineers who were recently terminated from Chevron,Shell and other energy companies. Graduated in 1967. Those were heady days then but they won’t come back. Perhaps Hunter Biden has a need for engineers now that he is a big pipeline guru. So glad I am not looking for a job.
There’s a reason I chose being an ME.
>>Project Management is not a branch of engineering<<
You’re soooo right. They are engineers who do not know their trade but like to direct others in doing the jobs. I liken them to bureaucrats who decide who will be fired after the project is over. They all expect to get their asses kissed. They’re just members of a club. Overpaid schedulers.
>>Project Management is not a branch of engineering<<
You’re soooo right. They are engineers who do not know their trade but like to direct others in doing the jobs. I liken them to bureaucrats who decide who will be fired after the project is over. They all expect to get their asses kissed. They’re just members of a club. Overpaid schedulers.
Parents, you want a good future for your child? Make them study Law or Pharmacy.
I only know what is currently going on with my niece. She has nothing but a fresh diploma in electrical engineering and multiple job offers from all across the country.
No one is DESPERATE for engineers especially when they know that most technical work will go overseas in the future like it was in the pre-Trump years. The world is lining up to screw the US again. Haven’t you followed the K-7 get together?
She will need 4 years of experience to sit for her PE license assuming she sat for her FE (fundamentals of engineering, AKA: EIT)
The PE test is substantially different from the FE test. The FE morning test covers all of the courses you’ve learned in college (Dynamics, Thermo, Statics, Calculus, Engineering Economics, and so on). The afternoon test is specialized but still is based upon those specialty courses for all the disciplines. With the exception of proving you with a book of formulas, the FE is a closed book exam.
The PE is broad based on experience. Your allowed to bring in reference materials and the math is not as intense. Part of becoming a PE is knowing where to find the answers which is why they allow reference materials
I’m also a PE in Civil Engineering and the jobs are plentiful and pay excellent in Washington State.
My concern is that young folks entering into the field are not getting good field civil engineering experience and they think that the computer generated answer is always A) correct, and B) the only solution.
Just my humble opinion, and that of just about all of my my recent staff and consultants that are around 60 years old.
8 of the Most In-Demand Engineering Jobs for 2021
This will be most helpful for engineers from India.
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