[El Sordo]

Gentlemen, what say you?

Many times it seems to me that being an engineer (mechanical) puts me in the ranks of the lowest paid professionals. And I grant that I have survived a good number of layoffs, but I cannot imagine doing anything else.

[Eala]

but I cannot imagine doing anything else

When I started my education it was in the aerospace crash of the early 70s, which hit Silicon Valley hard. I saw my classes drop drastically in size when the other students realized there wouldn't be work for them. Like you, I couldn't imagine doing anything else so I stayed the course -- and got lucky; when I got my MSEE/CS there was all sorts of work available.

[bobg]

I am a licensed engineer and architect. I am 72 years old and still working. I am semi-retired, having "cut back to 40 hours a week", HA... I have been employed since 1957, and for the last 33 years in my own consulting firm. I have two sons, one an architect with a large fast food corporation and the other has his own firm doing computer graphics and architectural renderings.

I love it because with a small office in a small town every day is different.

[Anchoragite]

"Gentlemen, what say you?"

I'm not an engineer, but spent 90% of the last ten years in the engineering industry in process development. It is just so rewarding when you sit around and think, make a bunch of marks on [real or virtual] paper, and a year or two later.... !poof! -- there's a big machine doing exactly what you wanted it to do.

Doing stuff is fun.

[ALS]

I'm an engineer, and the key to staying employed is the same as it is in any profession. Make yourself unique, think forward, and stay necessary.

[PetroniDE]

Thanks for the ping.

I have B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a P.E. My career as an engineer is 14 years long, and I still enjoy it. I make good money (wouldn't mind a little more) but no complaints here. If there is one secret to my success, it has been to stay versatile and current. The first eleven years were spent in the pressure vessel industry at one company. Since then I has branched into the defense, aerospace, and consumer industries, while continuing in pressure vessels.

Don't been afraid to try new things. Take a course at a local college (most employers will pay for it), develop expertise in a new software package, and/or join a local technical society and attend the seminars. It is not just a 40-hour a week job; no successful profession is anymore. Opportunities exist to advance skills, and since the competition does, so must you, regardless of the profession.

If there is one problem with this profession, it is the concept that "it must be right, the computer says so". Anybody can input anything into a piece of software, but how do you know it is correct? Most of my work involves finite element analysis, and while even a child can put a model together, it takes an engineer to make sure the results are correct.