[jimt]

Job security is dependant on the particular discipline, as well as overall skill.

Exactamundo.

Many of the "engineers" discussed are in reality programmers. EE has become a discipline with three main areas: electrical power, electronics and programming. Of the three, programming has had a very large share of the students. The huge surge of folks into programming, and their subsequent layoffs, have a lot to do with the "dissatisfaction" discussed in the article.

There's also a factor related to the quality of education today. I recently met a computer science major who responded "What's that?" when I asked him if he messed with assembly much. Similarly, it is now possible to graduate from a major university with a degree in mechanical engineering, having never taken a class in drafting, or CAD, or in manufacturing methods.

[Willie Green]

Many of the "engineers" discussed are in reality programmers.

I agree. True engineering skills are seldom subject to obsolescence and are only enhanced by experience.

[Timmy]

I work in the power industry, and we have trouble attracting young engineers. Mechanical and electrical are still in high demand. The "computer" engineers are not, as people trained in other areas can quickly learn to do company required computer tasks, including programming.

[Rome2000]

Good lighting and power engineers are always in demand.

They don't teach you that stuff in college, the only way to become competent is on the job training and years of experience.

I have about as much in common with a guy that does programming as I do with a circus clown.

[Cogadh na Sith]

EE has become a discipline with three main areas: electrical power, electronics and programming. Of the three, programming has had a very large share of the students. The huge surge of folks into programming, and their subsequent layoffs, have a lot to do with the "dissatisfaction" discussed in the article.

I am the rarest of animals. I am an EE working as a Software Systems Safety Engineer. Amazing, growing field as more and more systems take humans 'out of the loop'. I lucked into it. I can work as a systems engineer, a system safety engineer, a software system engineer or as a programmer. It is the age of the generalist....

[general_re]

There's also a factor related to the quality of education today. I recently met a computer science major who responded "What's that?" when I asked him if he messed with assembly much.

LOL - that has less to do with quality education than you think. For anything more than a few hundred lines of code, a good globally-optimizing compiler will produce tighter code than any assembly programmer. Period. Therefore, there's no real reason to teach assembly any more, since there's no real reason to program in assembly any more.

Hate to say it, but the world changed when you weren't looking ;)