Why do engineers make so much?

Question

I will be studying engineering next year at Virginia Tech and money is not my motivation to do this. I was just wondering why they make so much money. I know the schooling is difficult but is the job very demanding as well? Stressful? I know anything you really are passionate about you will love and it won't be "hard".

Answer 1

I was extremely passionate about engineering (still am) and it was extremely difficult for me. In fact I had to drop classes so many times because I couldn't pass them that it took me 10 years to get a mechanical engineer degree. I had a BA in chemistry , but that was a walk in the park compared to engineering. The extremely hard math sequences and the analytical problems that never let up was my downfall. Those four years in engineering school are even more difficult than going to med school. Med school is more memorization, engineering is very long complex analysis of systems , so you need a good memory and perseverance to carry out very lengthy and involved problems.



I think engineering is vastly underpaid for what they do. For with out engineers there would be no machinery or robotics to run our factories (and the rest of the world's), there would be no electricity, cars, cell phones and all the things in life you take for granted.



A CEO of any business just allocates and distributes the work and products of scientists and engineers. Without engineers the business man would just have rocks , fruits, berries and animal skins to trade. The scientist and engineer, degreed or not, are what made the modern world.

Answer 2

THe skill set is rare, the intelligence required is also rare.

Engineering is not something that most people can do.

The returns from good engineering are huge.



THe job does not have to be stressful. It depends on where you work. IF the managers are all pointy-haired wonders, it will be, unless you are Wally [see www.dilbert.com]



Alas, I cannot agree with "I know anything you really are passionate about you will love and it won't be "hard"."

Answer 3

Because they are difficult to replace. So goes the law of supply and demand. Like supermarket checkers, anyone can do that job with 20 seconds of instruction.