All it has taken is one global financial meltdown, and people are declaring that engineering is sexy again. That’s the argument Vivek Wadhwa makes in his Business Week article, Engineering: Suddenly Sexy for College Grads. Have I ever mentioned that my undergraduate degree was in engineering? That’s right. I’ve been sexy all along.
Alright, so the article is actually talking about the engineering field, not the engineers themselves. For the past few years, ambitious new graduates have been flocking to Wall Street to land entry-level jobs with six figure salaries, but things are different now. With the world in a financial crisis, these opportunities don’t exist anymore, so graduates are starting to look into alternatives like engineering and technology.
Personally, I never even considered pursuing a career in investment banking or any other financial sector. I always knew that engineering and technology are where it’s at. What other fields give you as many opportunities to design, create, and build things that could have a huge positive impact on the world?
Engineers may not get paid as much as doctors, lawyers, or investment bankers (before the meltdown), but we get to do challenging and creative work without having to spend extra years in school or working crazy hours on a regular basis. That, to me, is what makes engineering sexy.
What do you think? Is engineering hot or not?
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Definitely agree that engineering is hot. It’s going to be absolutely necessary in any case barring a complete economic collapse (then it doesn’t really matter what your major is).
What type of engineering did you study?
Ever “top salaries for college graduates” list I’ve ever seen has had chemical, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineers peppering the top of the list – but NOW it’s sexy? If you’re an engineer, you can land a job at a financial firm (if you still want it!).
Engineers is the hot new field whether computer engineers or otherwise. Less schooling meaning less debt coming out of school. And very lucrative jobs and high rate of employment make it the hot trend. I can easily see why it’s sexy now.
Craig
http://www.budgetpulse.com
Blake: I studied computer science through the engineering school at my college and dabbled in other fields on the side. Gotta keep things interesting.
jim: Definitely agree. Engineering has always been (and will always be) sexy, because the skills you learn can be applied in almost any field.
I believe ANY JOB that you feel passionate about is sexy. I don’t care if you enjoy ridding people of their trash, or underwater metal detecting (that’s actually pretty cool!). If it makes you happy waking up every day? It’s sexy…just like budgets
I always thought that engineering was a sexy profession. Also, I think it’s a really cool field and I even went to a couple of the robotics competitions. I don’t think a career should be about the money but actually having a career that’s enjoyable.
Elizabeth
Paying Student Loans Blog
My cousin is in Chemical Engineering, myself being a Business Major. My education is difficult but his is near imposible. I need to give anyone in Engineering major credit (no pun intended) becase most of the concepts are difficult to grasp and the work load can be very hectic.
With technology taking over and also with Obama’s plans for infrastructure improvement, I think engineering is going to be one of the new six-figure careers. And six-figure jobs are always cool.
Noe if only companies would recognize this. I am a chemical engineer working for a firm that builds and designs power palnts. While the company keeps growing, engineering keeps getting reduced. The corporate balance sheets show engineering as a cost center and as such a place only to make cuts. Many of my friends are seeing similar trends. Engineers will always be needed, but they may have to strike out on their own instead of working in an established corporate network.
Yay for engineers! I am a former software engineer who went into blogging and who now wants her old engineering job back
. I think I’ll be looking for a job sometime next year, especially as the recession gets worse. Who knows if I’ll find one with the competition out there? -SVB
Thanks for all your great tips on saving money and getting out of debt! I know it’s such an important time right now for us as college students to be careful what we spend our money on. I know I’m broke! I happened to run into this contest yesterday, http://indebted.mtvu.com/the-challenge/, might help me pay off some of my bills!
-Ashley