The engineering career
Rick Nelson, Chief Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 5/1/2005
Is engineering a wise career choice? It's not an easy sell, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, which cites the failure of a successful engineering executive to entice his sons to study engineering—they both opted for economics ("Even Tech Execs Can't Get Kids to be Engineers," March 29). That article resonated with me, as my son has also chosen to study economics.
Shall we assume that students who are accomplished in math and science aspire to control the federal funds rate rather than invent quantum computers? Anecdotal accounts regarding offspring of engineers should be taken with a grain of salt—children often want to stake out their own turf. But the Journal article does present hard statistics: In 1975, the US ranked third worldwide in its number of undergraduate engineers and natural scientists; today, it ranks 17th.
One might speculate on reasons for a lack of interest in high tech: an aimless space program that lacks the focus of the 1960s' moon race or the outspokenness of politicians openly hostile to science that doesn't support an ideological agenda. A recent study of 2800 Silicon Valley students, the Journal article reports, found that 68% of the participants eschewed high-tech studies, citing tedious, intimidating subject matter pursued by socially awkward practitioners obsessed with work.
Compounding the difficulty is a rather murky employment situation in the US. Economist Paul Krugman, writing in the New York Times ("A Whiff of Stagflation," April 18), claims the employment situation may be worse than official figures suggest. Prospective engineers might feel particularly vulnerable, with engineering skill sets more prone to outsourcing than those of health-care providers, or even economists. After all, E=IR in every culture and political arrangement, and a line of Verilog code looks the same regardless of the coder's native language.
And finally, letter writers responding to the Journal article question whether there is a shortage of engineers despite college-enrollment trends; if there were, one writer contends, starting salaries would be soaring but are not.
What's your take on the engineering profession? Test & Measurement World is now conducting a survey of randomly selected readers to gauge their opinions on factors including salaries, opportunities for advancement, and overall job satisfaction; we will report the results in our August issue. If you receive the survey, please complete it promptly. Even if you don't, we are interested in what you have to say. Would you recommend the engineering profession to a college student? Send your comments to me at the address below.
Contact Rick Nelson at rnelson@tmworld.com.
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