- Joined
- Apr 12, 2015
- Messages
- 1,463
Most engineers or for that matter anyone in the technical field (this includes medical, legal, etc) rarely invent or achieve that individuality that sets them apart in their field. They simply go through the paces like any other job. This is not to say they are not important or the work they do is not important, it is just a fact.He said that his participation on the one Engineering team he had ever been a part of, was limited to basically busy work; crunching numbers, drafting, etc. He had no patents, nor anything that seemed like an original idea.
I was very fortunate that I got exposure to a wide range of engineering and was able to excel in both designing large systems as well as embedded systems.
After that I started to reevaluate the path I was on.
I informed myself of the salary of a degreed Engineer upon graduating. A rookie Engineer's average salary was less than I was making as a Maintenance Tech before I quit.
And, by that point I had other customers and figured out that the salray was less than I could make self employed, working 20-30hrs per week (not including health ins.).
That was all the motivation I needed. I didn't feel that FREE college was worth my time.
A lot of folks make more than degreed engineers, even within the same company. Senior Technicians, administration (management), etc... A lot of engineers look for stability that a job provides (benefits) versus pay. Everyone must pick their own career path and weigh the pros and con's.
Perhaps, a good motivating teacher does inspire. BUT, one must remember all college does is provide a paper that states you have achieved a certain level of knowledge, not that you know anything in a real-world application. (Just like the PE exam)Maybe if they had a more qualified person at the gate to welcome in the newbies, I wouldn't have been scared away.
It simply teaches where to look and how to gain the answers when you are confronted with real-world problems to solve. College does not prepare you for performing the work in a real-world application...that would be the job of a tech college. This is why employers like experienced applicants, otherwise they must do on-the-job training regardless of your degree.