Engineering job outlook in the next 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are too many engineers. There are soon going to be more arriving from other countries and they are all going to be paid less.

Of course, the alternative is worse. Okay, maybe not worse but certainly less certain. You can always learn to write on the job but moving home to attend a local uni to pick up another (difficult) undergraduate degree while your parents fume, that just isn't a plan at all.

Isn't Drumpf going to fix that?

[Anonymous]

Grew up in an engineering household with lots of engineers in the extended family and most did NOT want their kids to go into it. I think the enthusiasm for engineering is overdone on DCUM and most college boards.

Sure the starting point for engineers is great. It's great to gradate with 70k-100k offers in hand. But as you get into your 30s and esp your 40s-50s it gets harder and harder. There is only so much need for management -- not everyone makes it (and not every engineer wants it -- many want to do engineering, not manage budgets etc.). But if you aren't/don't want to be management by the time you hit your 40s-50s, you are being billed out at a fairly expensive rate and companies realize that they can hire younger guys cheaper to do your job. And historically the problem in the US with civil, mechanical, electrical has been -- there are a LOT of other countries with very solid math skills; work gets outsourced all the time to be done by Asian engineers for 10k/yr rather than paying a US engineer 130k/yr. Frankly computer engineering and related IT fields have been all the rage for the last 1-2 decades and now we're seeing outsourcing there too. Bioengineering is hot right now and maybe that stays hot bc it requires creativity and solutions that the math oriented nations typically don't come up with -- they're better at the rote repetitive work?

Can't tell you how many engineers I know who by 40-50 had been laid off so many times that they left altogether -- some started their own businesses where math skills helped (construction; etc. -- but laying counter/floors ain't easy when you're 45 and have been sitting at a desk for 20 yrs); some started random business -- i.e. stores, car dealerships etc.

The only engineers I know who WANTED their kids to go into it were the oil/gas guys -- knowing that it's a VERY unsteady life but lucrative so if you plan well you can make it out well despite knowing you'll be laid off every few yrs -- OR the engineers who ended up in the gov't; I don't think any of them loved their jobs but they loved that they had stability thru their careers and did not have to worry about yet another plan at Fluor or GE or Jacobs or whatever to ship work out to Taiwan and let all the US guys go.

[Anonymous]

AI looks good

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/in-the-war-for-ai-talent-sky-high-salaries-are-the-weapons

[Anonymous]

I'm in a big name defense contractor. We are set to lose a ton of baby boomer engineers in the coming years, and. Competition for new talent is fierce, since we need many of the same talents as silicon valley and the tech world. Cleared personnel are really hard to find, so if your kid can get a clearance while interning, so much the better. Plus, even more.incentivr to for DC to keep a clean record...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in an engineering household with lots of engineers in the extended family and most did NOT want their kids to go into it. I think the enthusiasm for engineering is overdone on DCUM and most college boards.

Sure the starting point for engineers is great. It's great to gradate with 70k-100k offers in hand. But as you get into your 30s and esp your 40s-50s it gets harder and harder. There is only so much need for management -- not everyone makes it (and not every engineer wants it -- many want to do engineering, not manage budgets etc.). But if you aren't/don't want to be management by the time you hit your 40s-50s, you are being billed out at a fairly expensive rate and companies realize that they can hire younger guys cheaper to do your job. And historically the problem in the US with civil, mechanical, electrical has been -- there are a LOT of other countries with very solid math skills; work gets outsourced all the time to be done by Asian engineers for 10k/yr rather than paying a US engineer 130k/yr. Frankly computer engineering and related IT fields have been all the rage for the last 1-2 decades and now we're seeing outsourcing there too. Bioengineering is hot right now and maybe that stays hot bc it requires creativity and solutions that the math oriented nations typically don't come up with -- they're better at the rote repetitive work?

Can't tell you how many engineers I know who by 40-50 had been laid off so many times that they left altogether -- some started their own businesses where math skills helped (construction; etc. -- but laying counter/floors ain't easy when you're 45 and have been sitting at a desk for 20 yrs); some started random business -- i.e. stores, car dealerships etc.

The only engineers I know who WANTED their kids to go into it were the oil/gas guys -- knowing that it's a VERY unsteady life but lucrative so if you plan well you can make it out well despite knowing you'll be laid off every few yrs -- OR the engineers who ended up in the gov't; I don't think any of them loved their jobs but they loved that they had stability thru their careers and did not have to worry about yet another plan at Fluor or GE or Jacobs or whatever to ship work out to Taiwan and let all the US guys go.

You are describing almost all professions. Ageism is rampant in all professions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in an engineering household with lots of engineers in the extended family and most did NOT want their kids to go into it. I think the enthusiasm for engineering is overdone on DCUM and most college boards.

Sure the starting point for engineers is great. It's great to gradate with 70k-100k offers in hand. But as you get into your 30s and esp your 40s-50s it gets harder and harder. There is only so much need for management -- not everyone makes it (and not every engineer wants it -- many want to do engineering, not manage budgets etc.). But if you aren't/don't want to be management by the time you hit your 40s-50s, you are being billed out at a fairly expensive rate and companies realize that they can hire younger guys cheaper to do your job. And historically the problem in the US with civil, mechanical, electrical has been -- there are a LOT of other countries with very solid math skills; work gets outsourced all the time to be done by Asian engineers for 10k/yr rather than paying a US engineer 130k/yr. Frankly computer engineering and related IT fields have been all the rage for the last 1-2 decades and now we're seeing outsourcing there too. Bioengineering is hot right now and maybe that stays hot bc it requires creativity and solutions that the math oriented nations typically don't come up with -- they're better at the rote repetitive work?

Can't tell you how many engineers I know who by 40-50 had been laid off so many times that they left altogether -- some started their own businesses where math skills helped (construction; etc. -- but laying counter/floors ain't easy when you're 45 and have been sitting at a desk for 20 yrs); some started random business -- i.e. stores, car dealerships etc.

The only engineers I know who WANTED their kids to go into it were the oil/gas guys -- knowing that it's a VERY unsteady life but lucrative so if you plan well you can make it out well despite knowing you'll be laid off every few yrs -- OR the engineers who ended up in the gov't; I don't think any of them loved their jobs but they loved that they had stability thru their careers and did not have to worry about yet another plan at Fluor or GE or Jacobs or whatever to ship work out to Taiwan and let all the US guys go.

You are describing almost all professions. Ageism is rampant in all professions.

Far far more rampant in engineering than say medicine or law (where people are often partners by the time they're older) or finance where having Goldman on the resume in your 20-30s WILL land you a job later on, even if you get pushed out of Goldman at 45 (and I don't mean just GS -- I mean all the major i banks). And the difference IMO is that in those other professions you make a LOT more money throughout so if/when you do get pushed out, you are in a MUCH better position financially. I don't see the appeal of engineering which in America doesn't get you more than a middle class life -- no real chance at big $.

That being said -- I think what PP is describing is rampant all over the country but DC tends to be a bit different bc there is SO much defense contractor work that requires people with clearance and that can't be shipped off to other countries due to security, as well as some gov't agencies that hire (FAA comes to mind) that also can't outsource. So if a child wants to do engineering, talk to them about getting into one of these outsource-proof jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It all depends on which type of engineering you are referring. High quality well trained engineers will always be in demand. Engineers from technical certificates places will have more trouble.

Chemical engineers that go into the oil industry experience ups and downs frequently.
Mechanical can be good steady work,but some do not pay as well- againitreallydepedsonwhat type of mechanical engineer.
Electrical and computer engineeering have excellent prospects
Aerospace will always be there,but there is stiff competition.
Bio-engineers same as aerospace
Good Industrial engineers are in good shape too
Thinking, creative engineers that can write coherently are always in demand too.

Just a question about the creative engineers that can write coherently. My daughter has always wanted to be an engineer, but loves writing. She also like collaborating instead of being in a lab or a computer screen alone. She is kinda clueless what type of engineering to even go into. She is a junior by the way.

Purdue and University of Delaware talk about collaborative learning intheir teaching. They have listened to the employers who want team players. I can say that Purdue walks the talk as thata is where my DC attends.

I think most engineering majors are okay, it is what you do with the major- being in a company where they develop the new products is more likely to be collaborative than a job that it mainly about keeping up an existing product.

Thank you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tons of kids going into engineering schools. I am trying to find job outlooks that look promising and many are not.

Concerns?

The key is not to look at number of kids entering engineering school, but the number actually graduating.

+1!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in an engineering household with lots of engineers in the extended family and most did NOT want their kids to go into it. I think the enthusiasm for engineering is overdone on DCUM and most college boards.

Sure the starting point for engineers is great. It's great to gradate with 70k-100k offers in hand. But as you get into your 30s and esp your 40s-50s it gets harder and harder. There is only so much need for management -- not everyone makes it (and not every engineer wants it -- many want to do engineering, not manage budgets etc.). But if you aren't/don't want to be management by the time you hit your 40s-50s, you are being billed out at a fairly expensive rate and companies realize that they can hire younger guys cheaper to do your job. And historically the problem in the US with civil, mechanical, electrical has been -- there are a LOT of other countries with very solid math skills; work gets outsourced all the time to be done by Asian engineers for 10k/yr rather than paying a US engineer 130k/yr. Frankly computer engineering and related IT fields have been all the rage for the last 1-2 decades and now we're seeing outsourcing there too. Bioengineering is hot right now and maybe that stays hot bc it requires creativity and solutions that the math oriented nations typically don't come up with -- they're better at the rote repetitive work?

Can't tell you how many engineers I know who by 40-50 had been laid off so many times that they left altogether -- some started their own businesses where math skills helped (construction; etc. -- but laying counter/floors ain't easy when you're 45 and have been sitting at a desk for 20 yrs); some started random business -- i.e. stores, car dealerships etc.

The only engineers I know who WANTED their kids to go into it were the oil/gas guys -- knowing that it's a VERY unsteady life but lucrative so if you plan well you can make it out well despite knowing you'll be laid off every few yrs -- OR the engineers who ended up in the gov't; I don't think any of them loved their jobs but they loved that they had stability thru their careers and did not have to worry about yet another plan at Fluor or GE or Jacobs or whatever to ship work out to Taiwan and let all the US guys go.

You are describing almost all professions. Ageism is rampant in all professions.

Far far more rampant in engineering than say medicine or law (where people are often partners by the time they're older) or finance where having Goldman on the resume in your 20-30s WILL land you a job later on, even if you get pushed out of Goldman at 45 (and I don't mean just GS -- I mean all the major i banks). And the difference IMO is that in those other professions you make a LOT more money throughout so if/when you do get pushed out, you are in a MUCH better position financially. I don't see the appeal of engineering which in America doesn't get you more than a middle class life -- no real chance at big $.

That being said -- I think what PP is describing is rampant all over the country but DC tends to be a bit different bc there is SO much defense contractor work that requires people with clearance and that can't be shipped off to other countries due to security, as well as some gov't agencies that hire (FAA comes to mind) that also can't outsource. So if a child wants to do engineering, talk to them about getting into one of these outsource-proof jobs.

The median income for a lawyer is $81k (https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Attorney_%2F_Lawyer/Salary). And they have a huge debt to pay off, as law school is not cheap. Imaging yourself a partner in big law is like imagining yourself the engineer who successfully makes the transition to management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in an engineering household with lots of engineers in the extended family and most did NOT want their kids to go into it. I think the enthusiasm for engineering is overdone on DCUM and most college boards.

Sure the starting point for engineers is great. It's great to gradate with 70k-100k offers in hand. But as you get into your 30s and esp your 40s-50s it gets harder and harder. There is only so much need for management -- not everyone makes it (and not every engineer wants it -- many want to do engineering, not manage budgets etc.). But if you aren't/don't want to be management by the time you hit your 40s-50s, you are being billed out at a fairly expensive rate and companies realize that they can hire younger guys cheaper to do your job. And historically the problem in the US with civil, mechanical, electrical has been -- there are a LOT of other countries with very solid math skills; work gets outsourced all the time to be done by Asian engineers for 10k/yr rather than paying a US engineer 130k/yr. Frankly computer engineering and related IT fields have been all the rage for the last 1-2 decades and now we're seeing outsourcing there too. Bioengineering is hot right now and maybe that stays hot bc it requires creativity and solutions that the math oriented nations typically don't come up with -- they're better at the rote repetitive work?

Can't tell you how many engineers I know who by 40-50 had been laid off so many times that they left altogether -- some started their own businesses where math skills helped (construction; etc. -- but laying counter/floors ain't easy when you're 45 and have been sitting at a desk for 20 yrs); some started random business -- i.e. stores, car dealerships etc.

The only engineers I know who WANTED their kids to go into it were the oil/gas guys -- knowing that it's a VERY unsteady life but lucrative so if you plan well you can make it out well despite knowing you'll be laid off every few yrs -- OR the engineers who ended up in the gov't; I don't think any of them loved their jobs but they loved that they had stability thru their careers and did not have to worry about yet another plan at Fluor or GE or Jacobs or whatever to ship work out to Taiwan and let all the US guys go.

You are describing almost all professions. Ageism is rampant in all professions.

It is much worse where h1bs and h4s and l-1s and opts are involved. Huge supply of guest workers allows companies to do this