Why is engineering major so popular?

[Anonymous]

Having been around engineers my whole life, they do have brains that work a bit differently than others (if I'm generalizing). My dh, brothers and dad can all figure out instantly how something goes together. Dh can just blow on a carburetor and it starts working again. They love electronics, small engines, and figuring out problems. It has translated to success in other career fields too.

Conversely I'm a lawyer and seem to have opposite skills. I'm better at word problems.

[Anonymous]

Is it partially demographics?
Engineering has always been popular among first generation children of immigrants. My own dad who was a child of immigrants during the depression, became an engineer. A lot of the kids I knew from my Gen X HS that went into engineering either had engineers as parents or were children of immigrants (medicine and pharmacy also popular). I’m a little curious as to whether a higher than usual percentage of HS kids are now children of immigrants and whether children of immigrants are more heavily represented among engineering applicants.

[Anonymous]

my grandfather was an engineer. he def wanted his kids to be doctors and lawyers. it was seen as a step up.

for our parenting generation, the whole "failure to launch" and 2007 financial crisis, prompted a flight to safety.

as an architect who fully expects half the jobs in my 500-person firm to move to AI in the next 10 years (and engineering will be the same), I wouldnt be shocked to see a move to electricians, etc. Literally the same salaries, no danger of losing your job to a robot.

[Anonymous]

My son plans to major in engineering (probably mechanical). Mostly because he loves both math and science. But it's such a versatile degree...with quantitative skills being so strongly in demand, you can do so many things with an engineering degree (in both the engineering field and out)...many/most of which are stable, well-paying fields.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They usually get much higher salaries out of the gate than liberal arts majors.

Usually they have better math ability, as shown by coursework taken in high school and college. And standardized testing.

Often they learn some helpful computer programming basics in college. That can be mildly helpful.

The DMV has a lot of highly-paid liberal arts majors because of it's focus on politics, law, global trade, etc. It can be harder in other places to get your career off the ground with some of those majors.

My whole life, engineering undergrads have usually made $10s of K more in starting salary vs. English and Econ majors.

Don't assume your neighborhood is representative.

Which is funny because liberal arts majors in physics and math make fun of engineers for how bad they are at math

[Anonymous]

well that's true. math majors generally doing way more advanced math than engineers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my grandfather was an engineer. he def wanted his kids to be doctors and lawyers. it was seen as a step up.

for our parenting generation, the whole "failure to launch" and 2007 financial crisis, prompted a flight to safety.

as an architect who fully expects half the jobs in my 500-person firm to move to AI in the next 10 years (and engineering will be the same), I wouldnt be shocked to see a move to electricians, etc. Literally the same salaries, no danger of losing your job to a robot.

Completely opposite. I'm an attorney and steered my kid away from the practice of law. Thank goodness he's much smarter than I and is currently studying chemical engineering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son plans to major in engineering (probably mechanical). Mostly because he loves both math and science. But it's such a versatile degree...with quantitative skills being so strongly in demand, you can do so many things with an engineering degree (in both the engineering field and out)...many/most of which are stable, well-paying fields.

Yep!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:engineering is kinda great because it hardly matters where you go - and it doesnt require a masters or further degree. and it's not that hard to get into a place like Purdue, which is maybe not "elite" but very good program.

If within the Top 10 - the school absolutely does matter especially for the recruitment from top employers for internships and that first job. I can attest to this. After that I would agree with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are there so many kids who want to major in engineering? When I take a look around among adults, those with engineering jobs don’t stand out as being more wildly successful or wealthier or happier compared to other professionals. Sure they do well and I respect them, but the outsized emphasis during college admissions doesn’t seem proportionate to the career outcome.

I did read the whole thread, but coming back to the op here. Engineering is a relativey safe/stable path, and if you are good at math and science and come from a blue collar or lower income background, it's an "easy" leap into the professional world. Whereas other interesting tracks felt more risky, more reliant on making the right connections (where I was at a disadvantage), or just too focused on making money (e.g. banking/finances/PE type things) without being able to see how that was benefiting the world.

Even as a woman, I think it has been a great career for me. Generally salaries are stronger out of school - but I did find the others eventually catch up (and sometimes even far exceed) when they get higher level jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:engineering is kinda great because it hardly matters where you go - and it doesnt require a masters or further degree. and it's not that hard to get into a place like Purdue, which is maybe not "elite" but very good program.

If within the Top 10 - the school absolutely does matter especially for the recruitment from top employers for internships and that first job. I can attest to this. After that I would agree with you.

my nephew just graduated from MIT - which has to be among the best, if not the best - and first job out is 90k plus benefits.

depends on what kind of engineering, but I bet kids from Purdue in same field are getting same (ish) salary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:engineering is kinda great because it hardly matters where you go - and it doesnt require a masters or further degree. and it's not that hard to get into a place like Purdue, which is maybe not "elite" but very good program.

If within the Top 10 - the school absolutely does matter especially for the recruitment from top employers for internships and that first job. I can attest to this. After that I would agree with you.

my nephew just graduated from MIT - which has to be among the best, if not the best - and first job out is 90k plus benefits.

depends on what kind of engineering, but I bet kids from Purdue in same field are getting same (ish) salary

Why not go into consulting or quant if he’s top of the class? Traditional engineering is a waste of a career.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:engineering is kinda great because it hardly matters where you go - and it doesnt require a masters or further degree. and it's not that hard to get into a place like Purdue, which is maybe not "elite" but very good program.

If within the Top 10 - the school absolutely does matter especially for the recruitment from top employers for internships and that first job. I can attest to this. After that I would agree with you.

my nephew just graduated from MIT - which has to be among the best, if not the best - and first job out is 90k plus benefits.

depends on what kind of engineering, but I bet kids from Purdue in same field are getting same (ish) salary

The pay from MIT grads likely has much more to do with the Landing in Boston area (or other VHCOLA like Silicon Valley) than just the MIT degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:engineering is kinda great because it hardly matters where you go - and it doesnt require a masters or further degree. and it's not that hard to get into a place like Purdue, which is maybe not "elite" but very good program.

If within the Top 10 - the school absolutely does matter especially for the recruitment from top employers for internships and that first job. I can attest to this. After that I would agree with you.

my nephew just graduated from MIT - which has to be among the best, if not the best - and first job out is 90k plus benefits.

depends on what kind of engineering, but I bet kids from Purdue in same field are getting same (ish) salary

Why not go into consulting or quant if he’s top of the class? Traditional engineering is a waste of a career.

not idea if he was "top of the class" but has no interest in consulting or quant. does engineering

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it partially demographics?
Engineering has always been popular among first generation children of immigrants. My own dad who was a child of immigrants during the depression, became an engineer. A lot of the kids I knew from my Gen X HS that went into engineering either had engineers as parents or were children of immigrants (medicine and pharmacy also popular). I’m a little curious as to whether a higher than usual percentage of HS kids are now children of immigrants and whether children of immigrants are more heavily represented among engineering applicants.

I don't think it's specific demographics. Engineering majors today do seem to be the brightest students that get to do the most interesting and exciting things today - whether building interesting stuff or using the problem solving skills to make money in finance.

Engineering students tend to do very well today. And that makes it a desirable major for all sorts of interests. There aren't any dumbasses graduating with an Engineering degree from anywhere today. It's a difficult degree, and all employers value it.

My very WASPy kids are very interested in engineering because they are smart and they can do things with that degree. And also because they are creative. And engineering is a much more exciting degree today when you actually want to do something significant.