several certifications. If money is what you are after, you did a poor
job of researching your chosen occupational options before entering
school. There are many higher paid jobs out there then engineer, and
those in the building industry are often near the bottom of engineers.
Don't take it too hard, though - most kids are told to do what they
really enjoy, and are good at, in school. Nobody pushes their kid to
aspire to be a real estate agent, but the good ones make quite a lot of
money (in return for brokering the souls of unwary buyers to the devil).
If you wanted to make money as an engineer, you should have considered
chemical or electrical (as in ASICs, or RF, not panelboards). I took
a job as a structural for half I was making as an Aerospace engineer -
but I got to live where I wanted to, instead of where the jobs were.
Investing might even be better, given a good choice. I once looked to
see how much I'd have if I'd put my $10,000 I used for college into
microsoft when I graduated. About ten years ago, I would have been worth
something in the low 8 figures. I haven't checked since - it's just too
depressing. Then again, just a dollar can win you the lottery, too.
As for small employers, we (since I am one) can't pay you more than you
produce in billables, less G&A and O&P - which is quite a fraction.
Currently I have a new hire, who is paid below the "monster.com average"
and is a bright kid. After 2 months, his net effect on my bottom line is
still negative - he doesn't even make enough in billables to cover his
costs, and my productivity has slacked in the process of training - I'm
paying him out of my pocket right now. If I had an operation of 20 or
30 engineers, that wouldn't be a big deal - a 5% drag is bad, but not
overwhelming. With three of us in the office, it's closer to a 30-35%
drag - more than my entire profit margin. In 6 months, I'll get to stop
working 8 hours to keep up and 4 hours in the evening to get my own work
done in peace - and I'll make that investment back. Until there's a
solid, net positive cashflow history, any complaints about salary or
benefits aren't really going to get a positive hearing from me.
Jordan
> Now I do not feel like I should be handed a great job on a silver
> platter, but my girlfriend who went to a tech school, and is a
> surgical tech makes more then I do, and she also gets OT pay, great
> benifits and a lot of time off.
>
> It makes me mad that I busted my ass in college and this is what I see
> happening. Although I do work in a small company, I am wondering if
> this is typical of small structural eng firms?
>
>
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