As I’ve mentioned, I’m going through my files and posting some of what I’ve experienced over several decades. I had forgotten about this … written in 2011.
I wrote this for a fresh-out that was already getting discouraged about the industry. We had been talking – I was a mentor of sorts but more on the non-technical aspects of the profession. He challenged me to write down 5 reasons anyone would stay in this profession. Not long after, he left this company and went to another – as an EE – in a different part of the country.
I never heard from him again after he told me where he ended up. That was late 2011.
I wonder if he stayed in the profession? Anyway, here’s what I wrote for him. Probably still valid.
5 Reasons To Stay in Electronics Engineering
Thinking about leaving electronics engineering?
Dave did — more than once – but here’s 5 reasons to stay.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2010[1], there are 133,660 “Electronic Engineers, Except Computer” employed in the US. This isn’t broken down into such categories as “digital”, “analog”, or “RF” but it gives a general idea.
The mean wage is $92,730, with the 75th percentile being $111,860 and the 90th percentile being $135,080.
1: Money
Sure makes the world go round. Money may not buy happiness but lack of money doesn’t buy much of anything.
The profession you’ve selected has a pretty good compensation package. The “average” EE makes almost $93,000[2]. You’ve invested a lot into your education and spent time – worth more than money – in becoming good at what you do. And if you weren’t good, you’d probably have been told by now. So unless you’re just starting out and realize you made a mistake, or unless you have some burning desire to do something else – a specific something, not just “something” – you should stay where you are. Any other “something else” will lead to the same issues that cause you to even read this.
Though if money is the reason you chose this field, it may not work out. There are other ways to make more money if that’s your main goal.
2: Fun
I can’t speak for many of my peers, but I do this because I find it fun. It isn’t a job, it’s a hobby I get paid for. I started doing this even before I was old enough for Boy Scouts, I do it when I’m not on the clock.
Every job has boring aspects – and they are tasks that need to be done – and require your skill set to accomplish. But the job has unique challenges that come along with the boring tasks. It may be your particular twist on things that comes up with a desired solution. It may seem to be day-to-day humdrum, but if you look back, you’ll probably find an interesting variety of tasks you’ve participated in.
3: Colleagues
I like working with people I can talk shop with. It takes another engineer/physicist to do more than listen to some of my quirky ideas – and be able to discuss them.
You’re going to spend much of your waking life with your co-workers. You will be working with people having similar interests, education, and backgrounds – after all, you all picked more or less the same profession. While any profession has a set of those who may be less than stellar, that doesn’t change if you quit engineering for something else. But that “something” may have fewer people you can talk shop with.
4: Rewards
The rewards of this profession are self-satisfying – you’ve met a challenge of solving some jigsaw puzzle of a project. When it gets down to it, you probably picked electronics because you liked putting electronic systems together. Maybe you’re stressed from pushing a deadline, or that last task that needed to be finished yesterday, or that snag that hit after you told the boss you’d be done today.
But afterwards – there’s a sense of accomplishment most other jobs won’t provide. I know very few true engineers that have 8-hour days – even when off the clock.
5: Career – a very practical reason to not leave
I took – not time off – but time away from a “normal” corporate career path. Had an idea or two I wanted to push on my own. Although I had the technical skills and kept up with them, I didn’t have the entrepreneur-in-a-garage skill set and the business failed.
I had a problem when it was time to get back in harness. HR departments didn’t recognize busting one’s butt running a technology business as “employment”. It represented a “gap” in employment in their eyes. Didn’t matter that I made enough to survive (but not enough for the business to break even): No Success = No Employment
Back in the day when I was dating, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. If I wasn’t seen out and about with some girl – any girl – I found it hard to get dates. On the other hand, if I was out and about with a girl, it was not unusual to have others come up to me – while I was on a date. I didn’t have dating trouble if I had a girlfriend – I did if I didn’t.
I notice the same effect in employment. Right or wrong, if you’re not working, you’ll likely be perceived as “defective” (in the corporate world) and unable to find employment. If you’re working, you must be pretty good – also a perception – and may have companies cold-calling with “better” opportunities (Most of them aren’t better. Stay put. Don’t fall for cold-calls unless it’s with a company you already had in mind before the call. And even then, tread carefully. One of my many mistakes.)
How many people can say they really like or even love their jobs? How many people do you know that dread going to work? The engineers I know usually love their jobs, as long as they are getting treated fairly and properly compensated – which isn’t always salary. I will admit I prefer the west-coast attitude more than that of the east coast.
I’ve personally attended the university of hard knocks. Each of the above are important to me. While I’ve had some bad experiences, most have been interesting and fun. My bad decisions were mostly in inadvertently deciding to once again attend the UHK.
Sometime the daily grind seems to be never-ending, sometimes the stress of long hours and tight deadlines get to me, and the frustrations can seem never-ending.
When your focus is on responding to emails and attending yet another meeting, it gets hard to see the forest for the trees. The grass is always greener on the other side and for some reason it’s hard to see the positive aspects of where you are in the here and now. You don’t ever know what you have until you’ve left it behind.
Two comments of advice:
- If a company tells you part of your pay is where you get to live, ask them if that’s true for the prices they charge for their product (probably not – and you won’t get the job if you ask that question. But it may be a company you’d end up regretting working for anyway).
- Be very careful if HR has cutesy names for their employees. I gave you two examples – I won’t repeat them on paper)
Good luck and best wishes – July 2011
[1] http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172072.htm#top
[2] http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ocwage.pdf
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Occupational Employment and Wages – May 2010, pg 9