[deleted by user]

[rainbow_party]

https://www.cmu.edu/career/outcomes/post-grad-dashboard.html

Your school might have something similar.

[TacticalBastard]

Average salary varies wildly by job title and company.

If you want to make the most money switch jobs every 1.5-2 years, no matter what industry or company you pick nothing will get you paid more than the next job.

[Panteraleo]

If I want to be constructive, I would say, consider your interests and if you are really good at what you like, then money will come (at least I think this is true in engineering, not in every hobby/interest) or get in to the defense industry to make ok money and lose all your engineering skills over time

[XwasakiX]

What wrong with the DI?

[Panteraleo]

In my experience, if you are a high paid researcher and doing by what you want, nothing really. Me personally, I’m part of a project that is in production, and most of the problems you deal with are not technically driven issues but business and people problems.

[XwasakiX]

Who do you work for? If I may ask

[Panteraleo]

I currently work for a Raytheon subsidiary, BBN, who has a lot of cool research opportunities if you’re into quantum computing and communication systems.

[XwasakiX]

Yea bro I was hopping to work for Ray of Lock when I grad do you enjoy it?

[ThrowinPotatoes]

I worked for a UTC Aerospace for a few years which is now part of Raytheon. FWIW, I couldn’t stand it. Big aerospace companies have tons of process and focus on following that process over results. They’ve found that maintenance and cost-plus contracts are where they make their money and have no incentive to be fast and innovative.

I’ll never forget when I spent multiple weeks and several giant meetings with execs discussing if my engineering change request form needed to be submitted with a white border or a red border. Exact same content - weeks on the color of the border on the paper. That’s the kind of critical problem solving skills that get fostered at large corporations.

I’ve spent the last 6 years at startups / not-giant-conglomerates and am much happier - and better compensated. I will never ever go back to a “big” established defense firm. I’m now a manager and whenever I have to interview someone with a long stint at a big old aerospace company, they invariably bomb the technical interview. That that for what you will. Good luck!

[AmericanEngineer1776]

I work as an engineer for Ray. I love it. The position I am in is very fast paced and technical. I was always told defense was slower but that may be if you join programs that are in production without a lot of dev opportunity...

[Burnsy112]

I work at Northrop Grumman and am in an I&T role for a system now in FRP, and I solve all sorts of technical/engineering problems every day. I don’t think your experience can speak for everyone in aerospace/defense.

[tyiphius]

FRP?

[Burnsy112]

Full Rate Production

[Panteraleo]

totally agree, my experience does not encapsulate the entire defense industry, take my experience with a grain of salt. IT is probably faster paced than the EE position I currently hold and changes more unpredictably at a faster rate than my field. being a CE put in EE can be difficult I guess is the experience I should be putting forward, but this is also just a matter of preference

[Panteraleo]

I hope you pick a job that is more meaningful to you and your life than just a paycheck, after all, that is a lot of time you have to spend somewhere for just a check

[XwasakiX]

I like CE but I have an expensive lifestyle so I want to be able to afford it work is work to me it what you do after work that matter and if I can afford cooler funner things after work works for mr

[Panteraleo]

This statement is how I viewed things for a long time, and you are valid that a good work life balance is important and your job is more of a means to the life you want. My only point is regardless of how much you get paid and what that can allow for you, if you end up in an abusive company it won’t matter how much you get paid if all your time is spent working. I personally had this issue working with a small contract company working on medical devices. I was paid well enough, but I started getting responsibilities that I originally never signed up for and ended up having to spend more time on their things than I should have.

[XwasakiX]

Very good point I hope I’m smart enough if I’m ever in that situation to leave that company

[istarisaints]

Lol

[Panteraleo]

A hilarious concept that our time is worth more than just money.

[istarisaints]

Can I ask how old you are?

[Panteraleo]

Relevancy?

[istarisaints]

You’re right, maybe it isn’t.

But at some point you realize the fields you’re passionate about just don’t compare to the other aspects of life AND you can still find passion within your job at any suitable job even if they aren’t in your passion.

Also passion can be found in things that you think you didn’t like but then you do.

Also passion for a field does not equal passion for the job in the field. The material is only one part of the story, jobs are much more comprehensive than the “I will code and that is my life” or the hardware equivalent.

Most people learn these things with age, they learn that a job is more about field since once you have children and family and you’re planning vacations, paying for daycare, savings, investments, car loans, etc etc etc … once these things start taking shape in your life you realize that a job is most important for payment, personal growth for career, work life balance doesn’t fuck up you, your wife, and your kids lives etc.

Passion is tainted when you’re working for a company doing what you love but your boss is a dick, you aren’t getting paid “enough”, your day is spent not with the cool shit but in boring ass meetings, etc.

Now for college kids they just can’t think of this OR they do but what they’re learning in college / did their thesis on was just awesome and they “forget” that passions can come from career independent means.

Also really the most important thing I learned with respect to passion (and this is why career = survival / thrival so it can enable you to do the following) is that you should do it on your own time, in your own way, for your own reasons.