My last post stirred the pot a bit in some civil engineering forums. The Sorry Kid, Construction is a Cyclical Industry post brought some interesting and thought provoking comments. One of which brought about some particular interest from myself because it touched on a subject that tends to rarely get touched. And without going into any more drawn-out chatter, I'll just post the comment.
Four years ago, the pundits were lamenting a lack of engineers in the future. Someone please tell me, what lack are we seeing now? I am probably lucky to be out of work only since last May, and every advertised position I apply for has an "overwhelming response". And as for public works design projects, where? As far as I know, there isn't a stimulus program for the design professionals. I empathize with the guys and gals that take a shower after work, now how about the guys and gals that take one before going to work?
Doesn't everybody take a shower before work?
Anyway, I think this commenter is a bit peeved at the fact that engineering is sold by companies and universities as a relatively stable field that won't get you rich but will most likely keep you off the streets and out of a cardboard box. Well, about half of that is true. You probably won't get rich, but if you don't have some significant money saved you may be living in a beautiful 8 square foot mobile apartment when the construction market tanks.
Is it really worth going to school, busting your a** doing problem sets and studying for exams every night, just to get tossed on the street during the inevitable downturns that have occurred in this industry for the past 100 years? I'm sorry, but the answer is just no.
The government is now pushing like hell to get going on "shovel ready" projects. Well, that's great if you are an excavation contractor or a paving guy, but what about architects and engineers that need fresh projects coming in the door to get paid? Well, I'm sorry, but the group of architects and engineers is just too small compared to the millions of construction laborers, craftsmen, and equipment contractors to really make a difference. Bankrupting a few architects doesn't affect the economy in the least, and if nothing else will probably get a good chuckle from the folks at the jobsite. However, I do think there is some blue collar monkey business that should at least be discussed.
I worked with ironworkers who made $100k a year with a suspect high school education and some jail time under their belt. I wasn't making that much with a master's degree in engineering and 7 years experience. They also had union benefits which are pretty damn good. I also worked on a job were a likely illegal immigrant from Mexico was making $90k a year as a labor forman - far more than any of the project engineers with degrees in construction management, civil engineering, and construction science.
I know that getting these folks back to work is very important, but just because the white collar people have more formal education and work in a squeaky clean office doesn't mean they are except from the phone bill and it also doesn't mean that they'll make plenty of money when things do pick back up again.
The point is that the folks that work in the field on construction sites are doing just fine. And if they get about 10-15 hours of overtime in per week, they are doing better than fine - they're kickin' butt. They work hard, and they deserve to get paid and get back to work, but office folk work hard as well and often it's for less money than the field guys.
Screw college man, we should just go erect steel.
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