Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertG
however, few people seem to realize the basic economic principle that an increase in the supply of labor without an increase in the demand for labor will lead to lower wages. While a few more engineers will be employed, they will be making less money.
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Well, I have an engineering background; I'm not an economist but I understand the concepts.
On the surface, your argument is absolutely correct - supply and demand do interact in the workforce, just as in trade in goods and services. This is a basic economic principle.
However, the supply of engineers in the USA is far less than the demand, even if we limit engineers to engineering jobs. So there goes that argument. In fact, the
IEEE is hosting a
summit later this year in Munich to discuss this issue precisely (how do we educate more engineers?). Reports from
New Zealand,
USA, and the
United Kingdom all show a significant demand above supply, while the
US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates the growth rate for engineering jobs is about average, but the prospects for employment are good.
So, while I agree with your premise, additional research shows that our best economic forecasters believe that demand will increase faster than supply.
OK, moving in a different direction: The general elements of an engineering education - advanced math, the scientific method, data analysis and error, project management, etc - turn out to be quite valuable in their own right. My opinion is that more than 50% of all engineers are not doing engineering in the strict sense, but are using their skills to benefit other segments of the business world. For example, I'm an electrical engineer, yet today I develop training courses as an instructional designer. My EE background helps me considerably in this task, since I need to understand the systems I'm trying to explain to mostly non-technical people. Oh, and I am extremely happy and satisfied with my work - it took me 20 years to discover what I love to do, and another 5 to get a job doing it.
So, if you're thinking of an engineering degree, get one and you'll likely never go hungry.