Can a poll reveal the secrets to career satisfaction and success?

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The discussion centers on the challenges faced by professionals in the energy services industry, particularly those with technical degrees like MSEE. Participants express dissatisfaction with their jobs, noting that many engineers feel trapped in positions with limited upward mobility. The conversation highlights a perception that leadership roles are often filled by individuals from non-technical backgrounds, such as law or finance, rather than those with engineering expertise. There's a sense of irony in the hard work and dedication of technical professionals, who feel undervalued compared to those in sales and marketing. The discussion emphasizes that success in the corporate world often hinges on factors beyond hard work, such as luck and the ability to take risks. Ultimately, it suggests that while technical skills are essential, they may not be as highly rewarded as sales and marketing prowess, leading to a broader critique of how success is defined and achieved in the workplace.
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can I take a poll?

What industry do you work in?
What's your degree?
Are you a middle manager?
Are you satisfied with your job?
Why did you choose your job?I work in energy services right now, while finishing my MSEE. I have managers around me that are engineers that I work with that are miserable with their job.

We all have different reasons, circumstances, goals, ambitions, family reasons, situations for taking jobs, My impression is that for those that have choices open to them, and are career oriented, many choose to work for a company that will offer them the most long-term benefit to their career.

How many people enter a position thinking they could work their way to the top?
It doesn't seem to me that this actually happens. Everyone at the top, from what I'm understanding, is usually a lawyer, a finance person, or went to state school for marketing and helped the founder.

I want to be on top of the world, I want to dig in deep, and make millions. Obviously I can't imagine any company wanting to pay me a salary over 200k. How could I possibly be worth more than that to a company? And I really don't want to be the slave to a company. I don't particularly care for slavery, in fact, it makes me sick. Although I see it around me all the time.

It's just slightly ironic to me, that we are the smart guys right? We busted are butts in the library for HOURS AND DAYS AND WEEKS, so that we can be managed by the bozos who were out on the lawn playing frisbee ?

Maybe that's not totally true. In fact, I don't believe it to be true. But I suppose the point I'm trying to illustrate here is that as scientists, maybe we tend to think that there are formulas for success just like there are formulas for everything else. Somehow, equilibrium will prevail in the equation of success, and the variable called hard-work will pay off. However, let's face it, the world works in mysterious ways, and quite often that strange hand we call luck plays a large role.
The movers, the shakers, the makers, the creators, the ones who take the risk, and reap the rewards, are they the ones that reap the most?

Or is it the ones who are dilligent, and put in immeasurable amounts of work, and can calculate the most technical of ideas.
 
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The world belongs to the salesmen and the marketers.

Technical people are of secondary importance. The company needs a product to sell, but it doesn't really need to be a particularly good product. A company with great marketing and sales will beat a company with a great product every single time.
 
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