Feeling like I'm working too hard (mentally) for the pay

[infinitebubble]

That's an informative post. You have salary bands based on years of experience. How is the degree (BS, MS, PhD) held by the engineer at time of hiring taken into account?

These are basic salaries and there is a bell curve with the salaries based on years of experience since out of college and then based on merit so a Level 2 engineer can actually make more than what is posted and if they choose to get a higher degree then a higher salary, and stock options are added to the bennies.

"We all do this at some point in our careers." Not necessarily. Career trajectories are not always monotonically increasing, especially for those who undergo industry-wide meltdowns and need to retrench. Fortunately, I prefer Subarus to Porsches.

Agree many of my coworkers were hit back in the 90's and after 9/11 that basically put them out of the market, they chose to get into other careers or other ventures outside of the industry. The ones that held on are now senior level engineers or into management. Agree... I drive a Jeep and always have while my coworkers are in Corvettes, Porches, Benz, BMW, etc... modestly of course is how I got here in life.

 

[Anding]

Maylis, ignore the suggestions to the effect that you are envious or don't understand economics, your observations are entirely correct. 30 years ago I was an apprentice engineer and noticed exactly the same things. I am now the CEO of a successful company in the financial services sector. Oddly enough I greatly regret not sticking with the engineering - the work is far more interesting and fulfilling than business and management. That said if you're not feeling content you should look for a new direction. Perhaps in an engineering job for the government (LIGO, etc?), as you say, where you'll love the work for its own sake and have the protection of lifetime employment and a pension (...if such jobs really do exist). Or perhaps you could work in a fast growing company or a start-up - but this is high risk and might lead to a dead end. If you enjoy the work you do then don't jump too soon to the other side just for the money. Good luck.

 

[stefanbanev]

Yep - life's not fair.

This is one of the most popular excuses losers love to make. Another category of folks who used to use such "motto" - who exploits fist one to make them do not feel too screwed. In fact, in my opinion, life is ultimately fair on the long run. Surely there are statistical flukes but if "you" shoot enough number of shots then your capabilities are getting close to objective.