Grads with the highest salaries.

[LineInTheSand]

Of course, the main character in Good Will Hunting did teach himself subjects far more complex than organic chemistry. We're also simplifying "history".


Engineers are paid well, but that pay does top out. Generally, engineers tout the importance of being an engineer. There are of course, plenty of number crunchers who make well into six figures, without majoring in any kind of engineering.

I'm reading "The Big Short" right now, by Michael Lewis. He was a bond salesman, made a great salary, and studied art history (at Princeton).

And then, of course, there are PLENTY of engineers who don't make anything above five figures, but we like to forget about them.

Yes, you can teach yourself history. And you can teach yourself organic chemistry. "Let me tell you about the civil war" doesn't mean you actually know anything beyond the "North v. South" story, just like someone who hasn't dug deep can only tell you about the cell membranes and respiration.

It takes you only a second to see the difference in how an engineer approaches a conversation or debate and say, how a government major does. Engineers are lightweights in that department.

 

[Candidad]

That's funny

My plebe sent a quick email (over one of the master of the universe's devices by the way - that Jobs/Woz dynamic really is interesting) with the same link. His message was a simple 'hey check this out'. So I sent him a Youtube link with the Flying Lizard's Money in response.

I happen to be an engineer that happened to make it to the top of his own little food chain (CEO), but I work for paying clients, not myself, when you boil it down to the essentials. And sometimes non-paying clients. Where I went to school has far less to do with anything, than what I've done since I graduated, and more importantly, what I can do in the here and now. But school did provide a good foundation. Correlation and causation are not the same thing - these surveys need to provide a disclaimer.

So is someone who is smart, a natural leader, athletic and predisposed to service going to do well in life? Probably.

One of life's ironies in engineering is that the better you are at engineering, the more likely you are to be forced into positions that require fewer engineering skills and more communication, legal, business, marketing, human resources and just plain babysitting skills. Frankly the closer to the top you get, the more you need skills you learned in kindergarten. (Tell the truth, raise your hand, smile, don't hit Jimmy, share, take a nap when you are tired.)

I am curious about the major and what it means to one's time at the Academy, service selection, a career in the Fleet, and an eventual civilian career. I haven't been solicited for any advice yet, but it would be nice not to be a total idiot if asked. I've heard one's major has nothing to do with service selection and (without casting aspersions on say English majors) aspiring pilots who pull a 2.6 in Aerospace Engineering are just as likely to see their slot taken by a 3.5 English major. You would think that a STEM major would be better prep for nuke school than Poli Sci, but I've heard that isn't exactly true. I have plenty of opinions about what sort of background is useful to whom out in the civilian world, but if asked next spring, I'll probably just advise to pick something interesting that hopefully ignites some passion and let the chips eventually fall where they may. Would that be stupid on my part?

 

[Memphis9489]

I am curious about the major and what it means to one's time at the Academy, service selection, a career in the Fleet, and an eventual civilian career. I haven't been solicited for any advice yet, but it would be nice not to be a total idiot if asked. I've heard one's major has nothing to do with service selection and (without casting aspersions on say English majors) aspiring pilots who pull a 2.6 in Aerospace Engineering are just as likely to see their slot taken by a 3.5 English major. You would think that a STEM major would be better prep for nuke school than Poli Sci, but I've heard that isn't exactly true. I have plenty of opinions about what sort of background is useful to whom out in the civilian world, but if asked next spring, I'll probably just advise to pick something interesting that hopefully ignites some passion and let the chips eventually fall where they may. Would that be stupid on my part?

Flying an aircraft is mostly a motor skill - not something that requires great academic skill. So, yes, an English major could very well be a better pilot than an Aerospace Engineering major. So, you're right, the 3.6 English may get the pilot slot whereas the 2.6 Aerospace Engineering will be trying to get his Officer-of-the-Deck qualification, much to his chagrin.

The Naval Academy is a bad example to make these distinctions because even the humanity majors are getting a Bachelor of Science Degree and are taking an impressive load of technical courses - something that would not be true at a regular college.

I have a daughter who just graduated from college with a degree in Sculpture. (Pfft!) She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. All her curriculum required was one semester of math ... in FOUR years. That's pretty typical. I'm not expecting her to win a Nobel Prize in the near future. I'm not even sure she knows what a common denominator is.

 

[LineInTheSand]

Candidad,

I can only comment on how I've seen it work from the Coast Guard Academy. Graduates leave CGA and head to land, sea or air (well, school before being in the air). The grads that head to sea will start as one of two things... a engineer officer in training (EOIT) (who deals with the engine) or a deck watch officer (DWO) (who drives the ship).

You would think engineering majors from CGA would always be EOITs, but there are plenty of government or management majors who go on to be shipboard engineers, while some engineering majors prefer DWO billets.

A subpar engineer doesn't get the nod over a stellar non-engineer with a better GPA.

And on top of all of this, CGA grads receive BSs.... so they each have a firm foundation in math and science (I'm a government major that hasn't used multi variable calculus since I passed the class.)