Forbes 25 best and worst jobs 17

[sms]

Forbes listed their 25 best paying jobs (in the US), and I was interested to note that two engineering positions made the list:

Engineering managers at a mean salary of $110,000 USD
Petroleum engineers at a mean salary of $101,000 USD

Here is the link to the article..

http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/103105/the-best-and-worst-paying-jobs-in-america

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

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[Tomfh]

Wow, I never realise Americans screwed over their bottom enders so badly.

 

[Kwan]

No wonder my health insurance is so high!

If you take some time and look around, almost everything you see is the result of engineering.

Another observation: Doctors practice medicine. If I practiced engineering I'd lose my job! Speaking of that, gotta get back to work.

Nice link Sms!

 

[IceNine]

My P.E. certificate says I'm "authorized to practice as a Professional Engineer".

 

[Christine74]

I wonder why they calculated mean salaries as opposed to median salaries? This means that a few very highly compensated individuals could skew the results significantly.

-Christine

 

[cvg]

I'm not sure what they mean by engineering "managers". Senior level engineering project managers at my firm don't make that money (unless they have 30 years experience). The department head does, but he supervises over 30 people in the department.

 

[controlnovice]

Wow, I never realise Americans screwed over their bottom enders so badly.

Not everyone has what it takes to be a rocket scientist. Someone has to flip the burgers and make the fries. It's not socialism, and it works.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[Lion06]

Nice controlnovice.
It is true. If you didn't make more money doing certain professions there would be no incentive to take on the job. Why would you want to work extra hours and take on the extra stress of being a lawyer, doctor, engineer, etc... if you could down the street and work at Wendy's for 10k/year less but be home with exactly 40 hours every week and the biggest stresser you had was making sure you don't over-cook the fries, and the most ridiculous deadline you had was to make sure the kids' meal toys arrived on time?
C'mon TomF!!

 

[KENAT]

It's not socialism, and it works.

Up to a point, ever tried living on minimum wage?

 

[IceNine]

Great point Kenat! Even at $10/hr which is substantially higher than minimum wage, it is hard to get by (especially if you have to buy your own health insurance), much less save for the future.

 

[Lion06]

Kenat and Icenine-
I really don't like to get into politics because it really does start a lot of arguments, but I can't resist the urge here.
It may be difficult to make it on minimum wage (or even $10/hr), however , I would bet that most people (adults with real responsibility) earning that wage live in relatively low cost of living areas. In Philly or NYC, even secretaries make in the 40's and 50's.
The bottom line is that if you want better for yourself, you must take the initiative to educate yourself and MAKE that future for yourself. You can't expect someone to just give you more than you deserve (or the market will bear) for no other reason than "It's hard to make it on $10/hr".
How about this - If you can't make it on $10/hr, don't have (3) kids..... buy a cheaper car..... rent instead of own.... etc.

 

[aardvarkdw]

StructuralEIT,

I agree with what you are saying but I must comment on one point.

"..... rent instead of own.... etc."

Are you kidding? I live in Washington State and even if you don't live in the city you will still end up paying about the same amount for a house as you will in rent. The biggest difference is that with a house you can turn around and sell it in a year or five and make most, all, or in some cases more money back than you put in, whereas renting you are throwing money away.

David

 

[IceNine]

StructuralEIT,

I agree, this isn't the place to talk politics.

But, Kenat's question was have you ever tried living on minimum wage? Well, have you?

I had a $10/hr job, no car, no kids, rented, and it wasn't easy, especially trying to put a little away for a rainy day. Couldn't imagine doing it on minimum wage.

 

[NozzleTwister]

Thanks for the post 'sms'.

I was really surprized that Piping Designers weren't listed in the top 25 though.

NozzleTwister
Houston, Texas

 

[Lion06]

Icenine-
I have made in the $10-$12/hr range (for the first couple years after high school). I went to college late (because of life events), but certainly recognized that when I was doing a manual labor job, I wasn't as valuable to the company or society in general and my pay reflected that.
That aside, many people are also paid based on what they help bring in for the company. If your company charges $20/hour for your services, you can't expect to make $15/hour. If your company can charge you out at $80/hour, you are going to make a whole lot more money.
I don't think this has anything to do with America "screwing over their bottom enders".
Someone please give me the solution such that noone makes less than $15-$20/hour and the companies paying them don't go broke.

 

[IceNine]

StructuralEIT, here's one idea:

http://marshallbrain.com/etq-double.htm

 

[Lion06]

I can feel my blood starting to boil so I will make this my last post on the subject.
That is a nice "exxample", but the fact remains that the "average" company in America does not fit the profile of the copany listed in this "example". A majority of Americans employed by companies FAR smaller than that company.
The "real-world" example of Wal-mart couldn't be more off the mark. How can you possibly compare most employers to Wal-Mart (which the article itself says is the largest employer in the United States? To take one example of simplistic numbers for the largest employer and think you can realistically apply that principle to other companies is absurd!!
Further, would the government mandate this change? That is getting dangerously close to socialism, don't you think?

 

[IceNine]

As I said, it's one example. I just think it would be nice if people who work full time (at any task) made enough to be able to meet their basic needs + maybe a LITTLE extra.

$6.15/hr * 40hrs * 52weeks = $12,792/yr doesn't cut it in my book.

So, as my final statement on the subject: If wanting minimum wage to be increased is considered socialism, then sign me up.

 

[GregLocock]

Oddly the minimum wage in Oz is almost exactly 10 US dollars per hour. Our unemployment rate is less than 5%. We (nationally) don't seem to be going broke.

Cheers

Greg Locock

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[KENAT]

With the exception of a few cities I believe the minimum wage in the US is significantly less than $10.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm

As most are probably aware many 'minimum wage' jobs also don't provide (affordable) healthcare. Many also don't guarantee 40 hrs a week and require working shifts other than normal ‘office hours’.

However all of this is arguably off topic and apparently inflammatory so I'll leave it there, except to say that I never thought I’d be the one playing the role of bleeding heart liberal!