On the heels of the SDA discussion about whether college/university was a good investment, comes this new piece by Time magazine. Here’s a synopsis:
A new report shows some undergraduate degrees pay off more than others — literally. Using data from the U.S. Census, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s “What’s It Worth: The Economic Value of College Majors” report, issued May 24, looked at 171 different majors and found that the difference in earning potential between one field of study and another can be more than 300%. TIME took a look at the 10 highest- and the 10 lowest-earning majors
On a personal note, may I admit that I smiled broadly when I saw that Mining and Mineral Engineering was in the top ten for Best Majors. For when I graduated as a mining engineer in the late 80’s I’ll never forget how all the “experts” told me what a dumb decision it was to be getting involved in a “sunset industry”. I guess they forgot about what happens the morning after the sun sets!
Engineering is much harder even than hard science, you really have to work to get your degree. It’s not form layabouts like social “sciences.”
8 of the top 10 are all engineering degrees.
who would of thought it possible?
I wonder where a degree in “Ethnic Puppetry” might fit in.
I wonder if this is upon graduation or after some years of work experience.
Would be interesting to see cost of degree vs projected earnings over time
One also needs to think about working conditions and social factors when comparing compensation levels.
How many Mining and Mineral Engineering jobs are in desirable locations with a bursting cultural scene, a great climate plus fabulous educational and recreational facilities?
Well, ain’t that a surprise! The best returns on education investment are jobs in industries that produce things.
I must be doubly or even triply (that a word?) lucky. Started off 24 years ago as a mining technologist, then joined the navy and got into both electrical and marine engineering.
We understand going in that working conditions and social factors ain’t gonna be great. That’s part of the challenge. All the best engineers in any field that I have met, LOVE getting put into impossible conditions and being told make it work. If that means getting a mine designed and production facilities built on some dot of an island in the Arctic? Let’s do it! If that means being part of the team to help design, build and operate a Hibernia platform? Bring it.
Flipping through the list, it appears they are listed backwards. Petroleum Engineers median earning is $120,000 down to Mining Engineers at $80,000.
quote…How many Mining and Mineral Engineering jobs are in desirable locations with a bursting cultural scene, a great climate plus fabulous educational and recreational facilities?…unquote
That’s what the compensation for going to the undesireable places to obtain things to give the stay-at-home social engineers THEIR ‘cultural scene’ is for….
Nothing personal, but the tone of that statement, to me anyway, reeks of the ivory tower elitism that is destroying this country….to them it’s all about the having, not the getting…and anyone who does the actual getting or who learns a trade that deals with tangibles instead of ‘social concepts’ is somehow inferior…people are getting tired of being fed that crap and that’s why the liebral party is an endangered species..and why plumbers make more than sociologists
Tell me, where do geologists who discover/locate deposits of minerals and oil/gas/gas liquids rank in the “pile”, because if we don’t find those wowser engineers an “economic deposit” to design mines, pits, well stimulation programs etc – they don’t get to go to all those exotic places to be “part of the team”?
I’m not sure what Political Junkie is getting at.
The mining industry has gone away from the dusty ol’ frontier days, with the make-shift mining towns and brutal lifestyles and all that.
The modern industry often boasts of fly-in shifts to locations, schedules that feature week-in-week-out rotations, and the like. Many engineers enjoy this lifestyle that offers plenty of work time when they’re on duty and plenty of downtime to spend with the family.
The uranium mining companies in Saskatchewan operate that way. Most employees fly up to the mine for a week and then have a week off. A week’s vacation is thus actually three weeks. Most workers like the 12-hour days at the mine if it means a flexible downtime.
The camps themselves are also quite comfortable. The food is tasty and varied, the facilities are clean with recreational activities, and many employees enjoy taking time to fish or be outside in the long summer evenings.
It’s a terrific lifestyle, and employees are well-compensated to boot.
PJ,
The last mining engineer I visited had a really nice view of sunset over the Pacific. Thanks for the urban snobbery.
Still chicken feed. The 80,000 a year for median is the average for the Mining Engineer. In Alberta an average Tradesman makes the same wage. 4 years of an Apprenticeship and 4 sessions in Trades College, in the Heavy Trades of Millwrighting, Welding, Pipefitting etc the average hourly wage is $55/hr plus benefits. Add another $10/hr for a Trades Supervisor. Take that to $15,000/Month plus LOA for Trade Consultant on Projects. And you leave school debt free.
At least one community organizer does well out there.
Yes, Mathematics and CS have paid off for me.
po’ed in AB
You do have a valid point.
The history of Germany’s 3rd Reich is a classic example.
In the early ’30 the German government ceased to finance basic research and emphasised training engineers. The result was an explosion of technology….however the knowledge base was rapidly mined out so that in about 42-43 they had to reinvigorate basic research. Too late.
That’s why the Nazi’s had practical ballistic missiles and jets but the Allies ended with superior war planes, armoured vehicles and THE BOMB.
Political Junkie:
Do liberal arts majors really enjoy a more stimulating cultural scene? A lot depends on where their parents’ basement is located, no?
Iowahawk has some appropriate observations:
@ RFB: Actually, the average wage for a Mining Engineer is likely to be ~$100,000-$120,000/yr once they get their P. Eng. Even as an EIT, I am making a bit more than $80,000. I have enormous respect for tradespeople (coming from a family of them), but once you factor in the fact that Mining Engineers usually climb the corporate ladder, they can end up doing better than most in a company. It’s all about the NPV.
@ PJ: Being a Mining Engineer, I’ve traveled to many different areas, from the big city to small backwoods towns. Now, I currently live in a small town in the mountains and couldn’t ask for more in terms of beautiful scenery and recreation. Not to mention that I work 4 days per week and can easily travel to the city if I like on my days off. Methinks you need to educate yourself before spouting off about things you don’t known about. And the answer to the question you posed is “lots.”
I can tell you of all my friends, the one who went into plumbing right out of high school, has done very, very well for himself.
Well, I discovered, way back just after the Dawn of Time, that graduating with a research biology degree in Canada meant the only way you were going to put meat on the table was to use some of the knowledge to locate it and go out and kill it for dinner.
Joey, I don’t know the exact value of a degree in ethnic puppetry, but I note that the President of the USA is an ethnic puppet, so there may be something to it.
I don’t know why medicine is not in the top 10. Every specialist I know earns more than me.
The statistics behind the list are dubious at best – no surprise considering the magazine that published it.
“I can tell you of all my friends, the one who went into plumbing right out of high school, has done very, very well for himself.”
When we built our house the tiler who did our floors was earning more than me – and I was earning a pretty good salary!
TJ — undergraduate degrees only.
Mining has done well by me, but now my skill level is high enough that I’ve been condemned to a city. No more the fresh air and mountains on my commute, now it’s rush hour and brain dead drivers.
And I strongly suspect that 80,000 is about right for those about to get a P.Eng, I’m over that and still have at least 20 productive years ahead of me. I started off earning less than the equipment operators but once I passed them I left them behind quickly.
http://www.apegga.org/pdf/SalarySurvey/VPS2010.pdf has the Alberta breakdown of pay for engineers (by volunteer survey of members), $80k is median for a 5th or 6th year geologist or geophysicist, or a 5th year resource engineer (ie mining or other extraction of either oil and gas or minerals). there’s lots of other fields listed, but there’s an international shortage of Miners (as I’m sure there is for other fields) so it’s a good time to be in the field and competent. It’s also prone to boom and bust, so we have to enjoy it while it lasts.
I don’t see any of the really important areas of undergraduate study on either list, you know, Diversity Studies, Peace Studies, Social Engineering and Justice, that sort of thing.