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Can we stop the whole "engineers make a lot of money" spiel? Most engineers make between 120 - 160k in SF, where the median household income is 104k. They don

Can we stop the whole "engineers make a lot of money" spiel? Most engineers make between 120 - 160k in SF, where the median household income is 104k. They don't make more than product managers, project managers or even many BART operators. See http://www.mercurynews.com/salaries/bay-area http://www.mercurynews.com/salaries/bay-area if you don't believe me. Sure, they make a bit more than average, but if that's the standard of "a lot of money", you have a totally skewed view of how capitalism works and the wealth gap in the US. Very few engineers are members of the capitalist class, commonly referred to as the 1% that own 40% of the country's assets. Making 50% more than the median is not a lot. Making 500% more is a lot.

swalsh 11y ago
I think a lot of engineers make more money then the value they provide. Last year I worked for 3 different places. I worked at one startup, and one large company on a new product in a new market. Both products were purely speculative plays They did make money, but not enough to support the staff. My pay was not based on how much value I provided, but how much value I could have provided if the products took off (they didn't, thus the 3rd job). All i'm saying is you should look at other markets that have been propped up by speculation... and see what happens when the market corrects. Most of the time they over-correct before finding a new better more stable price.
- YuriNiyazov 11y ago
  Your pay was based on how much value you provided plus a risk premium for working on something highly speculative that would cause you to work at 3 different places in a year and take a hit on your résumé. You have to understand risk in order to understand that you were not overpaid.
shostack 11y ago
Yeah, this is kind of aggravating. I'm not an engineer, but I know many, and anyone who thinks they are all just living the high life is crazy. With the cost of living they are no doubt faring better than many traditional working class folks, or service industry folks, but let's be real--they aren't just idle rich bathing in tubs of caviar. In fact, while they might be able to purchase a home still, it often times will be quite a bit smaller, more run down, and in a worse neighborhood due to the sheer cost of buying one. And often times they are only buying out of desperation because they don't want to be forced out of the area entirely due to rents beyond their control.

swalsh 11y ago

I think a lot of engineers make more money then the value they provide. Last year I worked for 3 different places. I worked at one startup, and one large company on a new product in a new market. Both products were purely speculative plays They did make money, but not enough to support the staff. My pay was not based on how much value I provided, but how much value I could have provided if the products took off (they didn't, thus the 3rd job). All i'm saying is you should look at other markets that have been propped up by speculation... and see what happens when the market corrects. Most of the time they over-correct before finding a new better more stable price.

YuriNiyazov 11y ago
Your pay was based on how much value you provided plus a risk premium for working on something highly speculative that would cause you to work at 3 different places in a year and take a hit on your résumé. You have to understand risk in order to understand that you were not overpaid.

shostack 11y ago

Yeah, this is kind of aggravating. I'm not an engineer, but I know many, and anyone who thinks they are all just living the high life is crazy. With the cost of living they are no doubt faring better than many traditional working class folks, or service industry folks, but let's be real--they aren't just idle rich bathing in tubs of caviar. In fact, while they might be able to purchase a home still, it often times will be quite a bit smaller, more run down, and in a worse neighborhood due to the sheer cost of buying one. And often times they are only buying out of desperation because they don't want to be forced out of the area entirely due to rents beyond their control.