I hold a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in electrical engineering and I agree with everything that has been said above. In Western Europe as well, engineering is undervalued. Bankers, lawyers and doctors are paid a lot more and have far higher social status.
Moreover, the so-called "lack of engineers" companies are facing is complete bullshit. All of my friends who work in industry are employed in shitty paper-pushing jobs, they are basically glorified secretaries. I have the impression that this constant cry from industry for more engineers has two motivations:
1) Companies want to lower the engineering salaries even further. Even today, where I live, as an engineer you will barely earn 20-30% more than a useless liberal arts graduate.
2) Ideally, companies want to employ engineers, who have excellent logical and analytical skills, in every single function.
If you want to make the best out of your degree, I recommend the following things:
1) Dress properly. Most practicing engineers wear terrible, polyester fabric, suits that are three sizes too large. Then they add an ill-fitting shirt and a tie without any regard for color coordination. And finally they top it off with square-toed shoes. Don't fall into the same trap. Get proper fitting, decent quality, clothes and learn to coordinate the colours. You will stand out and people will notice.
2) Learn to talk in front of an audience. I slack a lot at work, most days I put in 2 hours of work while my colleagues work a lot harder. However, I am a very good public speaker while they completely suck at it. As a result, I get the funds and the collaborations, which in turn allow me to slack even more. Most people, including your boss, are more easily convinced by words and appearance than by facts and hard work. Accept this reality and use it to your advantage.
3) Start your own business. As an engineer this is practically your only chance to make real money. Your analytical skills are not valued in the corporate environment but they come in very handy when you want to start a company. I would say that engineering is the ideal study if you want to be your own boss - it teaches you hard work, logical and analytical thinking. Ideally you work on your own business while you are slacking at work.
Moreover, the so-called "lack of engineers" companies are facing is complete bullshit. All of my friends who work in industry are employed in shitty paper-pushing jobs, they are basically glorified secretaries. I have the impression that this constant cry from industry for more engineers has two motivations:
1) Companies want to lower the engineering salaries even further. Even today, where I live, as an engineer you will barely earn 20-30% more than a useless liberal arts graduate.
2) Ideally, companies want to employ engineers, who have excellent logical and analytical skills, in every single function.
If you want to make the best out of your degree, I recommend the following things:
1) Dress properly. Most practicing engineers wear terrible, polyester fabric, suits that are three sizes too large. Then they add an ill-fitting shirt and a tie without any regard for color coordination. And finally they top it off with square-toed shoes. Don't fall into the same trap. Get proper fitting, decent quality, clothes and learn to coordinate the colours. You will stand out and people will notice.
2) Learn to talk in front of an audience. I slack a lot at work, most days I put in 2 hours of work while my colleagues work a lot harder. However, I am a very good public speaker while they completely suck at it. As a result, I get the funds and the collaborations, which in turn allow me to slack even more. Most people, including your boss, are more easily convinced by words and appearance than by facts and hard work. Accept this reality and use it to your advantage.
3) Start your own business. As an engineer this is practically your only chance to make real money. Your analytical skills are not valued in the corporate environment but they come in very handy when you want to start a company. I would say that engineering is the ideal study if you want to be your own boss - it teaches you hard work, logical and analytical thinking. Ideally you work on your own business while you are slacking at work.