straighttalk Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 I am talking specially in USA and it is a concern that the media is talking all about yelp, facebook and classifying them as hi tech whereas real high technology industries like aerospace, materials science, semiconductors, nanotechnology, biotechnology etc. isn't in the news. There is also a huge salary disparity between the two. This is a matter of concern as future generation would choose software as career path for a huge number of reasons. I understand it is a product of the following: 1. Market rate 2. No huge infrastructure cost in internet or ecommerce 3. Human resource is most critical in such companies. But the disparity is really concerning whereas real development is brought about more by the core engineering disciplines - electronics, materials, manufacturing, health care etc. Would love to hear your comments?
Texan Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 Do you understand how this really works? Its all a case of supply and demand. There are tons of personnel needed for programming requirements. Companies want to compete for the best talent. Even within the "software" sphere, there is disparity in wages depending on type of technology and programming languages known. How many biotech companies are really there and how many engineers are needed and how many candidates qualify for those posts? This is how the market works. Supply and demand. Period.
fineleg Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 But the disparity is really concerning whereas real development is brought about more by the core engineering disciplines - electronics, materials, manufacturing, health care etc. straighttalk, You are right. Its sad that folks actually think they can live without developments in core sectors, but cant live without the tweets and FB 'likes' and pokes :om:
Clarke Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 I don't think there is such a divide in salaries between CS & other engineering professionals, I've seen other engineers do jolly well while there's dime a dozen software engineers on low salary in India at the IT sweatshops. The fundamental discord according to some (myself included) is the insane valuation of certain companies like facebook & whatsapp, and I'm sure it has at least temporary justifications.
straighttalk Posted August 16, 2015 Author Posted August 16, 2015 Do you understand how this really works? Its all a case of supply and demand. There are tons of personnel needed for programming requirements. Companies want to compete for the best talent. Even within the "software" sphere, there is disparity in wages depending on type of technology and programming languages known. How many biotech companies are really there and how many engineers are needed and how many candidates qualify for those posts? This is how the market works. Supply and demand. Period. You are partially right and partially wrong. Do you mean to say other companies do not compete for the best talent.It is other factors like less raw material,infrastructure,and capital investment that allows these companies to splurge on human resource...hence if company A increases pay..company B has to follow suit ...otherwise they will miss talent...classic example is how apple fails to hire the best software engineers as their pay is not competitive with google or facebook but they hire the best designers and hardware engineers..yes market rate or as u say supply and demand controls it but it is the ability of these companies to pay that amount of money is whatbsustains it....if every company drops their salary in the software sector...the best talents still have no where else to go
straighttalk Posted August 16, 2015 Author Posted August 16, 2015 I don't think there is such a divide in salaries between CS & other engineering professionals, I've seen other engineers do jolly well while there's dime a dozen software engineers on low salary in India at the IT sweatshops. The fundamental discord according to some (myself included) is the insane valuation of certain companies like facebook & whatsapp, and I'm sure it has at least temporary justifications. I am more specifically taljing about top of the line...say a brilliant programmer versus a top aerospace scientist or a biotechnology specialist.. Or say start of career discrepancy between two individuals..both top of the class from good unuvs..there is about 20 to 30 percent difference...
Jersey #10 Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 I am an Electrical Engineer by education. I was hired by one of the top utility companies in the US 8 months prior to graduation as an electrical engineer designing their grid. I have now moved on to work as a natural gas interstate pipeline project engineer. A lot of engineering is cross-applicable imo. I feel a little less "replaceable" than my computer science/IT counterparts of similar experience and age. I would have to agree about the salary part though. Unless I am constantly moving within the company or the industry, my annual salary increases will not keep up with my IT friends. I sometimes wonder if I should have gone the IT route. It is where you're pretty much guaranteed 6 figures after 4-5 years. Then again, I am not staring at a computer 8 hours a day or working after hours.
Jersey #10 Posted August 16, 2015 Posted August 16, 2015 I am more specifically taljing about top of the line...say a brilliant programmer versus a top aerospace scientist or a biotechnology specialist.. Or say start of career discrepancy between two individuals..both top of the class from good unuvs..there is about 20 to 30 percent difference... That's hardly true in my experience. A lot of IT jobs are in major metropolitan cities where cost of living is higher, which gets you higher salaries but you also have higher expenses. I'd say the salaries are comparable starting off. If you are top of the line engineer in any lucrative engineering fields, you'll do great. I feel the salaries are worlds apart after 10 years of experience. IT folks are easily making 120-130k while core engineers are touching 100k. That's why if you're in core engineering, it's smart to try and pursue a management position where you'd be in line with the IT guys.
jusarrived Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 Non IT jobs pay lot more in India in a long run . After 10 years of Exp avg IT guys barely make 20 Lacs here while I see my people from other sectors make a lot more . Am talking about just avg/above avg talents
randomGuy Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 Non IT jobs pay lot more in India in a long run . After 10 years of Exp avg IT guys barely make 20 Lacs here while I see my people from other sectors make a lot more . Am talking about just avg/above avg talents what other sectors do you see btw? I only see MBAs earning equivalent to IT/software. I know 20 lacs is not a lot in IT but 20 lac is not 'barely' btw. 20 lacs is 10-20 times more than what a laborer earns for ex. Frankly Tumhari ya meri aukat nahi hai kisi laborer se 20 times kamane ki . but it is just the way the world is working (US employer/client...dollar-INR conversion rate).
punjabi_khota Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/07/pf/college/highest-paying-college-majors/ This link proves that you are wrong.
jusarrived Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 what other sectors do you see btw? I only see MBAs earning equivalent to IT/software. I know 20 lacs is not a lot in IT but 20 lac is not 'barely' btw. 20 lacs is 10-20 times more than what a laborer earns for ex. Frankly Tumhari ya meri aukat nahi hai kisi laborer se 20 times kamane ki . but it is just the way the world is working (US employer/client...dollar-INR conversion rate). MBA's yeah , but not necessarily all of them . Considering its a PG they should be getting more , but again thanks to too many coming out its becoming like IT guys Coming from mech background know a lot of people who are in Very high paying jobs in Auto , Oil and Chemical industries . Much better perks as well .Can you imagine getting a SUV and Driver from company at 8-10 years exp ? All of them are Region heads , Area heads , Senior Managers and similar fancy positions which you cant think of at the same experience in IT . A friend of mine has been with one Oil company for 9 years now ~25Lac & has offers close to 40Lac from likes of Shell . This guy took 6 years to complete his engineering . I agree with you otherwise , we are all over payed for the work we do . I always look at these laborers and think if only they wer lucky like me to have parents who could provide education I got , which is the only difference in the end .
The Outsider Posted August 17, 2015 Posted August 17, 2015 I don't think that's true. It depends a lot on if you are employed in an industry which supports what you specialized in. For example, there are Petroleum Engineers who earn tons of money in banking in addition to their traditional industries because of their strength in partial differential equations. On the other hand, most of the IT people in banking aren't paid as much (cyber security being an exception) because their jobs involve coding procedures established by others. It's really about specific skill sets, excelling in them, and finding an industry which is seeking those special skill sets.
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