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Alaaldin Tairi

Professor Szybisty

Pre-English section II

9 August 2017

A Path Full of Opportunities

Audience Analysis: In this paper, I specifically address students that have the option of pursuing

an engineering major in college as well as those who already plan to pursue engineering but remain

doubtful and unsure. Choosing a college major is a hard decision to make for most students. There

are numerous of factors that may impact individuals decision. Those factors consist of things such

as the opportunities each profession provides, the cost, the challenges, and more. Most students

tend to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each potential path before finalizing their

decision. Engineering jobs are becoming one of the hardest to fill, and more engineers are always

in demand. The number of engineering graduates should correlate with engineering jobs growth.

My purpose is to describe to students why engineering majors are worth pursuing in college.
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The Center for Energy Workforce Development indicated that 45 percent of engineering jobs

in the power-generation business could become vacant by 2013 (Thornton). This is a result of a

miscorrelation between engineering jobs growth and engineering graduates. Many students that

take interests in engineering end up choosing a different route or drop out for a variety of reasons.

The decision of choosing a major in college is one of the hardest for many to make. To make such

a life changing decision one must consider all the pros and cons of whatever path they choose.

Many individuals see engineering as a risky path or tend to usually miss the benefits of pursuing

engineering. This may lead to a noticeable decline in engineering graduates.

Engineers Use science, math, physics, and their creativity to innovate and invent for various

reasons. With their knowledge and ingenuity, they solve problems that benefit people and improve

the quality of their lives in every aspect. They work on different projects and in different

environments. There are numerous types of engineering degrees and most engineering degrees

take an average of four years to complete. In addition, Engineering is a very intensive and

competitive field. When people take on challenges to achieve their goals or desires, often the tasks

they are required to complete are very difficult. In some circumstances, even after overcoming the

challenges and achieving the desired goals, the fruits of hard work tend to not correlate with ones

efforts and sacrifices. A scholar that studied engineering students' satisfaction, hope, and optimism,

mentions, there are fear and worry, negative self-image, unrealistic and over-expectations and

blaming of others. All of these blocks stop the growth of individual success (Yadav et al., 283).

Students often get overwhelmed with fear and negative emotions that interfere with their decision

making. Bearing in mind the costs and challenges of the major, many students like myself wonder

if the path of engineering is truly worth it, or if choosing another path is a more reasonable choice.
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By examining the risks and challenges, I will demonstrate that the path of engineering is

worth it. The benefits of engineering exceed the challenges that it comes with. My goal is to

persuade students especially those who are doubtful or students who may have little to no interest

in engineering to start viewing engineering as a possible path by giving a few crucial benefits of

the profession. To further convince my audience I will briefly discuss and shatter some of the main

concerns and oppositions to avoid any additional skepticism or doubt. The advantages and benefits

of pursuing an engineering major in the 21st are far superior to the disadvantages, thus making the

decision of pursuing engineering in college a rational one.

As technology advances, it creates more room for jobs and demands more engineers. In the

last two decades especially, people have seen extremely fascinating technology come into

existence. As a result, engineers are highly in demand, and engineering jobs are becoming the

hardest jobs to fill. Tech Recruiting Firm Randstad Engineering recorded that in April 2015, there

were over 130,000 open engineering jobs in the United States (Patel, 21). An average of 17 jobs

were available for each candidate (Patel, 21). The engineering field especially is experiencing a

rapid exponential growth. The growth, however, is not limited to the United States only but it is

seen all over the world, especially in Europe. For instance, although the median of salary only

increased by 2 percent, studies show that the United Kingdom experienced a 17.7 percent

engineering job growth in one year (Patel, 21). To keep up with the technology advances, more

engineers are needed. As a result, those who intend to major in engineering are less likely to have

trouble finding a job after graduating.

While discussing the topic of jobs and opportunity, it is essential to mention things such as

annual salary. Quite frankly, many students attend college for opportunities and to secure financial

stability, and not necessarily to pursue their passion. Luckily for those students, engineering jobs
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offer some of the highest starting salaries. In 2016, engineering bachelors degree graduates were

the second highest paid majors recorded in a NACE survey, earning an average starting salary of

approximately $64,000. A respectable amount compared to the approximate $50,000 overall

average starting salary for a 2016 bachelors degree graduate. The abundance of jobs is crucial as

well. The unemployment rates of engineering are among the lowest. The U.S. Bureau of Labor

and statistics recorded in 2012 that unemployment for electrical and computer engineering were

as low as 3.3 and 2.8 compared to the typical 3.9 unemployment rate for bachelor degree graduates

(Patel, 24). Engineering offers graduates a decent starting salary and allows them to live

comfortably.

Money and financial stability are crucial factors, however, passion and job satisfaction are

important to keep in mind as well. Research shows that Non-financial rewards lead employees is

linked to high job satisfaction and leads motivation as compared to financial rewards (Haider et

al., 344). Job satisfaction is essential not only to the employee but to the organization or company

that the employee works for as well. It drives employees to show higher quality work, more effort,

and more enthusiasm at work, all of which are critical and lead to success. Research also shows

that employees recognition, remuneration, and challenge in jobs are the most important factors

that lead to job satisfaction (Haider et al., 348). Fortunately, engineering provides all of which that

is listed. Engineering has good starting salary, recognition is always given to those who excel as

engineers and most importantly, engineering is very a challenging profession. In addition, salary

survey done by EE-Evaluation Engineering recorded that 85 percent of engineers were satisfied

with their jobs. This is also a result because engineers are constantly working with new technology

and solving new problems. Unlike many jobs, engineering is not repetitive and the novelty of the

job keeps engineers happy and satisfied.

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Opposite views consider engineering majors as troublesome and claim that they are very

challenging and put a lot of pressure on individuals. While that is partially true, it is hard to

determine what is challenging and what is not. However, engineering students have one of the

highest dropout rates. In as HEFCE survey, the percentage of first year engineering dropout is 12

percent compared to the typical 8 percent of other majors. In a research that was done to study the

reason behind engineering dropouts, the main reasons behind the dropouts were, unwillingness

of students to adapt to the rigor of the engineering program and loss of confidence due to poor

performance (Mayer et al., 525). Other reasons included individual factors. Similar to doctors,

engineers work on very serious matters in which they could negatively or positively impact

peoples lives. Therefore, it is essential to have the required set of skills to ensure that the outcomes

are always positive. On the bright side, however, engineers have the chance to change peoples

lives. In addition, challenging jobs are view as a crucial component for achieving jobs satisfaction.

Research shows that feeling challenged at a certain job is highly linked to job satisfaction (Haider

et al., 348). While engineering may be challenging for some, it should be viewed as a positive trait

of the profession that leads to satisfaction.

The path of engineering is a beneficial one, especially in the 21st century. Engineering jobs

provide great starting salaries and are fairly satisfying. In addition, technological advances and the

21st century era has created an important role for engineers in the world. As a result, finding jobs

for engineers is easier than many other professions because they are extremely in demand. In order

to keep up the pace of technological advances and to continue developing the world, more

engineers are needed. Therefore, students should eliminate any doubt and discouragement and

should pursue engineering to continue improving technology and developing the world.
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Bibliography

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