Is engineering suffering a lack of interest in the world today? Is science the new normal for students who desire a career in a profitable STEM industry? STEMJobs.com defines the divide between engineering and science quite nicely: "Engineering boils down to how things work...Scientists observe the world...Science creates questions, while engineering creates solutions." So, why then are students ditching engineering for science-focused subjects and even humanities subjects in India?
Students have said that the high cost of engineering courses and the inability to find jobs once qualified has discouraged potential Indian engineering students from chasing qualifications. National Colleges in India say that Geology has become a sought after the subject that fills up class attendance quickly compared to engineering subjects, as confirmed by The Times of India.
Credit: The Telegraph
Bernard Charles, CEO of Dassault SYSTÈMES, an engineering company dedicated to science, technology, and art recently spoke at a conference saying that science and engineering work hand in hand. According to Engineering.com, he has been instrumental in trying to get his company to buy companies in the science industry. They recently bought Acelerysis for USD$750 million. So engineers are actively seeking to implement life sciences and engineering. However, should students be picking a side?
Nonetheless, Approved Index has good news for engineering students. They have picked the right career and are on their way to becoming billionaires. They have taken the data of the wealthiest 100 people and looked at what they have studied. As a result, more than a fifth of the world's 100 billionaires studies engineering. Reportedly only 4% of the group studied maths and science at a tertiary institution, however, engineering does involve a deep understanding of mathematics.
London Economics also conducted a study that saw staggering results in how much money a female graduate can make in a STEM field. The results showed that a female who takes at least one STEM A-level subject could see their wages grow by USD$6509.4. The study conducted with the assistance of 13,000 respondents showed that females who did well in maths at school make 25 percent more money than other students who did poorly, in jobs later on in life.
It seems engineering wins at the end of the day but being directly involved in a STEM career would be profitable to start with. Elon Musk says an engineer will win in the argument between science and engineering:
