Edited by pink_lashes - 11 June 2009 at 4:55am

I don't know if people are dropping out because of the math. But I do know that engineering isn't taught well. A lot of people think of engineering mind as plug-and-chug into mathematical formulae. The beauty (at least for me) lies in science, problem-solving in ambiguity and interplay of disciplines. I think medicine and lawyers have it better/easier.... lawyers get to do mock trials (??) while studying; doctors get to practice medicine while they are studying(??). Both are seen on tv (boston legal , ER, scrubs, law and order, etc) with drama. I haven't seen a tv show on engineers yet. Nor do engineers get to practice until they go out and find an internship. Engineering work is so hidden. So engineering is under-rated.

I think teachers are under-payed.

And need more women in engineering (grad schools). the ratio (at least in my classes) of women to men is 1/8 or 1/10


Edited by persistence - 11 June 2009 at 1:02pm

When you're saying that doctors and lawyers are seen on TV, that's because their profession has that dramatic factor. Think of it, a doctor performing a critical surgery which might decide whether the patient lives or dies, a lawyer fighting a case which will decide whether a person will be free or remain in captivity, a soldier dodging bullets, fighting a war which will decide the fate of his country and then think of an engineer trying to decide what material to use to make the building stronger or trying to write an error free program. Which do you think is more dramatic??
There are programs where they show marvelous engineering feats too (e.g. Megastructures)but they are more in the genre of documentary. TV shows needs drama everyday and it ain't plausible to show an engineer building or creating something exciting everyday.

But you can't really say that engineers are underrated seeing all those people who flock to the colleges every year to become an engineer and most of them do end up earning a decent salary.

Engineers, Mathematicians, Scientists and the likes do have their glamor posse too. STAR TREK. Beam me up Scottie! Then there are also those who built the DEATH STAR!

Underrated - HVAC technician, landscape architects, stormwater engineers, seed cleaners, spot sprayers, air traffic control, cattle rancher, sheep shearer and so on......

I guess am talking about here then. LOL ...a lot of people get BSE in engineering and move onto MBA , Medicine and law I believe.

and hey, engineer could build a bridge that doesn't stand ; hackers for poor coding? $ and time lost; engineers are actually saving the world -- environment, agriculture, etc,... actually run the world; imagine life without the engineers... no cars, no computers, no internet, no fridges, no electricity, no nothing... what could be more dramatic??? has drama written all over it. LOL

I can't spell... I meant under-paid teachers. not payed.

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every profession is imp if U think about it irrespective of the pay & status attached. Organisations wud fail to function if the sanitary attendants go on a strike. Life comes to a standstill if truck drivers go on strike- no veg supply, no milk suuply or any other essential goods.