Bolt3 ;
My suggestion is to print out what
renosteinke and
electure have posted, and keep that hard copy with you for the duration of your career!!!
My career involved
"Both Sides" - "In-Field" (Electrician), and "In-Office" (Eee-lecktricle Injunear*§ / Project Manager / Estimator / Consultant), for a good 15 years (20 if you look at the time period where "I thought I knew a lot of stuff" - and probably did, just not what I feel is ample enough now).
Grew up in a "Construction & Engineering Based" environment, and continued the legacy.
Now I am 100% in the Office (no field work), as a "Triple Threat" - meaning Eee-Lecktrickle Injunear*§, CAD Drafter/Software Tweeker + Project Manager/Estimator - as the tasks require (mostly all 3 at the same time).
My annual wages will _NET_ me around 93K per year.
My total trade experience (Injunear-ring**§, PM and In-Field) is pushing 25 years now - and I am turning 43 next month.
As far as EEs raking in gillions of dollars, that may be true for _SOME_, but not all.
Interns (EITs) and Technicians (entry level to mid levels) might earn anything from Minimum Wage, up to 150% of Minimum Wage.
Don't let the earnings amount detour you from establishing your career path!!
We all have gone through intense levels of "Grunt Status", and were paid wages which would qualify us as "Non-Profit Organizations"
It's during those times when you learn the vast parameters of the trade / discipline, and if you are open minded + willing to listen to some of us "Seasoned Geeks" ramble on endlessly, you will be getting valuable information for free!!!
I would also suggest taking both courses of action (electrician + EE). It will make you an efficient + aware EE, and offer more options than focusing solely on EE.
Besides, once you finish the 4 years of College - thus being known as "BSEE", you're internship (for power engineering) will consist of extremely tedious grunt work at an EE firm.
During this time, you would never know (or totally learn) what takes place in the field, per the plan sets you will be plotting out (or the databases and spreadsheets you will be entering data into, or the notes text & blocks you might be attaching to drawings - per the direction of the designers...)
Lastly, keep these concepts in mind:
"Each time I learn something new, it shows me just how little I know"and:
"The more I learn, the less I know"Never quit studying and learning the topics involved with your career - be it:
* Theories (here's a never ending quest, which becomes more complex as you advance further),
* Design concepts,
* Field work,
* Codes,
* Management,
* Tools (including Computers + software),
and
* Dealing with People.
There will come a day in your career, when you look back at what you knew + could do the previous year - vs - what you know + can do presently; and you realize that your knowledge base will constantly evolve!
You will see that you really didn't know a lot before, and had even less capabilities.
Then you contemplate the following year's progression, and realize you don't know anything right now!!!
Once you hit that point, you may proudly call yourself an:
"Eee-Lecktricle Injunear*§"
Good luck with your quests!
Scott
* p.s.:
"Eee-Lecktricle Injunear*§" = "Electrical Engineer".
It's just my funny way of referring to it.
"Injunear-ring**§" = Engineering
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