Engineering is so dry.

I'm definitely with ya on the passion part. I'm starting to care less and less about what's going on under the hood (ie. the nitty gritty technical details)....

yeah, that's how I came to the realization that engineering is no longer what i wanted to do. No nitty gritty stuff, just the high level please. =)

you think only engineering has boring mind-numbing acronyms? wait til u find out about rWACC, ROI and NPV.

Then you won't find it so sunny in MBA town...

It's not the same - in engineering you're often endlessly arguing about acronym-labelled technical details that nobody cares about or knows exist except technical people. That's the part that really gets me. 90% of things you design, no matter how brilliant, go unnoticed.

At least with rWACC, ROI, NPV you're dealing with details that people and stakeholders and shareholders will want to know about....

Thats kind of where I am at. I still like what I do, but I am at a point where it will take years for someone to quit or retire before I get a shot to move up.

I think it’s very common for engineering. You hit that plateau anywhere from 4-7 years in where you career is just going to stay there for another decade or two. My wife is in software and they have a lot more levels than we do at my job…at least title wise. Here there is entry level, working level, lead engineers, mid level management and then senior management. I am the youngest lead in my area but still I wouldn’t have a shot at a management position until I am in my 40s.

I talked with the head of our department and he sounded enthusiastic about me going back. Both his brothers have MBAs and he said if he was going to do it all over again he would have gotten his when he was my age. He basically told me no matter how qualified you are where I work seniority does come in to affect with promotions to management positions (the fact that it’s a government job and has a union plays a part in this). If I got promoted at 30 people with seniority would file grievances with the union...even if you are the best person from the job it happens.

If I hear the word C++, EJB, ESB one more time ......