engineering or economics

which degree is better in terms of usefulness and salary: engineering or economics. also which is harder - not bc it’ll put me off but bc I would like a challenging career. I hear very negative things about engineering sometimes but also very positive things. Which is better paid. And which is most useful even for finding work abroad. also which sort of engineering should i specify in if I want to make lots of money, have a stable job and be creative? I know some engineers struggle to find jobs or are wholly independant.

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by lili__1

Usefulness in terms of what? Getting jobs? Being of some utility of the employer? Being able to go into various fields? This needs to be a lot more specific.

Salary depends on the position and whether you can get the job. Some senior engineering roles can hit six figures, but they are extremely difficult to get. Some engineering roles can pay £30-40k per year, but economics roles can go from £40k to £60k+. In some countries, you can too hit six figures as an economist.
I think it's more important to go for roles that you're happier with. Don't get me wrong, you can't pay rent or buy food with happiness, but you also can't keep working in jobs you hate and living a life you never want.

In terms of finding work abroad, both economics and engineering are recognised degrees throughout the world so you're not going to have to retrain to do something completely different once you get into a new country. However, engineers with experience/specialims in specific fields are more commonly invited into countries than economists are.

Although I haven't worked in engineeering or as an economist, I can say the notion of making lots of money, job stability, and offers you scope of creativity is something that exist in the land of unicorns and mystical fairies. High paying jobs are usually in roles where you provide a lot of value/expertise (commonly cultivated through years of training and study), take on a lot of responsibility, or can bring in a lot of money - these usually aren't cushy jobs. A high paying job is also unlikely to be stable - if your salary is a significant expense and you don't continually provide the value to justify your pay, your job is usually the first thing to go. Also, the higher the pay for the job, usually the more competition there is (not that getting jobs in engineering or economics are easy to begin with).
In many workplaces, there is also a lot of buereaucracy and there isn't a lot of scope for you to be creative per se (not that it's not possible, it's just it's not permitted).
Where there is a lot of creativity involved usually doesn't matter too much and you usually aren't paid a lot.

If you're asking which of the 2 subjects allows you more creativity, I would say engineering. The sector with the most scope for creativity would probably be in something in tech, because the cost of implementing and experimenting with something creative is significantly lower than in other industries e.g. you're not likely going to be allowed to creatively design a £100 product and rachet £100m in costs just to see if there is a market for your design - too much risk.