Wealthy Engineers
Wealthy Engineers
(OP)
I haven't met many rich engineers. Principals at engineering firms are typically well paid, but that is about the extent of it. Why?
Anyone knows a rich engineer and how she/he got there?
The way I see it:
i). Open up own practice;
ii). Rise up through the ranks of an established firm, ending up with the company's shares.
iii). Get an MBA and go work for a venture capitalist firm.
vi). Get a PhD in Applied Physics/Math and go work for a hedge fund.
v). Marry rich.
iv). Patent an idea, and see item i).
iiv). Inherit estate, win money or read Trump's "How To Get Rich" book ok...maybe that wouldn't help you :)
I am very scared of turning 40 one day and realizing that all I am worth is a meager $75,000. Very scared...
Anyone knows a rich engineer and how she/he got there?
The way I see it:
i). Open up own practice;
ii). Rise up through the ranks of an established firm, ending up with the company's shares.
iii). Get an MBA and go work for a venture capitalist firm.
vi). Get a PhD in Applied Physics/Math and go work for a hedge fund.
v). Marry rich.
iv). Patent an idea, and see item i).
iiv). Inherit estate, win money or read Trump's "How To Get Rich" book ok...maybe that wouldn't help you :)
I am very scared of turning 40 one day and realizing that all I am worth is a meager $75,000. Very scared...





RE: Wealthy Engineers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Many engineers make over $2M in a lifetime, or more. And a large number of engineers have net worth in excess of $1M by the time they're 50.
You can certainly be more than comfortable if you practice any modicum of frugality. The rules are absurdly simple:
> Save before anything else
> Live within your means
> Do not accumulate debt
> Buy a house as soon as practical
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I am of course using term "rich" loosely here. It's commonly accepted that one is truly rich when he/she no longer works for income.
But I am talking about working rich. For the sake of discussion, say over $120,000 annually.
I know, I know it's hardly considered wealthy, but it's in 5% of the highest paid americans.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
It is all about living within your means, as IRstuff says, and finding a balance between work and your private life. Money can be low on the list of things that really matter.
Remember: when you get your first million, once you spend the first dollar you are no longer a millionaire.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
At most aerospace companies, $100K is midrange for senior engineers, managers and program managers:
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/
swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=126&statecode=
CA&state=California&metro=Orange+County&city=&geo=
Orange+County%2C+CA&jobtitle=Aerospace+Engineer+V&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=
EN01&r=salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=
EN04100068
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/
swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=126&statecode=
CA&state=California&metro=Orange+County&city=&geo=
Orange+County%2C+CA&jobtitle=Engineering+Manager&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=
EN01&r=salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=
EN04100037
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/
swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=126&statecode=
CA&state=California&metro=Orange+County&city=&geo=
Orange+County%2C+CA&jobtitle=Applications+Engineer+V&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=EN01&r=
salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=EN04100101
I've not done an exhaustive study, but the same job in Houston seems to be comparable in salary:
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/
swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=46&statecode=
TX&state=Texas&metro=Dallas&city=&geo=
Dallas%2C+TX&jobtitle=Applications+Engineer+V&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=EN01&r=
salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=
EN04100101
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
It has been my experience the people that make alot of money are the ones that....
(a) Self employ themselves
(b) manufacturer a product or provide a service that no one else wants to!
There are alot of engineers,doctors, and lawyers in my town, but the guys that are making out like bandits are the owners of the sewage removal companies, and the top soil suppliers....go figure...
My advice; find a widget and mass produce the damn thing.
Regards,
TULUM
RE: Wealthy Engineers
There are more wealthy people with engineering degrees ( or taining ) than there are wealthy engineers. They don't get rich working for others and they don't work as engineers.
Just because someone has an engineering degree doesn't mean there an engineer.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I like the idea of working for myself, not to get rich, but to be my own boss and have more control over my future.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
If you're a half-way decent engineer, there's no guarantee that you'll be any good as a business manager.
There are lots of people who make less than $50K/yr and end up millionaires.
How many of you are saving 10% of your gross salary every year?
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
The best way to feel rich is to live a simple life, (doesn't mean cheap), a healthy life, a life in which you give more than you take from others, help the needy (there are so many under-privileged) and derive satisfaction out of it.
Probably, I have deviated from the main topic, but couldn't resist writing this.
Some of the worlds' famous millionaires do just that.
As somebody pointed out earlier, livng within your means and saving enough can make you rich (financially).
HVAC68
RE: Wealthy Engineers
htt
RE: Wealthy Engineers
He wants to earn 120k, US $, in 2005 COLA
Here's what you do.
1) Don't use a mortgage to buy a house.
2) Live in cheap rented accomodation until you can buy a sensible house without a mortgage
3) Never buy a new car
4) Burn all your credit cards (or pay them off before interest is due)
5) Invest every spare cent
6) never take out a loan unles the interest is a business expense.
7) Only work for reputable firms, have a career plan
(5) is a bit of a trick. Choosing what to invest in is a hard thing to decide. I've done well out of the stockmarket, as a long term investor, but many people lose their shirts, as daytraders.
By following those rules I am ahead of pavlik's target, at the grand old age of 45.
On the other hand, I drive a POS car, and I don't have a nice yacht. And I /really/ want a nice yacht.
Cheers
Greg Locock
RE: Wealthy Engineers
- Marry someone with a similar financial plan or goals, or at least make sure you understand and accept theirs.
- Invest in yourself to increase you earning potential, education, licensure, professional affiliations, etc.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Now, if I were making $100k and working 80 hours a week, I couldn't do any of that, and I would not feel very rich.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Beware that "rich" is a moving target. Ask someone who makes 20K, 40k, 100k, 1mil what it takes to be comfortable and all way claim they need still need more than they have.
Saving (combined with compounding) is the most important aspect to financial security (doesn't sound as good as rich, does it?). It is so easy to understand and yet so difficult to do. It does get easier (perhaps even addictive) once your account is earning dividends greater than what most people are "saving" outright.
And a few tired cliches that are timeless in their truth:
-The secret to happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.
-He who dies with the most toys, still dies.
-Noone on his death bed says, "I wish I had spent more time in the office"
www.probasci.com -
Implantable FEA for medical device manufacturers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I consider myself rich in:
- ideas for bettering myself and my community;
- potential for helping others not as experienced as me;
- concepts for civil aviation improvements not evident to pilots, passengers, educators, and lawmakers. (I have received a letter of interest from a charitable trust to fund the beginnings of the National Airline Academy, a concept 10 years old and long overdue.)
I have so-called rich ($$$) relatives living and working in NYC, a place I wouldn't chose to live in, even though I was born and raised there. We haven't seen the end of terrorism there yet.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I always say I'm working on my 2nd million because I gave up on the 1st !
Haggis
RE: Wealthy Engineers
So Wealthy means ability to live off of your investments or cash flows during your travels, have assets that are untouched for retiremnet, and have the skills to instantly be hired. So Plan for your lifestyle in your own method.
A Member of
www.civilvillage.com
RE: Wealthy Engineers
As such, it's relatively benign engineering problem, given that you normally have nearly 45 yrs to accomplish the end result and there are no technological show-stoppers. Almost all of you are earning at least 2x to 3x the median salary. You're more intelligent than the average person and yet you expect to do no better.
If you're convinced that you'll fail, then the end result is a foregone conclusion.
Start engineering your futures. Plan the work and work the plan.
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I am of the personality that I will never be satisfied until I don't have to answer to a boss everyday (just clients). I dont care about making millions.
All this talk about investing and such to make money is a good idea, if you want to be a rich old cogger. I am of the abnormal on this. I save and invest a little but most of my funds are spent to live life now, not planning on living life when I retire. Sure, maybe latter I will be living from social security check to social security check but when I am 65 years old how many of the fun things I want to do now will I want to do when I am 65?
I wish I had the personality to be content working for someone else the rest of my life but I just have not been able to adjust my personality to be satisfied with this. I envy those that can.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
My father was an engineer and retired early a multimillionare, working for the same company his entire career and retiring as the engineering manager. Good investing and common sense allows him and my mother to spend a couple months each winter in FL, travel the world and enjoy their life, as well as spoil the grandkids. That to me is being rich.
Oh, by the way, we never went without while growing up and had a very comfortable life so their savings plan did not prevent us from enjoying life.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
What I mean and what I have done is get licensed, taken on small engneering jobs and designs, build up a good rep with contractors, architects, developers while I worked full time.
I needed liability insurance or O and E, but you can get a small scale policy for around $2500 and pay that off in two shop drawings. Which brings me to another thing. Engineers should bill more and bill frequently. Do your billings every other week and send out invoices every 30 days. Then you will know if you are working with a payer or a deadbeat. You can make say 30K a year for your self plus your salary and this money you can bank for that income you will need down the road if you want to completely strike out on your own.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
1) The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley
2) The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
3) The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
The first is a study of who the rich are in America and how they got there. The other two are very inspirational on getting out of debt and living on less than you make. They have nothing with being an engineer. Just do something that you are passionate about, stay out of debt and the money will follow.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
ht
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
1. Read "The Millionaire Next Door". It's darn near a textbook for achieving financial independence.
2. Research, invest and manage your own money (at least until you can afford to pay for top-notch financial advice. Our current manager gets a percentage of our net gains, not the gross). Nobody else cares as much about your money than you do.
3. Don't buy toys you don't need and won't use. Analyze every purchase to determine: will I get my money's worth from this? E.g. If you don't go boating very often, don't buy a boat (rent one instead for the occasional vacation). I love skiing, and thus own my own equipment - but it was a value decision on my part.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Did you ever take high school or college classes on how to be happy. It's a challenge and worth thinking about.
Happiness first, wealth second, and don't marry arm candy -it'll rot your happiness and your wallet.
kch
RE: Wealthy Engineers
However, from experience, money may not buy happiness, but it makes the pursuit of happiness much easier.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I think, not speaking from personal experience, that wealth allows you to BUY more things, but there's less satisfaction in them, because, deep down, you know that you really didn't work for it.
Trump mab be a good example of that. His penthouse on "The Apprentice" is loaded with "stuff," that's there because they're "the best." It's unclear whether Trump gets any real happiness or real enjoyment out of those things. And he's certainly diving into the deep end again as far as marriage is concerned. Having to divine whether someone loves you for you or your money might make me unhappy.
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
RE: Wealthy Engineers
HVAC68
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Then, again, "Moderation in all things is best, but it's pretty hard to get excited about it." attributed to Mason Cooley: http://www.bartleby.com/66/3/13603.html
I don't think anyone is suggesting a life of pauperism. The problem is that many people have trouble determining when "enough" becomes "too much."
There have recently been some articles about motherhood on msn.com and how even that relatively pristine pursuit has become incredibly burdensome, what with baby masseuses and Ivy-League pre-school preps.
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
From day one, I invested 10% of gross pay for retirement and enjoyed the rest. I'm not going to be rich, but I'll have >$1MM by mid-50's. I'm happy now and will be when I retire!
Good luck,
Latexman
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Enjoy the life you have with what you have and don't forget to live it instead of spending all your time always trying obtain something else.
Brian
www.mcabeeconstruction.com
Opinions expressed are my own and are not those of the company.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
The corrrect translation of the koine greek you quote is "money is A root of all evil"...not THE...which makes a big difference...
:)
Brian
www.mcabeeconstruction.com
Opinions expressed are my own and are not those of the company.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I'm not so familiar with the Greek, but the translation I have certainly states "the love of money is...", and not just "money is...", which is where a big difference lies. IRStuff was correct in this aspect at least.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
"the love of money is A root of all evil" not "the love of money is THE root of all evil"
You get the idea...
Much of our English translations leave much to be desired when compared to the original Greek texts.
I hate not being able to edit these posts.
Brian
www.mcabeeconstruction.com
Opinions expressed are my own and are not those of the company.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
What a life, though! Maybe $10 million in the bank but spends every waking hour writing specs and drawing systems....
Not for me. I make a really nice chunk of money but by the time I pay all my ex-wives I have take-home pay that's about equivalent to the folks who stuff the tacos and burritos. I know it's possible to have a happy and peaceful existence with little money and material things...
Ahhh....
Old Dave
RE: Wealthy Engineers
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
http://w
A few other versions have the same translation. Obviously, there are other interpretations of that passage, but they're watered down, in my opinion.
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
APH
RE: Wealthy Engineers
NRSV
http://bi
NIV
http://b
Greek
I'd post it for you to but then you'd just have to take my word for it...but the article "the" is clearly not there before the word "root" thus the correct article is "a"...one little article, lots of difference.
While I realize that the KJV/NKJV are beloved translations, they are quite often flawed in translation of the original Greek text, as this is but ONE of the instances...being able to read/translate both Hebrew and Greek has its advantages for something I guess.
Now what was this post about again?
Brian
www.mcabeeconstruction.com
Opinions expressed are my own and are not those of the company.
RE: Wealthy Engineers
Success is self-defined. This is true regardless of what anyone else tells you to the contrary. It is NOT an absolute. It is for you to decide, based upon what you believe constitutes a successful career goal, on whether or not you have attained it.
Maui
RE: Wealthy Engineers
TTFN
RE: Wealthy Engineers
I agree. I don't know any engineers that make that kind of money. In this part of the country I have seen jobs advertised for 55k and I know of some that pay far less than that. The first thing head hunters want to know is how much you are getting and what year you graduated high school. That tells you that employers are looking to pay as little as they can.
Maybe in California you can get a lot more money, but what do you pay for a house- at least 250k? Mine is worth 120k and is 20 minutes from work.
Making lots of money may come with a price.