Re: Modern Marvels

Edward Dolan wrote:
> "Tom Sherman" <sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
> news:fug08h$982$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Wilson wrote:
>>> "Tom Sherman" <sunsetss0003@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
>>> news:fufp8b$a0q$2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>> Wilson wrote:
>>>>> "Victor Kan" <victor.kan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
>>>>>
news:5523c98f-b1b9-4a71-877e-9a893f3e32ed@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>>> On Apr 17, 8:16 pm, Tom Sherman <sunsetss0...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>> The starting wage for a civil engineer with a graduate degree is a
>>>>>>> larger US city is about $40/year, or less than a third of what a 
>>>>>>> doctor
>>>>>>> or lawyer would make.
>>>>>> http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Kinda bizarre though--according to this page, Civil Engineers with
a
>>>>>> Bachelors have a higher average starting salary than those with a
>>>>>> Masters degree.  Wow, Petroleum engineers too!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> I don't know, but if I had to venture a guess I'd say civil
engineers 
>>>>> who have hung around in college to get masters degrees and other 
>>>>> advanced degrees probably don't have the reputation of being the
"can 
>>>>> do" types entering in the field.
>>>> Actually, there is a shortage of civil engineers with graduate
degrees. 
>>>> However, the shortage results in more work for the same pay, not
higher 
>>>> wages. The level playing field imagined by the libertarian free
market 
>>>> advocates only exists in theory; in the real world the system is
always 
>>>> gamed to someones advantage.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I'm not getting it.  If the shortage of civil engineers with graduate 
>>> degrees isn't driving up their wages, but only resulting in a greater 
>>> work load for them, then I have to wonder if their numerical shortage 
>>> isn't somewhat imagined in some quarters.  It appears the present work

>>> load is getting done with existing personnel. What am I missing?
>> Engineering is an exempt profession, so an engineer working 70 hours
per 
>> week can be paid the same as one working 40 hours per week. When the
cost 
>> of benefits are included, there is a great incentive to NOT hire more 
>> engineers.
>>
>> Non-exempt employees get paid "time and a half" [1] by the FLSA, so at 
>> some point it becomes financially advantageous for the employer to hire

>> more workers.
>>
>> [1] Unless covered by a collective bargaining agreement that has a 
>> different provision.
> 
> I am with Wilson. Why do engineers even take such jobs if that is the
case? 
> I would like to see someone get me to work more than 35 hours a week. I 
> would tell them to take their ****ing job and shove it up their ass!
> 
Mr. Ed Dolan would have starved to death, if he had not inherited rental 
properties to provide income.

-- 
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful