MECHANICAL ENGINEERING: PROS AND CONS
In Pakistan, mechanical engineers are at the lowest end of the pay scale when they start out. Even simple semi-literate salesman earn twice of what they earn. And this is the state of affairs despite the fact that there is a high demand for them these days. I don’t want to think about what they’re going to be paid when the market goes into recession.
The edge they have over most of the other professions is that they can grow with leaps and bounds if they plan their career carefully. In the domestic market there is a high demand for them, and if they manage to get in the right company and spend a few years there, they are truly on their way up. Many a time it is even not necessary to get the right company. Consider the case of Textiler, an unremarkable medium-sized industry which produces solely socks and exports them. Most of the people of my batch started out there but soon moved on to greener pastures. Had they stuck to Textiler, it wouldn’t have been a bad choice either, for your salary their really rockets up after a couple of years. There’s a man working there who’s literally completely illiterate, and yet he’s raking in Rs.40,000 a month, which is more than four times what a fresh engineer is earning these days. His only asset is that he knows the machines inside out. At the moment, Textiler needs literate workers (in other words engineers) who are willing to stay put, because they are vying to get ISO certified; what with the January 1,2005 deadline fast approaching. But yeah, there is a limit here as to how much you can grow in terms of your career. It’s just the financial aspect which is enticing in that company.
The other advantage to the mechanical engineers is that they can switch between fields pretty comfy, it being a diverse field as opposed to Electrical, Electronic or even Computer engineering; which are more of a specialization. For instance, a mechanical engineer can easily get a job in the petroleum industry or even get to do a masters program in geology, petroleum, aeronautics, oceanography and a million others. A site I came across once even claims the petroleum industry to offer the highest paying jobs of all engineering disciplines combined, in every nook and corner of the earth. This is no surprise though, since black gold (crude oil) is the one commodity that makes the world go round. Just take a look at how the recent oil crisis and the burgeoning oil prices are worrying everyone to death, and you’ll know what I mean. Take that out of the picture, and you get right back to the Stone Age. And mechanical engineers have the opportunity to step onto this gold mine. No doubt every student of mechanical that passes out these days has the dream of venturing into this field, either directly or after doing Masters. It’s not easy though, here in Pakistan. Some say the market is saturated, others that the senior engineers of the handful oil and gas companies in Pakistan(BP,Total,PSO,Carltex,Shell to name a few) make sure no newcomer enters there, since almost all of the senior staff are either diploma holders or just plain bachelors. As such there’s a strong possibility that a more intelligent fresh engineer may rise above them hence breaking their monopoly. If I were earning a delicious Rs.200,000-3, 00,000 per month, I would probably do the same. It’s a dream job really for the Pakistanis, and to tell you the truth, most of the new entrants (myself included) don’t know jack about the pros and cons of this field, apart from the financial aspect, of course.
However, the other disciplines of engineering mentioned above have benefits of their own. For instance an Electrical graduate can relatively easily do a Masters in Computer Science compared to a Mechanical one. A Computer engineer has access to better working environment, and with a few relevant courses under his belt, he can very well venture into the software side.
And then there is the adverse conditions factor. Danger and mechanical engineering go together, that’s true throughout the world. No matter how safety conscious the company you’re working for is, the risk factor is there all along. In Pakistan it is all the more relevant, it being a Third World country and all; where the human life isn’t worth a penny. Well, that’s true anywhere in the world, but the Western world at least tries to pretend being concerned about these matters and act towards that end. But in the third world, there’s no such pretense and hence no need to do something about it. Which brings us back to the adverse conditions factor and the lack of effort to do something about it. The biggest culprit which I’ve come across is the Textiler which a few paragraphs ago I had praised. Complications relating to sinus are an eminent danger due to the presence of fumes and what not in that factory. But since they are offering relatively good wages, not many seem to mind; others who have trouble breathing in that environment just pack up and leave.
But the biggest disadvantage that everyone unanimously agrees upon is the distant work places. If you want to be a real engineer, the only working place to learn the tricks of the trade is the industry, which is as far removed from the city as possible. Commuting back and forth from the workplace drains half the energy from you. And then if you’re working in a hazardous factory, it’s not really what you had in mind when you opted for this field, is it? Even Electrical and sometimes Electronics engineers have to face this dilemma, but let’s just focus on the M one. Take the case of Beltex which is located even further than Landhi, almost a 2- hour journey, and they are making you work for 12 hour shifts. So now consider this scenario. You leave your house for the 8 O’ clock nightshift by 5.45 pm. Spend the night there, return home by about 10:30 am, have breakfast, go to sleep, wake up by 4.30 pm and then prepare for leaving again! A shift lasts a week. Pretty dismal, isn’t it? Imagine working that way for the rest of your life! Even when the monetary rewards are good (not great), it doesn’t leave you much else to do with your life, does it? So you have to be darn motivated to cope with such monotonous, debilitating rigorous work schedule. But you can’t really complain once you have entered this field. You should have thought twice about venturing into this field if you think you can’t undergo this routine. Things, however, need not remain the same. It’s just the initial 3-5 years that are such energy sapping. Once you’ve got adequate experience, you can really come into your own if you plan carefully. You can enjoy a consultant position within the soothing confines of the city, or you can climb to a senior position even at the site, so that you don’t have to work your ass off every single day. If you can get through the initial crunching period with your wits intact, you can very well lead a relatively satisfying life.
But then you are likely to face hardships in any profession you choose. That’s the reason I’ve time and again emphasized on the point that you should choose something you are likely to enjoy doing. Otherwise you’re going to end up making your life as well as the lives of your wife and children miserable. Be bold enough to take up an obscure profession if that’s where your passion lies.
The edge they have over most of the other professions is that they can grow with leaps and bounds if they plan their career carefully. In the domestic market there is a high demand for them, and if they manage to get in the right company and spend a few years there, they are truly on their way up. Many a time it is even not necessary to get the right company. Consider the case of Textiler, an unremarkable medium-sized industry which produces solely socks and exports them. Most of the people of my batch started out there but soon moved on to greener pastures. Had they stuck to Textiler, it wouldn’t have been a bad choice either, for your salary their really rockets up after a couple of years. There’s a man working there who’s literally completely illiterate, and yet he’s raking in Rs.40,000 a month, which is more than four times what a fresh engineer is earning these days. His only asset is that he knows the machines inside out. At the moment, Textiler needs literate workers (in other words engineers) who are willing to stay put, because they are vying to get ISO certified; what with the January 1,2005 deadline fast approaching. But yeah, there is a limit here as to how much you can grow in terms of your career. It’s just the financial aspect which is enticing in that company.
The other advantage to the mechanical engineers is that they can switch between fields pretty comfy, it being a diverse field as opposed to Electrical, Electronic or even Computer engineering; which are more of a specialization. For instance, a mechanical engineer can easily get a job in the petroleum industry or even get to do a masters program in geology, petroleum, aeronautics, oceanography and a million others. A site I came across once even claims the petroleum industry to offer the highest paying jobs of all engineering disciplines combined, in every nook and corner of the earth. This is no surprise though, since black gold (crude oil) is the one commodity that makes the world go round. Just take a look at how the recent oil crisis and the burgeoning oil prices are worrying everyone to death, and you’ll know what I mean. Take that out of the picture, and you get right back to the Stone Age. And mechanical engineers have the opportunity to step onto this gold mine. No doubt every student of mechanical that passes out these days has the dream of venturing into this field, either directly or after doing Masters. It’s not easy though, here in Pakistan. Some say the market is saturated, others that the senior engineers of the handful oil and gas companies in Pakistan(BP,Total,PSO,Carltex,Shell to name a few) make sure no newcomer enters there, since almost all of the senior staff are either diploma holders or just plain bachelors. As such there’s a strong possibility that a more intelligent fresh engineer may rise above them hence breaking their monopoly. If I were earning a delicious Rs.200,000-3, 00,000 per month, I would probably do the same. It’s a dream job really for the Pakistanis, and to tell you the truth, most of the new entrants (myself included) don’t know jack about the pros and cons of this field, apart from the financial aspect, of course.
However, the other disciplines of engineering mentioned above have benefits of their own. For instance an Electrical graduate can relatively easily do a Masters in Computer Science compared to a Mechanical one. A Computer engineer has access to better working environment, and with a few relevant courses under his belt, he can very well venture into the software side.
And then there is the adverse conditions factor. Danger and mechanical engineering go together, that’s true throughout the world. No matter how safety conscious the company you’re working for is, the risk factor is there all along. In Pakistan it is all the more relevant, it being a Third World country and all; where the human life isn’t worth a penny. Well, that’s true anywhere in the world, but the Western world at least tries to pretend being concerned about these matters and act towards that end. But in the third world, there’s no such pretense and hence no need to do something about it. Which brings us back to the adverse conditions factor and the lack of effort to do something about it. The biggest culprit which I’ve come across is the Textiler which a few paragraphs ago I had praised. Complications relating to sinus are an eminent danger due to the presence of fumes and what not in that factory. But since they are offering relatively good wages, not many seem to mind; others who have trouble breathing in that environment just pack up and leave.
But the biggest disadvantage that everyone unanimously agrees upon is the distant work places. If you want to be a real engineer, the only working place to learn the tricks of the trade is the industry, which is as far removed from the city as possible. Commuting back and forth from the workplace drains half the energy from you. And then if you’re working in a hazardous factory, it’s not really what you had in mind when you opted for this field, is it? Even Electrical and sometimes Electronics engineers have to face this dilemma, but let’s just focus on the M one. Take the case of Beltex which is located even further than Landhi, almost a 2- hour journey, and they are making you work for 12 hour shifts. So now consider this scenario. You leave your house for the 8 O’ clock nightshift by 5.45 pm. Spend the night there, return home by about 10:30 am, have breakfast, go to sleep, wake up by 4.30 pm and then prepare for leaving again! A shift lasts a week. Pretty dismal, isn’t it? Imagine working that way for the rest of your life! Even when the monetary rewards are good (not great), it doesn’t leave you much else to do with your life, does it? So you have to be darn motivated to cope with such monotonous, debilitating rigorous work schedule. But you can’t really complain once you have entered this field. You should have thought twice about venturing into this field if you think you can’t undergo this routine. Things, however, need not remain the same. It’s just the initial 3-5 years that are such energy sapping. Once you’ve got adequate experience, you can really come into your own if you plan carefully. You can enjoy a consultant position within the soothing confines of the city, or you can climb to a senior position even at the site, so that you don’t have to work your ass off every single day. If you can get through the initial crunching period with your wits intact, you can very well lead a relatively satisfying life.
But then you are likely to face hardships in any profession you choose. That’s the reason I’ve time and again emphasized on the point that you should choose something you are likely to enjoy doing. Otherwise you’re going to end up making your life as well as the lives of your wife and children miserable. Be bold enough to take up an obscure profession if that’s where your passion lies.
posted by Saqib at
1:26 AM
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