let me tell you something about my job.

an engineer, is a profession that everybody dreamt of when they're in highschool, and then that same everybody have nightmare for years after getting their degree. if you have trouble believing that, just be one and look around.

it is always being portrayed as a profession where you work hard with less pay. you'll be sad with 3% annual increment and happy with 5%. you cant leave your job before 6pm and your pay get deducted when you come 5 mins late. you always lose when comparing your salary to other friend in other business, and will say nothing when knowing your ex-classmate that now work in a bank, earning twice than your boss. you will say "YES" to another job that pays 5% more than where you're now working at.

that is the typical mourning that I heard from my profession-mate. one day when they do that again, I'll happily say "FOR GOD SAKE, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR STRAWBERRY IN A BOOK STORE". you can find one of course, coz some book store nowadays have cafe inside. just look at the shortcakes in the display cooler and sometime you can find some halves on top of the yellow or white ones... but well that's not what we're talking about at the moment... focus!

the point is, people often mistake an engineer as a profession close to a banker, as more and more engineering graduates work in a bank. the benchmark to compare your job with other people in the country, is always, on how much you're getting annually. Just google some websites discussing hot jobs and you'll find the list - job: engineer - in the top #100 job in the world. YAY!! we made it to top #100, eventhough at rank #91. no wonder people look down on my job.

engineering, is a passion.

it is more like a teacher. you be one because you like it, nothing less. it is more like a cook. you do because you know how to create things. it is more like a doctor, you solve problems that other people brought to you. it is by nature an honest and modest job that you do because your heart tell you to do so.

to make things more dramatic, you wont be noted as noble as a teacher, you wont be praised for your dish like a cook, and no engineer save lifes. I even have problem explaining what I'm doing in laymen term. so what good is it being an engineer?

...

I just like it. I like it when there's a problem, and nobody can solve it. everybody ask : why? and then you do your homework, analyze the problem systematically, quickly do a containment action, find the root cause and solve it. and you answer the question that only you can answer it. a simple trial can end up savings millions of dollars... and people acknowledge you of being knowledgable. I still remember those moments.

well, it's truly more difficult to see what you have, rather than what you have not.