The useful career life expectancy of engineers these days is between 21-41 years old, if you can even make it to 40ish. A lot of engineers have already figured out plan B is to using that 20 years to accumulate as much money as possible and invest it elsewhere in passive income producing assets so that your money can work when you don't want to/can't. Now more then ever, there is no other option. It's just not engineering, it's everywhere. For qualcomm, I don't think they really need to increase more h1-b's. All they need to do is just move more work overseas to its remote office locations. And everyone knows you don't enter engineering purely because the salary is good. You probably start out around the mid $80ies-$90ies these days with a masters....And if you're good, you can stay purely technical and have a peak comp package around $200k year, give or take $10-20k) somewhere when your in your early 30ies...Figure about 30% of it goes to uncle sam, another 10% goes to the state franchise tax board since you're on W2 or 1099. Compare that with your accomplished lawyer or doctor or dentist (assuming you can graduate not so knee deep in debt. Some of my neighbors that own private practices are seeing kids graduate with $400k+ student loan debts who will never be able to find a bank to loan then additional money for them to start their own practice). Financially speaking, you do "ok", not great. And worst, you have a lot more "maintenance" to keep up than lawyers/doctors do. You see many doctors/lawyers practicing all the way until their gray haired/beard. You don't see many engineers, unless you move into management or because a high level architect. The other alternative is to move into sales. There, you have the privilege of selling things that the company really doesn't have, that someone else will eventually have to produce, for which you don't have to be responsible for since you were already paid to meet your numbers. So invest wisely, my friends. Buy lots of dividend paying stocks, buy as many rental properties that generates positive net income. Buy your primary home and take out a low 15 year mortgage so you'll be done with it by the time your engineering "life expectancy" expires. Start tucking away money in that 529 plan for that kid(s) you might have now, so that your kid has a $200k when he/she goes to college to he/she doesn't have to drown in $200k+ student loan debt. Start a side business so that can be a your tax writeoff and hopefully eventually end up being profitable so it plus all of your other passive income ends up at least being equal or if not more than your W2 wage income. You really have no choice, plus it's the end all/be all when you have enough f*** you money.
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Step back and think about all reasons for which you came to this country – better opportunity, better health service, better water, better utility service (hey they are for real), etc. If you don’t contribute to make those things sustainable, then this country will turn into the ones your came from. At that point, you will realize who are the problem. Your children will bear the burden.
It's very simple; all you have to do is to be a more competent engineer than the H1Bs and you'll last well into your 70s, if you so desire.
Otherwise, this line of work might not be your calling after all.
Engineers tend to peak out early in all companies. They tend to be narrowly skilled. It doesn't help showing up to work dressed like they are still in college or they just got done doing yard work. You never hear an executive say, “Look at the young upstart with the sneakers and Hawaiian shirt, he has upper management written all over him.” H1Bs are even worse. Lucky many of those guys have arranged marriages as they probably wouldn't do so well in the Southern Californian dating pool at 5'5”, pornstaches and the muscular build of an eight year-old girl.
I know plenty of engineers who worked into their sixties and beyond.
If you get burned out at forty so that irwin can put his name on yet another building that's on you.
Need to work for the man to get the free soda to be diagnosed with the diabetes so that healthcare is required such that working for the man is the only option.
You still need health insurance. You're stuck working for THE MAN for a long time.
LOL. Your passage really hit home with Anonymous80917. You are his new messiah....HAHA! I hope its not the Chairman, especially since he dumped 50,000 shares yesterday.
Dude, whoever copied my reply on a different thread and decided to repost it completely via copy and paste, write your own damn comment. Sheesh.