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Engineers vs scientists is a classic comparison; however, there is a clear winner. Science has attempted to explain many theories through research and experiment. Engineers, for many decades, have worked to improve living conditions. For someone who wants to be an engineer or a scientist, you must understand exactly what each field does.
The following by no means neglects the importance of science, but it highlights how engineering has benefited society compared to any other field, such as science.
1- Engineers Advance Human Civilisations, Science Does Not
To prove this, we need to ask what scientists do.
Scientists are groups of people who specialise in physics, math, chemistry ..etc., and are committed to expanding human knowledge by making hypotheses and testing them through research and experiment.
On the other hand, engineers are:
Another group of people try to advance human civilisation by developing solutions to known problems. Engineering is a very practical field that attempts to find solutions to problems and ways to automate them, making engineers essential to human survival and thriving.
Essentially, engineering is a practical field of science (But it is not science) that is trying to solve problems.
Engineers do many cool things that will take forever to explain, but you can learn about them quickly here: What Engineers Do? Simple Definition.
2- Engineers Find Solutions To Science Problems
Engineers find solutions to problems/scientists only address the problems.
While it seems that one completes the other, for a long time, scientists have only asked questions and put many theories in place that have little to do with finding a solution.
When you become an engineer, you are trained to find solutions to others’ problems which means you see potential in every issue to innovate.
While if you are a scientist, you are trained to ask open-ended questions that require testing, experiments and gathering of research to prove.
Yet what happens is almost all breakthrough in our modern time comes from practical experiments and innovation. Engineers work to improve something, which ends up developing something new. This is also known as research and development or R&D.
Almost all scientific breakthrough comes from corporations spending millions, if not billions of dollars, on R&D to come up with new innovations. There are teams of engineers working very hard to make things happen.
Breakthrough and innovation do not come from academia or a group of scientists. Most likely, engineers who end up making the breakthrough.
But do not take it from us. Take it from Elong Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
3- Engineers Are Practical Thinkers; Scientists Are Theoretical Thinkers
Engineers develop products, while scientists only develop theories, which need to be tested by engineers
Have you ever seen scientists invent the next generations of microchips that can make your smartphone 10X faster? No way, because scientists are theoretical thinkers.
The laser was invented by scientists in 1958, and that’s it. It was not until decades after engineers found ways to use the laser in medical equipment, welding, cutting and surveying. All of those innovations using the laser were made by engineers.
While again, it seems that science and engineering complete each other. However, without the ingenuity of the engineering mind, the laser scientific breakthrough will probably be academic research collecting dust today.
There are many examples similar to the invention of the laser. We can not deny that because of engineers’ ability to find solutions through the practical application of science, nothing around you will be possible.
4- Engineers Can Become Leaders & CEOs, but Scientists Do Not
Engineers’ way of thinking makes them natural leaders, which qualifies them to run companies and make the world a better place.
If you are an engineer, you are more likely to become an entrepreneur, a CEO or a successful businessman than any scientist or even someone with a business degree.
Why?
To make a successful company, one must solve someone else’s problem. This basically defines engineering.
The CEOs of the most successful company in the S&P 500 Index are run by engineers. Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, aka Google and many more (you can learn about here Can Engineering Make you Rich? Are CEOs rich?) are all examples of successful engineers made CEOs.
How many of those CEOs are scientists? Not many that we know of.
This shows that engineers, not scientists, make the forces driving innovations in modern-day society.
5- Engineers Make More Money Than Scientists
Following the above, engineers can rise to positions of power very quickly and work in any field. They can make more money than scientists in many ways.
On average, engineers make around $88,000 annually in the US, with most making over six figures by just working in their engineering field within 7 years. Check Average Engineers’ Salary to learn exactly how much engineers make depending on their discipline and years of experience.
Compare that to scientists with an average of $84,000 annually in the US, while the road to making over six figures means that you have to work in the field for at least 10 years.
While these figures are averaged, it does show how much effort scientists have to go through. While this is not the only problem scientists face, they also can struggle to find work.
6- Engineers Have More Work Opportunities Than Scientists
The market demands engineers more than scientists.
Because of the reasons above, engineers have built a very solid reputation for achievements in innovations in the 21st century that make them very valuable to many industries.
If you study any engineering, you immediately have countless work opportunities because people want to hire you and want to be associated with you.
Even if you do not want to work as an engineer but have an engineering degree, you can still work in any industry. Engineers can solve problems which is why you can easily find work.
This has made engineering one of the most valuable college degrees today, even more, valuable than law (Read: Engineering Vs Law) and doctoral degrees (Read: Engineers Vs Doctors).
7- Engineers Are Essential To Human Survival; Scientist Are Not
If a catastrophic disaster is about to happen, such as a giant asteroid about to hit the earth. Who do you think people will call? Engineers Or Scientists.
The answer is probably both. But those who will come up with a solution will be engineers.
Engineers are so essential to modern-day society that if suddenly all engineers disappear, the world will plunge into chaos (No internet) and darkness (No power). All of your favourite apps will stop working, and nothing seems to work anymore.
That is because teams of dedicated engineers work day and night to make human lives easy and effortless.
Without them, nothing functions.
So it seems that engineers are essential to human survival in our current time and age. Scientists are not.
If scientist stop working on their theories, not much will change, if nothing.
Engineers Vs Scientists: Which One Is For YOU?
While we can not deny the scientific achievements of modern-day science, we can not deny the huge efforts of engineering to make those fantasies a reality.
If you decide to become an engineer, it is a very positive step toward greatness and a journey full of surprises.
I can only speak for engineers as I am an engineer if you have not figured this one out by now! So if you decide to become an engineer, I can help you to choose the best engineering course for you here: What Engineering Degree Should I Do? Make A Choice Now.
