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Old 22-07-2010, 02:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
I think there is a misconception between earning power and potential earning power here.

Out of 10 people doing the "backend job in Finance", how many is becoming a VP? Similary, out of 10 engineers, how many is able to lead the company to become a VP?

I know some VPs of government-link companies that started out as engineers. Based on the annual report, they are all earning >250k. They do not become VPs because they studied engineering or finance. It is because their ability to run the company.
You are one of the very few people here who can distinguish between the two. I call them acquired and inherent earning power.

Acquired power is conferred upon a person by his training; whereas inherent power is inborn. One needs to depend on his acquired power only if his inherent power is lower.

Those engineering-trained VPs whom you mention above obviously have inherent abilities that have outgrown their engineering background. For such people, it doesn't really matter what they studied, be it engineering, finance, or even mathematics!

Obviously, the CEO of Keppel Corp MR. Choo Chiau Beng, who appeared in the papers recently extolling the virtues of his engineering training, has inherent ability far beyond the acquired power conferred by his engineering training. It would be quite amusing if anyone, after reading his interview, thinks that studying engineering leads to jobs that pay $11.75 million per year!

On the other hand, for engineers with low or even negative inherent earning power, getting an engineering job that pays a five-figure annual sum would be better than running their own company to the ground.
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