Sports Engineering. Wait, Sports Engineering?

My friends, I have a dilemma, and I think the best way to solve it is to talk it out in a blog/informative fashion.

On a side note, I think I'm finally forgetting about John McCain, because reading that first line of what I wrote, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put a finger on what it was . . . .

To sound lame and typical, there comes a time in every persons life when they realize that they have to make a career choice and pick a direction to take their life in. For some, it's easy; they grew up messing with cars, always loved drawing cartoons, averaged 35 points and 15 assists as a 3rd grader in a 12-years-old bball league.

For others, picking is harder. Some have no idea what they want to do with their life. In that quest, they all end up hearing some version of 'Do what makes you happy. You want a job where you don't wake up in the morning, dreading going to work'. Sound advice. Among the best you can get. If you like cars and you are majoring in business, get a job in the auto industry that deals with business in some fashion. If you are majoring in bio, and are fascinated by plants, do your research in that area.

What happens when you have found the perfect position for yourself, but the opportunities are slim, and the money is bordering on not worth the effort? Do you give up on the dream (a Clippers fan who used to dream of a championship)? Do you act like a Laker fan from the 07-08 season (push hard, get your hopes up, and get flat out crushed at the end)? Or do you succeed and take the smaller pay check in search of more championships/happiness?

I am going to use an, ahem, arbitrary example. Say you were a mechanical engineer who loved sports, and one day, following the mantra 'do what you love' decided to pursue sports engineering. Early research indicated that to get into the field, you'd need to be a mechanical engineer (check) who loves sports (check) and had some knowledge of biomechanics (check) and materials (check). 4-4 in 10 minutes of playing time? That's a PER of 74 according to John Hollinger, meaning you should be better than LeBron and Kobe combined.

When playing the remaining 38 minutes, you realize that getting into the field would require tons of work, mainly exploiting contacts, making calls, going to the companies across the nation to meet them face to face. Looking at it, it doesn't seem too bad, and if you really want the job, you will do what it takes to land it. You also find out, however, that sports engineers make significantly less money than their fellow M.E. majors pursuing other careers.

So the career choice has been narrowed down to the money issue. Do you take the admirable road and choose less money, getting respect from those who did not travel your path and work in a job that isn't all to their liking? Or do you make more money, and know, regardless of how happy you are at your current job, you could have been much happier. . . . .


To be continued, as I come to further conclusions about this, ahem, strictly hypothetical situation. Advice about this nonexistent problem is welcome.


By the way, question of the day: What is Gilbert Arenas up to?