Engineering is quite a complex study of the science behind building “things”. Simply put, it is the art of making people’s lives easier. That statement stands true for everyone BUT engineers themselves. In a country like Pakistan that runs more on ‘Maa ki Dua’ and Divine involvement rather than on devised policies and properly-functioning systems, engineers are rarely hailed as heroes for bringing about positive changes in the lives of Pakistanis.

So why exactly does it suck to be an engineer in Pakistan?

For starters, it sometimes involves extremely boring, over-the-head studies

Here’s a well-known global fact for you: science subjects can be boring! If you didn’t already know that, chances are you haven’t ever been through a scientific theory-based lecture.

Couple this pain with tens of thousands of complex mathematical formulas, several more monotonous assignments and projects that revolve around the same mathematical wizardry, and you’re bound to get tired fairly quickly.

Source: Quickmeme

Plenty of tiring days and sleepless nights

Wearing the same t-shirts, recycled jeans, different socks, having swollen red eyes, being forcefully insomniac but still managing to get to lectures on time – engineering students ALWAYS have a way to make things work (pun intended).

But that doesn’t take away the countless sleep-deprived nights that they have to spend making assignments, reports, and several other grade-fetching projects.

“Tumhain dillagi bhool jani paray gi, engineering university mai aa kar tou daikho!“

Why? Because there aren’t many girls for you to get into the ‘dillagi‘ shenanigans with. Forget the studies, this is the single-most frustrating thing about engineering universities for the boys. So, don’t criticize them so much when they stare at women. 

Source: Aaj

Girls from every other college/university believe that engineering boys are mailay in every little sense of that word. Unfortunately, they aren’t wrong for feeling that way.

Source: Khabees Orat – Facebook

“Beta, istri tou theek kar day!“

Because that’s what they teach you in your engineering studies, right? According to your parents, family members and friends, you being an engineer means you can fix everything around the house. If only they knew the different between all the different types of engineers…

Source: Trulymadly

Dhokaybaaz relatives

From the ‘beta, graduate kab ho rahe ho?‘ to the ‘tum graduate ho gaey aur bataya bhi nahi!‘ phase, some relatives will always come up with the ‘meray baray talluqaat hain, mai tumhari naukri lagwa doon ga’ speeches. As soon as you graduate, however, these relatives disappear like farts in a fan factory.

Source: Giphy

Plenty of unemployment days

Thanks to these relatives, loads of other people with genuine talluqaat and the employment market in Pakistan, engineers find themselves spending plenty of berozgari days, and often settle for non-engineering odd jobs. Or worse – higher education without work experience :/

“Kaam acha hai par paisa nahi hai, yaar!”

This is a genuine issue for the little group of freshly-employed engineers. Engineers in Pakistan are not only underappreciated, but are heavily underpaid too. How do you expect them to make things work for Pakistan when they can’t even properly work things out for themselves!?

Useless further studies without work experience

Clearly getting frustrated at the lack of work opportunities right after graduation, engineers look out to make use of their useless, spare life and get enrolled into a masters programs. MBA? MS? Anything would do.

Now this isn’t a bad thing to do, but professionals from all around the world suggest that it’s better for engineers to gain at least two years of work experience by utilizing the traits they learned in their undergrad studies. But according to the frustrated engineers – ain’t nobody got time for that!

“Shaadi ka kia irada hai?“

Although more of a generalized issue with young graduates, Pakistani relatives never stop questioning about your plans for long-term civil partnership. If you’re a guy AND an engineer (even if you’re unemployed), get ready for a bombardment of marriage proposals…

“Engineer kion bann gaii, beti? Ye tou larkon ke kaam hain!”

If you’re a girl AND an engineer, get ready for the “Aray, daactar ya teacher hi bann jati” arguments – because for the relatives, whenever the term ‘engineer’ comes up, they automatically assume it’s a male.

Source: Reviewit

Beacuse as Pakistanis, we’ve continuously heard the same things when a child is born – ‘larka hua tou engineer, larki hui tou doctor banaein gay!‘

Sad.

Underappreciated, underpaid, but never ones to bow down to social pressures, engineers have moral values higher than the Burj Khalifa (not the other popular Khalifa – wink wink), and will always work for the betterment of Pakistan.