Marketing is WAY harder than Engineering

I've written on this topic before, but I just thought it would be worth a mention again.  I do think Marketing is harder/more challenging than Engineering, and I'm starting to think I understand why...

1. Marketers have to figure out "what" to build... Engineers figure out how to build it.
2. Marketers have to choose what to say, and when to say it... Engineers get to stay quiet in public.
3. Marketers have to figure out why something isn't selling well... Engineers get to work on the next thing.
4. Marketers stress over business success and deadlines... Engineers fret over deadlines (sometimes).
5. Marketers micro-optimize the un-measurable... Engineers optimize the measurable.
6. Marketers have to deal with shifts in culture, business, and fashion... Engineers work with laws of physics.

Having been (and loved being) an Engineer, I can also make 1 more statement that I think perhaps most interesting of all....

Engineers get to see, daily, their progress and fruits of labor... they are appreciated for it.

Marketers often can't see the effects of their work at all... and many question a Marketers value.

So, pat a Marketing guy on the back next time you see one... believe me, they are likely stressing more than you are!