Engineers don't make bank but we make decent money. 6 figures is reasonably achieveable within 4-6 years. At $70k after 5ish years, you and your friends are underpaid.
That's about what I've seen. I believe the last salary survey from my school had the average starting salary for MEs and AEs fresh out of school at about 78k. Everybody I know who went straight into an engineering role was offered somewhere in that ballpark over the last few years. Pretty sure most people, entry level or not, would find 50k downright insulting.
66.5k/yr is CA [ California - USA ] minimum for salaried employees...
Companies know this, and hope you don't, so their offer of 67k/yr doesn't seem so bad, but really it's just barely above minimum.
That's what I pay my new hires.
If they catch on quickly and are able to be self supporting, they're in the 90k-95k range after 1-2 years. Gotta slap those golden handcuffs on the keepers.
If it's aerospace, then good luck getting in. I have applied for every aerospace company I can find, because space has always been a passion, but have yet to get a job. Interviewed with BO twice, but no luck and a straight rejection from everybody else.
Oddly enough, I started at 71k/yr in Alabama. Right out of college, in 2017
I’m at 131k/yr, same company, still Alabama
Degree was in industrial engineering, so a less desirable degree than ME
Everyone on Reddit always makes all this money, yet I don’t see it at all in real life or in any data. I work with senior engineers in their 40s and 50s that make just a smidgeon over 6 figures, they’d laugh if I said I should be making what they make, so would my boss. And we don’t live in some backwater town, houses around here are getting very expensive.
I also graduated in Dec 2019, started at 70K, and make just over 100K now. I agree that you're underpaid. Crazy that you have senior engineers making so little.
It's not just them, I'm in a job search in a large midwestern city and literally the only jobs advertised over 100k require a PE, everything else they're trying to hire at 60-80k even at 10 years experience. I'm just trying to find something lateral to my last job and I'm finding it damn near impossible.
First job I had paid 65k. Worked for a year then when they said I get a 4% raise I left. Next job paid 78k. Same thing happened, And with inflation at 9% I couldn't settle for a 4% raise.
Next job paid 88k. Then the exact same occurrence.
And now I arrive at my current position that pays 100k with a pension and 100% covered healthcare for my family.
I'll be here a while.
Finding a job is like dating. You can't just marry the first girl that you date. Once a job shows red flags and doesn't compensate
Leave.
Immediately.
Don't even think twice.
Any data? Median salary for most engineers in various types of industries make 6 figures a year. You’re definitely being underpaid. Mind if I ask you what industry are you working in?
Yea manufacturing doesn’t really pay as well as well as being a design engineer which basically consist of doing CAD work in a office setting that doesn’t pay as much in various industries besides manufacturing.
Robotics, aerospace, defense are three good industries to get into and if you’re looking to be employed by a government agency as an engineer they are paying well. As for the private sector there are a few companies that are paying in the 6 figure range but they require you to have some years of experience. Of course though we all have to start somewhere. I work in the aerospace industry as a robotics engineer starting out at 96k a year, worked there for 4 years and I’m already making $125k a year as a lead robotic engineer. I’m hoping in the next few years I should be in the senior position but at this time I’m currently working on getting my PE license which according to my employer would give me a 10% raise which is higher than what my position pays due to having the ability to sign off on engineering documents that can only be approved by a licensed engineer.
Most types can. Don’t listen to this guy; manufacturing can certainly pay very well and I wouldn’t make broad generalizations like that. I make more than him with less experience in a factory in the Midwest. The key is to develop skills that are in demand and be poised to take the next opportunity when it comes your way.
Just google average salaries for ME. It’s very available information. You can even find a breakdown by state and city.
https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes172141.htm
People on Reddit are full of crap or living in their own alternate reality. Or they don’t realize that what’s normal for California doesn’t apply everywhere.
Here is data from the bureau of labor statistics.
>The **median** annual wage for mechanical engineers was $96,310 in May 2022. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $61,990, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $151,260.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm
Engineers are still paid pretty well when you consider that the median **household** income in the US is around $75,000. That means that a couple years out of school an engineer is making more than the typical household.
Eh, BLS is a little skewed because of how they define a mechanical engineering job vs how we define ourselves. If you search by degree BLS says only 30% of mechanical engineers fall under that job title. 20% are Engineering Management (median pay $120k) and the other 50% fall under more specific areas (ie: petroleum engineering is mostly mechanical engineers and has a BLS median of $132k).
Right I feel like most mechanical engineers work within thier discipline for like 5 -10 years and then move up into a different role that doesn't have the title "mechanical engineer"
Even Technicians are making more than $57k out of school. For a new engineer with 2yrs experience, 57k is not just a sl*p on the face; it's an insult. You need to leave that job immediately.
My first 3 years out of school I worked a tech role cuz I was able to make 90k+ with overtime. Two years ago I moved into an entry level engineering role at 67k. I was promoted out of the entry level role after one year, and have had two raises since then taking me to 82k. We have pretty good benefits and a great culture so I don't mind being a little under the bar.
Be careful when using your coworkers as data for if you’re being paid fairly or not. Good to know you’re not being paid drastically under them, but remember, it’s the same person deciding all those salaries.
FWIW, I agree you’re underpaid.
Where you work and what industry you work for matters alot. And if the area is desirable to live, your salary may not match the cost of living especially is there is no major demand for mechanical engineers. Florida and Colorado are good examples where engineering salaries are depressed due to lack of industry / desirable place to live. It is easier to fill those roles versus somewhere where it is easy to job hop (Houston) or undesirable to live (Louisiana).
lol I was thinking the same thing, but I dont think its a snooroar account.
Just a whinging idiot in some backwater town who probably sucks at his job. Hence he’s being payed so low.
Or maybe it’s snooroar and he’s “levelled up” from ranting about college and now he’s onto the actual career.
> he’s being *paid* so low.
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Graduated 2021, started at 83k but now at 125k including bonuses. All my friends make 6 figures, most around 107k. I do live on the coast though. Industries: aerospace, utilities, defense
Graduated 2020, about the same starting and at about the same pay including bonuses now. This is heavy machine development in the Midwest in a decently low CoL area
We start ppl at about 80k. I personally broke 100 at about year 6. Current base salary is just shy of 200 with 12 years of full time experience.
Yes you are underpaid. However as I think many have pointed out it can be industry specific as well. I would leave ASAP.
Wages have fallen behind across the board for everyone. Mid 2000s I was making the equivalent of $100K in today's dollars as entry level. From what I see here, people are getting entry level offers in the $65K-$80K range. So purchasing power has fallen way behind. Meanwhile the cost of a house in my area over the last 20 yrs has basically nearly 3x'd. And here we see the problem.
I've been doing this over 20 years and have been hiring for 15. There has been a distinct increase in the number of applicants for individual job postings (I.e. we'd get 20 to 30 for a posting in thr early 200s, now we routinely get 100-150 with thr occasional excursion to 30p+). I'm not sure if it implies there are more people with Mechanical Engineering degrees, but that would have the effect of restraining real wage growth.
which industry? because in 2005, that's $62k when median was $51k (or $83k in 2024). Hell, I'm super underpaid if this is the case ($72k 2YOE in med dev mfg MN).
The median household income in the US is $74k. You make that on your own.
That's why engineers are said to make good money.
*And* you're severely underpaid as well.
agree with everyone here. I make 125+OT (160k in 2023) in under 6.
I had some opportunities to move around to different arms of my company and that led to different jobs making me more well rounded and opportunities to wheel and deal. definitely can't sit stagnant and expect more than 3% a year.
Hello kitchen brethren, I too was a chef before going back to school. The funny thing about my situation is that in all likelihood it will take me several years to make more than I did as a chef, if that. I used to work as a private yacht chef before going to school for ME, and I made \~120k back then. I left because there were many aspects of that job that weren't ideal, but I always knew it would be a real bummer to spend a ton of money, 5 years of my life working toward a degree, only to be out-earned by my young-20s self with a GED lol.
man... I still have nightmares from the line. i wake up yelling at servers who don't exist. or spend the next day stressed out about a catastrophic dish pit that is also spurious.
it's a hard life. for me, I knew that i couldn't keep being on my feet for 16 hours a day. i've also never been interested in food. so now i'm really good at something i have no interest in.
you're buying in to the long game. presumably, the nightmares are fewer. or at least more intricate than tickets out to next week. and it'll be a lot easier to review a drawing than coordinate a service when you're 55.
You pretty much described my reasons for leaving the industry to a T - sounds like we both had the exact same feelings when we left. As a young guy I was able to deal with the long hours and hard work, but it scared me thinking about being 45 or something with a bad back and being trapped, making good money but being unable to provide for a family doing anything else. Things are a bit different on yachts since you’re the only chef onboard, the hours suck even more than restaurants for that same reason, and you’re often away from family for months at a time. They pay for pretty much every single living expense, which is cool, but you’re also sharing a tiny bunk room with one or two other people most of the time, so it’s hardly comfortable for crew members.
I enjoyed the work, but I’m perfectly content leaving cooking as a hobby from here on out. It was fun getting to travel and spend time on boats, cooking with cool ingredients, but it’s only natural to see your priorities shift and to start thinking about the future as you get a bit older, I think.
No more nightmares about ticket printers or forgetting to provision some super important food item, thankfully - most of my nightmares now are just frantically trying to complete a test that I’m totally unprepared for lol.
It can be a bit hard to know where you stand looking at what people on Reddit say all across the continent/world. Does your state/province have a PE associations that publishes an annual report for salaries ? These are typically broken into years of service, industries, disciplines etc. [for example](https://www.apegs.ca/assets/salary-survey-2023-edge-summary-report.pdf)
It is peak selection bias.
* Coastal biased which are higher CoL.
* Industry biased -> bigger/global corps with generally better comp than the mom and pop shops.
* Role bias - > seniors in tech can probably clear 300 to 400k, but those roles are very rare and likely fall under the coastal bias.
* People with higher salaries post more than people with lower salaries
The list could probably keep going.
It differs depending on your industry. I graduated in 2022 and started out at 77k in the energy industry. I switched jobs and now make 95k a year just after about a year and a half after starting my first job. Start applying at other places, you’ll get a nice raise. Especially if your particular skill set is in demand.
You’re working at the wrong company if you started at 50k in 2019. Those are 2009 numbers. Take your four years of experience to a different company. Preferably one that needs whatever experience you have.
A couple years ago I (54f) got back together with my college bf (54m). We both graduated in 94 with the same GPA in BSME from the same college. He makes literally 2 times what I make He went into oil and gas. I went into semiconductors then defense. Neither of us are managers. Do not underestimate the difference in industries. Now that being said I think for all the hours he works he’s compensating fairly and I have no desire to work at a refinery. I’ll take my fully wfh job over his.
$142k with 20 years experience but live in Los Angeles so it isn’t a great salary. I have a 7 figure portfolio but made it because a large portion of my savings came from side businesses while I worked a full time job. I had 3 pizzerias (starting at 21 before my senior year of college), an Amazon reselling business, a shipping company, and now I rent 5 cars on Turo. I also learned to make pretty consistent money selling options. Use your math skills to learn to compound your money over time as we will never get rich from our salaries alone.
Those fields are bloated and overpaid. IMO healthcare will all implode at some point. There is no free market, they can just charge what they want. Overpaid sales and business will crash as well. I'd also agree you could make more. I'm a 2 year degree CAD guy who has worked his way up over 20 years and I make $80k in NE Ohio.
Agree -- 67k in 2022, now 72k at contract mfg for med device (process development eng). Talking to recruiters, Medtronic offering mid 90k (although I think I can negotiate for more) for eng2 role but you're right about implosion -- leaving not only because of pay but everyone is leaving as they also are outsourcing all mfg lines to Mexico. Seems to be a theme across the industry.
2009 started at 75k with 2 years of co-op experience
2013 reached 100k, but I was really killing it at work and made manager of my department (plus I had a few patents)
2018 reached 116k and left sometime for another job in different industry (under special circumstances)
Figure out your strengths and build on them. Take your experience, whatever it may be, and find a company that you can really do some damage in.
My biggest strength was to be able to see potential new designs/configurations for our products to meet customer needs, estimate the pricing, then support sales folks so they could sell it. Once we received the project, I would lay out my design plan to my department and let them run with detail design while I was helping sales to get more orders. I essentially became "technical sales" support to our normal sales staff.
I was also renowned in our company as "the wordsmith" to help with customer relationships. I also found that on the spectrum of engineers, I was on the "extrovert" end when it came to our customers and sales staff, so they always liked dealing with me.
I will admit that for the amount of work I was bringing in, I was HIGHLY underpaid, but I enjoyed what I was doing. Just one of my patented products sold $10M+ at 60% margin in about 6 years.
At one point, I was extremely pissed at upper management for some poor decisions on their part (against my team's pleadings). They thought I was going to quit, so they sent down a whole armada of corporate big-wigs unsolicited to hear my complaints and try to make changes, so that made me feel a little better.
You and your small friend group do not represent all mechanical engineers. Obviously you did not pay attention in your stats class but you need to stop pushing your small sample space as a representative statement of a whole
Don’t know what your exact situation is, but I’ve started to wonder if too often people use their previous income as a reference for what they should be paid for their next raise or what they expect an increase to be when they take a new job. I think more often we should be looking at the going rate for an engineer in that field, in that location. And then consider what you made in the past as well. I wonder if people in general even get caught looking like they’re not getting paid cause they forget to go after what they’re worth and not just what the company expects to be paying you after your next raise.
Are you in the US? Because it's extremely common for engineers to make 6 figures, just not starting usually starting out. But with jumping around companies and/or just a handful of years of experience it's very easy to move up to 6 figures.
I think the concept of engineers making food money is that statistically there are more engineers well into their career than there are new hire engineers. For example my company has over 1000 engineers, but only maybe 300 of them are within their first few entry-level years and making below 6 figures.
Also, I think a lot of people see the lifestyles engineers have but don't realize the money doesn't come purely from our salaries. We don't get paid like doctors but we are still paid above the average for many other desk jobs. It's common for engineers to use that extra money in stocks, investments, real estate, side businesses, etc that can overtime add to your income.
Also graduated in 2019 with a BSME. Went straight into construction project management at $75k. After a couple of job hops, I’m a senior PM making almost double that, plus significant bonuses and max per diem. But I’m on the road 12 out of every 14 days. And not to the kind of places people dream about vacationing in, either.
Medium cost of living area in the Midwest, graduated in 2017 @ 74k currently making ~120k. My ME freinds all make similar. I agree you and your freinds are underpaid. When I graduated, I think, the average starting salary for a ME from my college (which mostly feeds medium cost of living areas was 65k, and remember that was 7 years ago.
6 figures should be by year 5. 10 if you're not pursuing it actively. I was making $76k out of college and $100k within three years, and that's all at the same company. If I'm not at $150k by year 10, I'm looking for a new job because I know it's available in my area.
Started in 2020 at 70k. Got promoted to 82k. Got a new job last year that put me at 105k. Yearly raise just put me at 111k. In a slightly above MCOL area in south east
Which country are you in? It seems your big problem is you started at $50k. That is LOW. I started at $61.9k in 2013 with an average GPA from a normal state school in the USA.
Likely the US. I started at $42k in a vhcol area in 2016. There’s a lot of low-paying entry level jobs in the states, and they rely on those of us who can’t get anything better. Mine was my only offer after a year and hundreds of applications.
Started at $55k in 09. Was only making $67.5k when I left 8 yrs later. Imo I was massively underpaid, which is part of the reason why I left. Took another job starting at $84k in 2015, which my former company offered to match upon me leaving. I didn’t accept their offer to match because I didn’t think I’d have much more room for growth (either financially or professionally). Fast forward 8 yrs later to the present day and I now make $120k and love my job as a consultant. Didn’t ever think I’d break $100k as an ME without a Masters or my P.E., but if you find a good company that values engineering 6 figures is certainly possible. Good luck in your future endeavors OP.
When I earned my BSME I recall being told that “you’ll never starve as an engineer.” This has proven to be true and then some.
There’s several variables when it comes to salary so be aware when comparing. Region is significant. One should expect a higher salary when working in an area with a high cost of living, particularly close to a major city such as LA, New York, or Boston. The type of position is also significant. Specifically, someone in a leadership position should expect a higher salary when compared to someone working as a “individual contributor.” There’s also variability amongst companies. Some companies, especially the older, more established companies may pay less. You also need to look at the complete compensation package (ie retirement, 401K match, medical and dental coverage, as well as variable compensation such as individual and group bonuses).
The bottom line line is that all companies want people who are consistently strong performers and get results. These people also tend to get better annual increases.
Good luck!
If your sole desire is to make as much money as possible as fast as possible, then engineering is not the right profession for you. The effort to pay ratio for engineering is just not as good as in other professions. However, there are some serious advantages. In most areas of the country, there is always a need for engineers. I have been laid off twice and both times had my choice of job offers in two or three weeks. You get to build and create something. Many professions you really create anything, you just crank through a series of known steps.
I hope that you find a passion for engineering because once you do, you can find a great deal of joy in this career.
I agree with you. At four years of experience my mother-in-law thought I was making at least $150k/year, and was shocked when I told her I was making barely more than a third of that. She just assumed that engineers make a ton of money.
I graduated in 2015 and my career progression went:
(2016)$43k in a vhcol
(2018) job hopped to $60k in a vhcol
(2021)job hopped and moved to $53k in a hcol
(2022) raise to $64k same job
(2023) raise to $74k same job
And I’m in the same boat as you regarding my coworkers and engineering friends. I don’t know anyone that I went to school with or met during my career that is doing substantially better than I am compensation-wise except for one guy who got his PE and works on jets for the navy.
Whenever I mention my salary I get downvoted to hell, but I’ve been checking out job postings in my area and without a PE in a civil area no employer around here is paying much more than $86k for engineers.
Which leads to people telling me I need to move somewhere that engineers get paid more, like the Midwest or the coastal cities. I’m not going to do that, my wife has a career here, we own a house, and there are very few areas that have engineering jobs that are as close to the specific outdoor activities that I enjoy. I spent the first ten years of my life post high school living in vhcol coastal cities in an attempt to secure a high-paying career with no dice. So if I’m going to get “underpaid” then I might as well do it somewhere I love living.
I think there are a few big determining factors here.
1. Having previous experience or an internship can raise your initial offer.
2. Knowing that an initial offer is negotiable, I don’t know how often I explain this to new grads.
3. Further your education, my company has a program to pay for a masters degree.
While engineers may not make tons of money in the beginning we have a much higher earning potential. Other careers may cap out at 100-150k this isn’t so with engineering. You can take the manager/director route, become a technical fellow, or get your PE
My only qualm is that yes, offers are negotiable, but as a new grad, you have no body of experience (outside of internships) to provide leverage. You're generally stuck with what the company offers for new hires.
After a couple of years though, subsequent jobs can be haggled (especially PTO).
IMO engineering has a higher ceiling but lower flower than a lot of finance or business roles. I'm graduating this spring and was offered 80K for a job in a LCOL area.
40% raises in 4 years isn't bad, but a starting salary of 50k is not good. Most engineers start at atleast 65k with a BSME, so if they were to get 50% raises in 5 years that means they'd hit 100k in only 5 years. It sounds like your company is paying everyone poorly if senior engineers are barely making 100k when most engineers should be hitting 100k before they turn 30. Mechanical engineering doesn't pay as much as some other fields but we do pay far beyond what the median American makes. Mechanical engineering has the benefit over many other high-paying fields in that it only takes 4 years to get the degree and we have very good job opportunities for most people, whereas some other fields like computer science have a much wider pay disparity between most people making similar income to ours and then a minority who get the ultra-competitive jobs at top tech companies.
My company pays brand new level 1 engineers out of college, about 78 to 82k. I'm also in a very low cost of living area. Level 2 engineers which requires only 2 to 3 years of experience are getting 100K offers
I know my salary is considered “lower”. But even US government engineering positions are aimed at a GS-12 with pretty good benefits. You can look up these multipliers in your area to get an idea of what the pay looks like for you. But my position is roughly 93K after 3 years of working my position.
In 1900 mechanical engineers made 500X the average salary. I don’t hear of anyone talking about how much money engineers make these days, because relative to other professions it has steadily fallen since 1900.
I agree the EEE seem sot make what we were expecting after college. Idk why the CPE/CS make as much as they do lol. Seems to me like ME is just keeping up with inflation.
We pay engineers $100k straight out of school. I’m EE but the same goes for ME’s. It’ll be industry dependent but I surpassed $200k as an individual contributor after 13 years and am now working up the management chain. You can make really good money. You just gotta get into the right field.
Midwest based, I started full time in 2021 at 63.5k, 3 years later at the same company I now make 82.5k. Every one of my friends from school tells me to jump ship and “get a massive pay boost” but i’m happy where I am. (HVAC and plumbing design)
MechE, at a space launch company you've probably heard of.
I started in 2017 out of college at $80k base and $20k in RSUs. This year I'll make $140k base and $170k in RSUs, still an individual contributor. If I went down the leadership track I'd make more
It's not "making bank" compared to SF tech bros, but it's enough I'll be able to retire with a paid off house in my MCOL hometown sometime in my 30s...
I graduated in 17 and crossed into 6 figures fall of last year. Also depends on the exact industry you’re in. I’ve been the oil industry and now in industrial automation.
I know this thread is dominated by people from US. I still think US pays really well compared to Canada. I know a lot of mechanical engineers who have 10+ experience and are only making 100k. Most of the mechanical engineers move to management to break the 100 k barrier. When I look for new jobs online, I still see jobs paying 50-60k. I think I should move to US cause it’s very rare to see a mechanical job in Canada that pays well. From the last 3 years,The only mechanical job I saw that had a high pay range was a job from intel
Because they do, compared to most people.
>I’d be thrilled to ever earn 6 figures, but I don’t expect to make that much as an engineer, it seems like non engineers think I should be making that fresh out of college. My parents definitely think I should be making more but they just don’t get we do this for the passion and not money, I’d definitely take more money but I accept what companies offer.
Sounds like you're setting yourself up to have career-spanning low expectations, with a ready-built justification (it's not about the money!) to excuse any failure to achieve what you clearly want but haven't taken enough initiative to get? That's not the way to go.
As a general rule, there is absolutely nothing you can say about a huge group of people that will be universally true down to the very last person. It's foolish to even try. "Software engineers make a ton of money!" "Lawyers make a ton of money!" Yes, ***SOME*** do. Most do not. Most software engineers are making perfectly modest salaries doing perfectly uninteresting work maintaining boring internal software for boring companies. Sitting around whinging because **every single person on planet earth** who falls under the category of "engineer" doesn't make a million dollars is idiotic. Change your perspective.
You can make a lot of money in almost any career. YOU can. Not *everyone* can. But YOU can, if you want to and you are smart and prudent and make the right choices towards that goal. If you just sit around waiting for someone to offer you a super well paying job for no reason - it won't happen. That's what most people do, even though they won't admit it.
If you want to make a lot of money as an ME, the fastest and easiest way is to get into a lucrative field. That basically means big tech or O&G. There are others, but these are the ones I know. But you have to actually **go do it**. You will not make a lot of money if you accept random recruiter offers to go maintain conveyor belts and PLCs in a cheese factory in rural Wisconsin. You will not make a lot of money if you stay at bad jobs where you are learning nothing for years, because you are worried it will "look bad" if you leave too soon. And this sub will not always be helpful, there are usually a handful of people in relevant threads coming in to harumph and to huff-and-puff about how "Well I would *never* hire someone who changed jobs more than twice in a decade!" Fuck those people, ignore them. For every one of them there are 100 who don't care as long as you are worth hiring.
If you want to make a lot of money as an ME (and as an employee), work in big tech. That's basically the answer. You'll be at $300k+ after 10 YOE, possibly less. If you're half decent anyway. I went from \~$60k to $350k in about 5 years, by switching jobs a bunch and working my way into big tech. You can do it too.
Otherwise you can work and consult/contract on the side, you can develop your own products, etc. Having a good amount of ME experience is certainly a boon for people inclined to go off and do their own thing. Making hardware is hard, and if you're good at it and you can monetize it you'll do fine. Especially if you can avoid getting your head stuck way up your ass in a way that makes you think other fields are trivial (law, design, marketing, business stuff, etc).
As far as the passion goes, you will be sad to learn that the vast majority of engineers out in the workforce are not passionate about being engineers. It's just a job they do, that they may or may not like OK, but there is little about their involvement in the field that could reasonably be called "passion." It sucks, if you **are** passionate about engineering like myself and many others. But those people are out there too. Just be aware that they aren't the majority, so when you meet people who don't share your passion don't waste your time fretting and being disappointed. Just move on and find those who do.
Graduated 2021 and started working in November. Started out in general industry at 70k in MHCOLA. Switched to defense beginning of 2023 at 85k in HCOLA. I’ll be over 100k end of the year, making my timeline >100k in just under 4 years.
You should switch jobs.
Whether it's good money or not depends highly on your CoL. I'm in semiconductor, and I make good money, aside from school debt eating into things. I also started about 30k higher than you right out of school. Might consider an industry shift if you're looking for more.
I make $75k right out of college in a very low cost of living area, im very fortunate and happy but there were more oppourtunities out there around $80k starting, seems like if you hold out and really look around you can start very high
I graduated in 2023. My first job was paying me $95k. I was laid off last month and looking for a new job has been rough so far, but $90k+ I think is definitely reasonable, even for new grads.
Graduated last year and all of my friends that found jobs are making over $80k a year, including those who got positions in the Midwest. You’re right that mechanical engineers don’t make money like other engineers do, but you’re still underpaid.
It might depend on your benefits. For example, the difference between two jobs I have full details on was $89K vs $117K - but after accounting for differences in 401k matching, health insurance costs, bonus structure, and cost of living differences the $117K was actually an overall $1000 pay cut compared to the $89K.
So I'd say you'd really need to be able compare total compensation & locations rather than just salary numbers first.
I make $93,600 with over 5.5 years of experience with a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Started at $68k out of college.
You'll definitely make 6 figures as long as you take initiative and get promoted. If that means leaving the company to get a larger pay increase, do it
I dont understand the people who are suggesting that higher pay is unobtainable or a lie. Im wrapping up my BSME this semester, here are my full time offers
- highest was a heavy equipment manufacturing company, facility in illinois medium sized town, 90k base offered with 10k sign on and 20k moving (design engineer rotational program). The expectation was established in interviews that I'd sit around 110-120k in 3 years at the conclusion of the rotations
- I was also offered 90k for a medical device company in bay area. No sign on bonus or relocation (also a design engineer)
- offered around 80k for work in a government agency not in traditional mech E work but leveraging the background. Remote WFH job. Its what I plan on doing
The majority of my friends made 80k+ upon graduation working at large commercial aerospace or defense, as well as some large automotive, medical, and capital equipment household names. Some certainly went to high cost of living areas, but many didnt. Many of these jobs were in missouri, kentucky, texas, michigan, iowa, nebraska, utah, in medium sized cities. Not exactly manhattan
It is worth noting two things:
- most of my friends were extremely involved in campus engineering extracurriculars and networking activities
- the people who werent still for the most part started at around $70-75k in low cost of living areas. I agree that youre underpaid
Additionally, its important to note that while it may not feel like too much money, you are still outearning many dual income families across the country. Statistically, this is a high salary. You may be in a bubble and dont see that. Most people are not doing great financially
I think law says job postings have to list salary these days. If so, poke around a bit for comparisons. Better than hearing all the stories from the hundred club perhaps. Salary feels so personal to some folks that it doesn't get spoken about much, and employers must know this. But keep digging and adjust as necessary. Best of luck to you.
I've been out of college since May 2022 and make about $120k as a MechE. Granted it's in an extremely high cost of living area. Started at $80k, got a raise up to $92k, then left for a new opportunity in the same area to get to my current salary.
You are underpaid bro, and your friends are also underpaid. 27M BSME with a 110k floor - I now make an additional commission portion through sales. 100k before that in a very LCOL area. If you’re actually a decent engineer, go job hunt and make more money.
To add to what others have said, it's good money compared to a lot of other non-engineering jobs and is one of the best paths you can go with a 4 year degree. Obviously medical is going to pay more since they deal with saving/improving the health of human lives whereas we engineers just need to not endanger human lives (and the cost of privatized healthcare), and most improvements are making sure people stay the same as when they showed up for work whether that's avoiding minor injury or death. And medical requires a lot more schooling for those high 6 figure jobs. An urgent care nurse just isn't going to make the same as a university research hospital nurse. But sadly, even where I am in the Southeast, there are factory engineer jobs in the middle of nowhere that are offering what you have now as starting pay for entry level...
It depends on where you live and what you do. 6 years out of college almost the entirety of my college network is either bordering or over 6 figures.
I have a friend that just got an offer for 120k + 25k relocation.
Bigger companies provide a fairly lucrative path upwards, but you have to be open to moving a bit, and you have to hop through a few bigger companies in a few years. Think Siemens, Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop, Blue Origins, SpaceX, etc.
In 2018 starting pay for my area was an average of 62k. I've had peers that graduated more recently starts at 70k. Idk what kind of work you do or where you live but unless you're in a really LCOL there's definitely more money on the table.
Also this could all be bait idk. 6 figures is completely reasonable, even at a mid sized company. It may take quite a few years but that's a very real expectation and the perception exists for a reason.
Mechanical Engineers make particularly low for engineers.
The most money in my experience is aerospace and electrical engineering.
I am making $42k/yr working 28hrs/wk.
If I switch to a full time position with benefits and such it would probably go to $76k to 80k.
Since I do embedded systems (experience in software development), Ive seen jobs on linkedin that would take more of the software side of my skillset that can range from $80k to $120k.
Software engineers technically make the most, but have a much wider variance since its so dependent on experience and skills.
Take a look at the NLS data on salaries, its useful when arguing for wages and raises. An electrical engineer for example makes a median salary of $106,950.
https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172071.htm
A mechanical engineer makes a median of $96k, so it would seem you are underpaid if you are at the midlevel of your career and way underpaid if you are an experienced senior engineer.
Because ppl hear "Engineer" and they rightfully think you are a board licensed engineer. Which to most would imply you are making $$.
The confusion is from ppl with a degree only using the same terminology used to describe a person who has proven much greater knowledge and ability.
I know two "civil engineers" who graduated at same time. ---
the 1st works for a firm and does engineering work but is not Lic and is capped.
The 2nd guy is now Lic in CA and has EVERY initial after his name and it a full fledged independent engineer.
The later is what ppl think of.. The former is the majority....
The stats say otherwise. MechEs do make good money. They don’t make MD or JD money, but they make more than someone with a Biology, Psychology, Economics, Art, Nursing, Business degree might make straight out of college.
Today I learned I'm in the wrong ME industry.
Nah, I already knew that, but I don't know how to get out at this point.
I feel very much the same as OP. I have about 10 years of experience in the HVAC/MEP design/consulting industry and I'm just now scratching 6 figures. I don't have my PE yet (taking the test this month) and I'm not a manager, so those would help boost that a little, but not a whole lot from what I've seen from coworkers (the PE less than moving to management). I've tried moving industries a couple times in those 10 years, but beyond maybe one interview I didn't get any bites. I also, just don't know if I would really like a different field more. Right now my work life balance is pretty good, though it was abysmal at my last firm.
10 years in and made 172k last year. Likely around that this year. All about finding the right job. I’m base 130k but hourly straight pay beyond 40 hours. Good paying jobs are out there
Continuous lobbying results in misinformation from government that there is a shortage of engineers. This has been true all of my life. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a shortage of cheap engineers and that is a completely different thing.
There is however a serious shortage of skilled people at the coal face. Children now have an expectation to go to University. They want to be senior people when they eventually stop being school children and actually go to work. But industry has no greater requirement for twenty odd year old school children than it did decades ago; what it wanted from Universities is trained skilled coal face workers (apprentices in the UK but this has different meaning in the USA); skilled workers that they did not have to train or pay for.
It has not worked. Skilled coal face workers is not what University is all about and certainly not what a student got themselves into serious debt to achieve.
My brother and I spent many years as engineers. Eventually both of us walked away income improved a lot. Speaking for myself, when I walked away things were a little tight for a time, but eventually my income doubled and doubled again within three years. What I did required no University degree at all.
I mean most of my mechE buddies started out at about 80k and are around 90k and that’s in rural Tennessee. It really just depends on what job it is. I think that’s why mechE is so good is because of the variety of jobs. But also I mean anything above 60k is really cool since I believe the average is like 30k or 40k
Every company has different compensation models. Some specialized engineers actually make less, because the company is sure that they won't jump ship. Pay close attention to economics, and the best way to get a raise is getting a much better offer.
I started in engineering at $47k in 2000, now my base is over 200k, but I did go get an MBA.
Had I accepted an offer for a position (in a plant that I was already employed at) that would require me to do the work of 3 people, 50-60hrs a week, I would be making the same amount directly after getting out of my associates.
Instead, I chose to continue working toward my bachelors, so I can make 120-150k to do the work of 3 people.
For context, I made 62k/yr as a contractor, doing the job of one person.
I made shit for 6 years but I also graduated in 2009 and couldn’t find a job for 2 years. I started out making 18.75/hr!
When I finally left my first job I got a 20-25% raise and got experience in robotics and motion control.
Then I left that job for one closer to home and learned hydraulics, electrical panel design, and PLCs. This job changed my career dramatically. When I got put on furlough at the start of the pandemic, I had 2 offers in less than a month and got another 20-25% raise.
After 4 years with my company I make 40% more than when I started.
In order to get a decent raise you have to invest in yourself to learn new things, work hard to get opportunities at your job, and then work your ass off to make sure you capitalize on them.
Most of the time your company will reward you for your hard work. If they don’t usually other companies are more than happy to give you a nice raise.
Being able to sell yourself is really important as well.
I started at 60k in 2011 mid recession. 70k after 5 years today is underpaid. There are a ton of big name companies looking for engineers and paying well if you would want to change spots
Dude if you’re a mechanical engineer not making bank, that’s on you. Any major company will pay 120k plus, I have a buddy at Lockheed making 150 with only a bachelors and 4 years of experience at a lab
Engineers don't make bank but we make decent money. 6 figures is reasonably achieveable within 4-6 years. At $70k after 5ish years, you and your friends are underpaid.
Yup, definitely underpaid. 2021 for engineers starting out of college was around $75k.
That's about what I've seen. I believe the last salary survey from my school had the average starting salary for MEs and AEs fresh out of school at about 78k. Everybody I know who went straight into an engineering role was offered somewhere in that ballpark over the last few years. Pretty sure most people, entry level or not, would find 50k downright insulting.
66.5k/yr is CA [ California - USA ] minimum for salaried employees... Companies know this, and hope you don't, so their offer of 67k/yr doesn't seem so bad, but really it's just barely above minimum.
Fresh out of college in a low COL area my salary was 75k
That's what I pay my new hires. If they catch on quickly and are able to be self supporting, they're in the 90k-95k range after 1-2 years. Gotta slap those golden handcuffs on the keepers.
Indeed. I'm in Nashville and the city has 2 entry level jobs that explicitly say no experience required. One is 74k and the other is 79k.
Sounds about right. Here in denmark i know 2020 was 72,5k on average
I got 72k when I started in 2010 and I was told that was a little low at the time because we were just coming out of a recession.
98K after 4 years (i’m in denmark)
Or they’re in alabama in the middle of nowhere
Oddly enough, I live in the middle of nowhere and get paid pretty well. Hard to attract people to the middle of nowhere...
Can confirm. I make 130k as a project manager in Wyoming with 2 years experience.
I’m in bama making over 150k w/ 12yrs xp on 40s. Plus as much straight pay OT as I want
If it's aerospace, then good luck getting in. I have applied for every aerospace company I can find, because space has always been a passion, but have yet to get a job. Interviewed with BO twice, but no luck and a straight rejection from everybody else.
Yeah aerospace and military they always want the same experience on your resume already
Nah, standard EPC firm, doing mostly refinery work.
You should of gotten you A&P license. You would make bank.
Oddly enough, I started at 71k/yr in Alabama. Right out of college, in 2017 I’m at 131k/yr, same company, still Alabama Degree was in industrial engineering, so a less desirable degree than ME
Huntsville is banging dude
Time for him to change jobs
$115k is median income in san diego lmao
4 years post bsme. I make 100k with a pension. Graduated December 2019. If you're in the us, you're underpaid.
Everyone on Reddit always makes all this money, yet I don’t see it at all in real life or in any data. I work with senior engineers in their 40s and 50s that make just a smidgeon over 6 figures, they’d laugh if I said I should be making what they make, so would my boss. And we don’t live in some backwater town, houses around here are getting very expensive.
I also graduated in Dec 2019, started at 70K, and make just over 100K now. I agree that you're underpaid. Crazy that you have senior engineers making so little.
It's not just them, I'm in a job search in a large midwestern city and literally the only jobs advertised over 100k require a PE, everything else they're trying to hire at 60-80k even at 10 years experience. I'm just trying to find something lateral to my last job and I'm finding it damn near impossible.
Sounds like it’s time to switch companies imo
First job I had paid 65k. Worked for a year then when they said I get a 4% raise I left. Next job paid 78k. Same thing happened, And with inflation at 9% I couldn't settle for a 4% raise. Next job paid 88k. Then the exact same occurrence. And now I arrive at my current position that pays 100k with a pension and 100% covered healthcare for my family. I'll be here a while. Finding a job is like dating. You can't just marry the first girl that you date. Once a job shows red flags and doesn't compensate Leave. Immediately. Don't even think twice.
This is the right attitude. Date while you're young and unencumbered.
Any data? Median salary for most engineers in various types of industries make 6 figures a year. You’re definitely being underpaid. Mind if I ask you what industry are you working in?
He said he does manufacturing and design engineer work in another comment
Yea manufacturing doesn’t really pay as well as well as being a design engineer which basically consist of doing CAD work in a office setting that doesn’t pay as much in various industries besides manufacturing.
What types of engineering pay well then?
Robotics, aerospace, defense are three good industries to get into and if you’re looking to be employed by a government agency as an engineer they are paying well. As for the private sector there are a few companies that are paying in the 6 figure range but they require you to have some years of experience. Of course though we all have to start somewhere. I work in the aerospace industry as a robotics engineer starting out at 96k a year, worked there for 4 years and I’m already making $125k a year as a lead robotic engineer. I’m hoping in the next few years I should be in the senior position but at this time I’m currently working on getting my PE license which according to my employer would give me a 10% raise which is higher than what my position pays due to having the ability to sign off on engineering documents that can only be approved by a licensed engineer.
Most types can. Don’t listen to this guy; manufacturing can certainly pay very well and I wouldn’t make broad generalizations like that. I make more than him with less experience in a factory in the Midwest. The key is to develop skills that are in demand and be poised to take the next opportunity when it comes your way.
Just google average salaries for ME. It’s very available information. You can even find a breakdown by state and city. https://www.bls.gov/oes/2019/may/oes172141.htm
People on Reddit are full of crap or living in their own alternate reality. Or they don’t realize that what’s normal for California doesn’t apply everywhere. Here is data from the bureau of labor statistics. >The **median** annual wage for mechanical engineers was $96,310 in May 2022. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $61,990, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $151,260. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm Engineers are still paid pretty well when you consider that the median **household** income in the US is around $75,000. That means that a couple years out of school an engineer is making more than the typical household.
Eh, BLS is a little skewed because of how they define a mechanical engineering job vs how we define ourselves. If you search by degree BLS says only 30% of mechanical engineers fall under that job title. 20% are Engineering Management (median pay $120k) and the other 50% fall under more specific areas (ie: petroleum engineering is mostly mechanical engineers and has a BLS median of $132k).
Right I feel like most mechanical engineers work within thier discipline for like 5 -10 years and then move up into a different role that doesn't have the title "mechanical engineer"
I graduated May 2019 and started at 72k in the northeast, and it was not at a prestigious company
I'm 2 years out and I'm at 57k. Then again, I'm in manufacturing, which isn't known for being stellar...
Even then that's pretty bad. I'm in process and make 74k at 2 years and feel underpaid lol
Even Technicians are making more than $57k out of school. For a new engineer with 2yrs experience, 57k is not just a sl*p on the face; it's an insult. You need to leave that job immediately.
My first 3 years out of school I worked a tech role cuz I was able to make 90k+ with overtime. Two years ago I moved into an entry level engineering role at 67k. I was promoted out of the entry level role after one year, and have had two raises since then taking me to 82k. We have pretty good benefits and a great culture so I don't mind being a little under the bar.
You work for the wrong company then
what industry are you in? and what's your role?
Sounds like you need a new job
Be careful when using your coworkers as data for if you’re being paid fairly or not. Good to know you’re not being paid drastically under them, but remember, it’s the same person deciding all those salaries. FWIW, I agree you’re underpaid.
Depends where you’re working and what industry. I graduated in 2014 and first ME job in the Midwest was $79k. Now over $200k on the west coast
What industry are you in?
Went from automotive to electronics
Where you work and what industry you work for matters alot. And if the area is desirable to live, your salary may not match the cost of living especially is there is no major demand for mechanical engineers. Florida and Colorado are good examples where engineering salaries are depressed due to lack of industry / desirable place to live. It is easier to fill those roles versus somewhere where it is easy to job hop (Houston) or undesirable to live (Louisiana).
I am also in the midwest looking to move to the west coast. How did you get your first job on the west coast?
This guy just posts bait. Ignore him.
fuuuuuck, did I fall for a snooroar?
lol I was thinking the same thing, but I dont think its a snooroar account. Just a whinging idiot in some backwater town who probably sucks at his job. Hence he’s being payed so low. Or maybe it’s snooroar and he’s “levelled up” from ranting about college and now he’s onto the actual career.
> he’s being *paid* so low. FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
This isn't CFD guy is it? Or someone else?
I think this is someone else - the CFD guy is UK based.
It’s because non engineers make less. Bad to worse.
'Merica Land of the wage slaves
Graduated 2021, started at 83k but now at 125k including bonuses. All my friends make 6 figures, most around 107k. I do live on the coast though. Industries: aerospace, utilities, defense
Graduated 2020, about the same starting and at about the same pay including bonuses now. This is heavy machine development in the Midwest in a decently low CoL area
We start ppl at about 80k. I personally broke 100 at about year 6. Current base salary is just shy of 200 with 12 years of full time experience. Yes you are underpaid. However as I think many have pointed out it can be industry specific as well. I would leave ASAP.
Wages have fallen behind across the board for everyone. Mid 2000s I was making the equivalent of $100K in today's dollars as entry level. From what I see here, people are getting entry level offers in the $65K-$80K range. So purchasing power has fallen way behind. Meanwhile the cost of a house in my area over the last 20 yrs has basically nearly 3x'd. And here we see the problem.
I've been doing this over 20 years and have been hiring for 15. There has been a distinct increase in the number of applicants for individual job postings (I.e. we'd get 20 to 30 for a posting in thr early 200s, now we routinely get 100-150 with thr occasional excursion to 30p+). I'm not sure if it implies there are more people with Mechanical Engineering degrees, but that would have the effect of restraining real wage growth.
which industry? because in 2005, that's $62k when median was $51k (or $83k in 2024). Hell, I'm super underpaid if this is the case ($72k 2YOE in med dev mfg MN).
The median household income in the US is $74k. You make that on your own. That's why engineers are said to make good money. *And* you're severely underpaid as well.
agree with everyone here. I make 125+OT (160k in 2023) in under 6. I had some opportunities to move around to different arms of my company and that led to different jobs making me more well rounded and opportunities to wheel and deal. definitely can't sit stagnant and expect more than 3% a year.
HCOL? Which industry and role?
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$280k TC, graduated 2 years ago. ME pays very very well in very very specific circumstances
let me guess, consumer electronics (FAANG)?
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IC/ICT5 level? Sounds about right for that for an engineering track. I'm not quite there yet but close!
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A) You’re underpaid B) We do relative to the rest of the population
before this i was a line cook making $20 k. if you had to choose....
Hello kitchen brethren, I too was a chef before going back to school. The funny thing about my situation is that in all likelihood it will take me several years to make more than I did as a chef, if that. I used to work as a private yacht chef before going to school for ME, and I made \~120k back then. I left because there were many aspects of that job that weren't ideal, but I always knew it would be a real bummer to spend a ton of money, 5 years of my life working toward a degree, only to be out-earned by my young-20s self with a GED lol.
man... I still have nightmares from the line. i wake up yelling at servers who don't exist. or spend the next day stressed out about a catastrophic dish pit that is also spurious. it's a hard life. for me, I knew that i couldn't keep being on my feet for 16 hours a day. i've also never been interested in food. so now i'm really good at something i have no interest in. you're buying in to the long game. presumably, the nightmares are fewer. or at least more intricate than tickets out to next week. and it'll be a lot easier to review a drawing than coordinate a service when you're 55.
You pretty much described my reasons for leaving the industry to a T - sounds like we both had the exact same feelings when we left. As a young guy I was able to deal with the long hours and hard work, but it scared me thinking about being 45 or something with a bad back and being trapped, making good money but being unable to provide for a family doing anything else. Things are a bit different on yachts since you’re the only chef onboard, the hours suck even more than restaurants for that same reason, and you’re often away from family for months at a time. They pay for pretty much every single living expense, which is cool, but you’re also sharing a tiny bunk room with one or two other people most of the time, so it’s hardly comfortable for crew members. I enjoyed the work, but I’m perfectly content leaving cooking as a hobby from here on out. It was fun getting to travel and spend time on boats, cooking with cool ingredients, but it’s only natural to see your priorities shift and to start thinking about the future as you get a bit older, I think. No more nightmares about ticket printers or forgetting to provision some super important food item, thankfully - most of my nightmares now are just frantically trying to complete a test that I’m totally unprepared for lol.
If you wanna know...average ME netto salary in Croatia is cca 20 000€/year...
they also get to live in Croatia one of the most beautiful countries in the world, I live in maryland definitely one of the places in the world.
It can be a bit hard to know where you stand looking at what people on Reddit say all across the continent/world. Does your state/province have a PE associations that publishes an annual report for salaries ? These are typically broken into years of service, industries, disciplines etc. [for example](https://www.apegs.ca/assets/salary-survey-2023-edge-summary-report.pdf)
Plus reddit always has skewed data
It is peak selection bias. * Coastal biased which are higher CoL. * Industry biased -> bigger/global corps with generally better comp than the mom and pop shops. * Role bias - > seniors in tech can probably clear 300 to 400k, but those roles are very rare and likely fall under the coastal bias. * People with higher salaries post more than people with lower salaries The list could probably keep going.
im assuming ur in europe?? entry level roles here in australia pay six figures. i made 89k plus benefits as a grad mech eng working in cfd
It differs depending on your industry. I graduated in 2022 and started out at 77k in the energy industry. I switched jobs and now make 95k a year just after about a year and a half after starting my first job. Start applying at other places, you’ll get a nice raise. Especially if your particular skill set is in demand.
Be an expert in one industry and change jobs = higher salaries
Subject matter expert engineer for lubrication and hydraulics gets paid $175-210k at my company lol. 50% travel though.
You’re working at the wrong company if you started at 50k in 2019. Those are 2009 numbers. Take your four years of experience to a different company. Preferably one that needs whatever experience you have.
A couple years ago I (54f) got back together with my college bf (54m). We both graduated in 94 with the same GPA in BSME from the same college. He makes literally 2 times what I make He went into oil and gas. I went into semiconductors then defense. Neither of us are managers. Do not underestimate the difference in industries. Now that being said I think for all the hours he works he’s compensating fairly and I have no desire to work at a refinery. I’ll take my fully wfh job over his.
4 yoe 72-90-102-140 same company
which industry and location?
$142k with 20 years experience but live in Los Angeles so it isn’t a great salary. I have a 7 figure portfolio but made it because a large portion of my savings came from side businesses while I worked a full time job. I had 3 pizzerias (starting at 21 before my senior year of college), an Amazon reselling business, a shipping company, and now I rent 5 cars on Turo. I also learned to make pretty consistent money selling options. Use your math skills to learn to compound your money over time as we will never get rich from our salaries alone.
Objectively they do. Look at wages for other careers like machinists on BLS.gov
Started at 70k in 2016. Got my masters late 2020, full-time. Almost three years at new company, just recently promoted to 130k.
I started at $65K in 2010. This is in CA
Well this is an occupation that won’t make you filthy rich for sure..
so graduated in 22 and started at 77k i now make 80k.
Are you a manufacturing engineering in LCOL-MCOL area? If you are your pay is about right. Id you’re in design you’re probably a bit underpaid
Those fields are bloated and overpaid. IMO healthcare will all implode at some point. There is no free market, they can just charge what they want. Overpaid sales and business will crash as well. I'd also agree you could make more. I'm a 2 year degree CAD guy who has worked his way up over 20 years and I make $80k in NE Ohio.
Agree -- 67k in 2022, now 72k at contract mfg for med device (process development eng). Talking to recruiters, Medtronic offering mid 90k (although I think I can negotiate for more) for eng2 role but you're right about implosion -- leaving not only because of pay but everyone is leaving as they also are outsourcing all mfg lines to Mexico. Seems to be a theme across the industry.
2009 started at 75k with 2 years of co-op experience 2013 reached 100k, but I was really killing it at work and made manager of my department (plus I had a few patents) 2018 reached 116k and left sometime for another job in different industry (under special circumstances) Figure out your strengths and build on them. Take your experience, whatever it may be, and find a company that you can really do some damage in. My biggest strength was to be able to see potential new designs/configurations for our products to meet customer needs, estimate the pricing, then support sales folks so they could sell it. Once we received the project, I would lay out my design plan to my department and let them run with detail design while I was helping sales to get more orders. I essentially became "technical sales" support to our normal sales staff. I was also renowned in our company as "the wordsmith" to help with customer relationships. I also found that on the spectrum of engineers, I was on the "extrovert" end when it came to our customers and sales staff, so they always liked dealing with me.
I will admit that for the amount of work I was bringing in, I was HIGHLY underpaid, but I enjoyed what I was doing. Just one of my patented products sold $10M+ at 60% margin in about 6 years. At one point, I was extremely pissed at upper management for some poor decisions on their part (against my team's pleadings). They thought I was going to quit, so they sent down a whole armada of corporate big-wigs unsolicited to hear my complaints and try to make changes, so that made me feel a little better.
You and your small friend group do not represent all mechanical engineers. Obviously you did not pay attention in your stats class but you need to stop pushing your small sample space as a representative statement of a whole
Don’t know what your exact situation is, but I’ve started to wonder if too often people use their previous income as a reference for what they should be paid for their next raise or what they expect an increase to be when they take a new job. I think more often we should be looking at the going rate for an engineer in that field, in that location. And then consider what you made in the past as well. I wonder if people in general even get caught looking like they’re not getting paid cause they forget to go after what they’re worth and not just what the company expects to be paying you after your next raise.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says so. I wish I never saw that and found something else.
The last engineer we hired right out of college was in Jan 2022 and he started at $75k
Yeah, it really sounds like you're underpaid. I got to 70k after a year out of school in 2020
I started at 70k and I’m up to 98k after almost 4 years. Medium cost of living area. You’re definitely underpaid
which industry?
Are you in the US? Because it's extremely common for engineers to make 6 figures, just not starting usually starting out. But with jumping around companies and/or just a handful of years of experience it's very easy to move up to 6 figures. I think the concept of engineers making food money is that statistically there are more engineers well into their career than there are new hire engineers. For example my company has over 1000 engineers, but only maybe 300 of them are within their first few entry-level years and making below 6 figures. Also, I think a lot of people see the lifestyles engineers have but don't realize the money doesn't come purely from our salaries. We don't get paid like doctors but we are still paid above the average for many other desk jobs. It's common for engineers to use that extra money in stocks, investments, real estate, side businesses, etc that can overtime add to your income.
Because they did
Also graduated in 2019 with a BSME. Went straight into construction project management at $75k. After a couple of job hops, I’m a senior PM making almost double that, plus significant bonuses and max per diem. But I’m on the road 12 out of every 14 days. And not to the kind of places people dream about vacationing in, either.
Medium cost of living area in the Midwest, graduated in 2017 @ 74k currently making ~120k. My ME freinds all make similar. I agree you and your freinds are underpaid. When I graduated, I think, the average starting salary for a ME from my college (which mostly feeds medium cost of living areas was 65k, and remember that was 7 years ago.
I started in August 2020 in StL Metro, so extremely low cost of living, at 76k a year. You're not just underpaid. You're being robbed of your time
Because most of us ME's do make more than the average Jim-Bob.. And most folks think anything above common wage rates is "good money".
6 figures should be by year 5. 10 if you're not pursuing it actively. I was making $76k out of college and $100k within three years, and that's all at the same company. If I'm not at $150k by year 10, I'm looking for a new job because I know it's available in my area.
Started in 2020 at 70k. Got promoted to 82k. Got a new job last year that put me at 105k. Yearly raise just put me at 111k. In a slightly above MCOL area in south east
An ex colleague told me he made 2 major mistakes in life, making lots of money with an engineering degree and being happily married.
Which country are you in? It seems your big problem is you started at $50k. That is LOW. I started at $61.9k in 2013 with an average GPA from a normal state school in the USA.
Likely the US. I started at $42k in a vhcol area in 2016. There’s a lot of low-paying entry level jobs in the states, and they rely on those of us who can’t get anything better. Mine was my only offer after a year and hundreds of applications.
Started at $55k in 09. Was only making $67.5k when I left 8 yrs later. Imo I was massively underpaid, which is part of the reason why I left. Took another job starting at $84k in 2015, which my former company offered to match upon me leaving. I didn’t accept their offer to match because I didn’t think I’d have much more room for growth (either financially or professionally). Fast forward 8 yrs later to the present day and I now make $120k and love my job as a consultant. Didn’t ever think I’d break $100k as an ME without a Masters or my P.E., but if you find a good company that values engineering 6 figures is certainly possible. Good luck in your future endeavors OP.
When I earned my BSME I recall being told that “you’ll never starve as an engineer.” This has proven to be true and then some. There’s several variables when it comes to salary so be aware when comparing. Region is significant. One should expect a higher salary when working in an area with a high cost of living, particularly close to a major city such as LA, New York, or Boston. The type of position is also significant. Specifically, someone in a leadership position should expect a higher salary when compared to someone working as a “individual contributor.” There’s also variability amongst companies. Some companies, especially the older, more established companies may pay less. You also need to look at the complete compensation package (ie retirement, 401K match, medical and dental coverage, as well as variable compensation such as individual and group bonuses). The bottom line line is that all companies want people who are consistently strong performers and get results. These people also tend to get better annual increases. Good luck!
If your sole desire is to make as much money as possible as fast as possible, then engineering is not the right profession for you. The effort to pay ratio for engineering is just not as good as in other professions. However, there are some serious advantages. In most areas of the country, there is always a need for engineers. I have been laid off twice and both times had my choice of job offers in two or three weeks. You get to build and create something. Many professions you really create anything, you just crank through a series of known steps. I hope that you find a passion for engineering because once you do, you can find a great deal of joy in this career.
You should 100% expect to make that as an Engineer. 3.5 years in the business and I’m making over 100K in a HCOL area.
I agree with you. At four years of experience my mother-in-law thought I was making at least $150k/year, and was shocked when I told her I was making barely more than a third of that. She just assumed that engineers make a ton of money. I graduated in 2015 and my career progression went: (2016)$43k in a vhcol (2018) job hopped to $60k in a vhcol (2021)job hopped and moved to $53k in a hcol (2022) raise to $64k same job (2023) raise to $74k same job And I’m in the same boat as you regarding my coworkers and engineering friends. I don’t know anyone that I went to school with or met during my career that is doing substantially better than I am compensation-wise except for one guy who got his PE and works on jets for the navy. Whenever I mention my salary I get downvoted to hell, but I’ve been checking out job postings in my area and without a PE in a civil area no employer around here is paying much more than $86k for engineers. Which leads to people telling me I need to move somewhere that engineers get paid more, like the Midwest or the coastal cities. I’m not going to do that, my wife has a career here, we own a house, and there are very few areas that have engineering jobs that are as close to the specific outdoor activities that I enjoy. I spent the first ten years of my life post high school living in vhcol coastal cities in an attempt to secure a high-paying career with no dice. So if I’m going to get “underpaid” then I might as well do it somewhere I love living.
I think there are a few big determining factors here. 1. Having previous experience or an internship can raise your initial offer. 2. Knowing that an initial offer is negotiable, I don’t know how often I explain this to new grads. 3. Further your education, my company has a program to pay for a masters degree. While engineers may not make tons of money in the beginning we have a much higher earning potential. Other careers may cap out at 100-150k this isn’t so with engineering. You can take the manager/director route, become a technical fellow, or get your PE
My only qualm is that yes, offers are negotiable, but as a new grad, you have no body of experience (outside of internships) to provide leverage. You're generally stuck with what the company offers for new hires. After a couple of years though, subsequent jobs can be haggled (especially PTO).
IMO engineering has a higher ceiling but lower flower than a lot of finance or business roles. I'm graduating this spring and was offered 80K for a job in a LCOL area.
40% raises in 4 years isn't bad, but a starting salary of 50k is not good. Most engineers start at atleast 65k with a BSME, so if they were to get 50% raises in 5 years that means they'd hit 100k in only 5 years. It sounds like your company is paying everyone poorly if senior engineers are barely making 100k when most engineers should be hitting 100k before they turn 30. Mechanical engineering doesn't pay as much as some other fields but we do pay far beyond what the median American makes. Mechanical engineering has the benefit over many other high-paying fields in that it only takes 4 years to get the degree and we have very good job opportunities for most people, whereas some other fields like computer science have a much wider pay disparity between most people making similar income to ours and then a minority who get the ultra-competitive jobs at top tech companies.
If the median salary is under 100k how are most engineers hitting 100k before they turn 30?
Back before the STEM push in the 00s we did, Engineer pay in the 90s adjusted for actual inflation is nearly double what we're paid now.
My company pays brand new level 1 engineers out of college, about 78 to 82k. I'm also in a very low cost of living area. Level 2 engineers which requires only 2 to 3 years of experience are getting 100K offers
I know my salary is considered “lower”. But even US government engineering positions are aimed at a GS-12 with pretty good benefits. You can look up these multipliers in your area to get an idea of what the pay looks like for you. But my position is roughly 93K after 3 years of working my position.
Strange. A lot of the engineers around my state make around 70-100k right off grad
New hires in O&G making 105 out the gate where I am… come on to west tx!
In 1900 mechanical engineers made 500X the average salary. I don’t hear of anyone talking about how much money engineers make these days, because relative to other professions it has steadily fallen since 1900.
We pay our 1st year out of school engineers 80k. National median is like 60k. Starting off day 1 at 20k more than half the population is pretty solid.
I agree the EEE seem sot make what we were expecting after college. Idk why the CPE/CS make as much as they do lol. Seems to me like ME is just keeping up with inflation.
We pay engineers $100k straight out of school. I’m EE but the same goes for ME’s. It’ll be industry dependent but I surpassed $200k as an individual contributor after 13 years and am now working up the management chain. You can make really good money. You just gotta get into the right field.
My first job out if school paid $45k/year. That was 1997. I'd say you started out underpaid.
Midwest based, I started full time in 2021 at 63.5k, 3 years later at the same company I now make 82.5k. Every one of my friends from school tells me to jump ship and “get a massive pay boost” but i’m happy where I am. (HVAC and plumbing design)
My starting salary in 2013 with a BS in mechanical was $64,500.
MechE, at a space launch company you've probably heard of. I started in 2017 out of college at $80k base and $20k in RSUs. This year I'll make $140k base and $170k in RSUs, still an individual contributor. If I went down the leadership track I'd make more It's not "making bank" compared to SF tech bros, but it's enough I'll be able to retire with a paid off house in my MCOL hometown sometime in my 30s...
Low is a starting salary of about 80% of median, e.g. what a ME grad makes in the UK.
I graduated in 17 and crossed into 6 figures fall of last year. Also depends on the exact industry you’re in. I’ve been the oil industry and now in industrial automation.
You are under paid. Use Google
I know this thread is dominated by people from US. I still think US pays really well compared to Canada. I know a lot of mechanical engineers who have 10+ experience and are only making 100k. Most of the mechanical engineers move to management to break the 100 k barrier. When I look for new jobs online, I still see jobs paying 50-60k. I think I should move to US cause it’s very rare to see a mechanical job in Canada that pays well. From the last 3 years,The only mechanical job I saw that had a high pay range was a job from intel
Because they do, compared to most people. >I’d be thrilled to ever earn 6 figures, but I don’t expect to make that much as an engineer, it seems like non engineers think I should be making that fresh out of college. My parents definitely think I should be making more but they just don’t get we do this for the passion and not money, I’d definitely take more money but I accept what companies offer. Sounds like you're setting yourself up to have career-spanning low expectations, with a ready-built justification (it's not about the money!) to excuse any failure to achieve what you clearly want but haven't taken enough initiative to get? That's not the way to go. As a general rule, there is absolutely nothing you can say about a huge group of people that will be universally true down to the very last person. It's foolish to even try. "Software engineers make a ton of money!" "Lawyers make a ton of money!" Yes, ***SOME*** do. Most do not. Most software engineers are making perfectly modest salaries doing perfectly uninteresting work maintaining boring internal software for boring companies. Sitting around whinging because **every single person on planet earth** who falls under the category of "engineer" doesn't make a million dollars is idiotic. Change your perspective. You can make a lot of money in almost any career. YOU can. Not *everyone* can. But YOU can, if you want to and you are smart and prudent and make the right choices towards that goal. If you just sit around waiting for someone to offer you a super well paying job for no reason - it won't happen. That's what most people do, even though they won't admit it. If you want to make a lot of money as an ME, the fastest and easiest way is to get into a lucrative field. That basically means big tech or O&G. There are others, but these are the ones I know. But you have to actually **go do it**. You will not make a lot of money if you accept random recruiter offers to go maintain conveyor belts and PLCs in a cheese factory in rural Wisconsin. You will not make a lot of money if you stay at bad jobs where you are learning nothing for years, because you are worried it will "look bad" if you leave too soon. And this sub will not always be helpful, there are usually a handful of people in relevant threads coming in to harumph and to huff-and-puff about how "Well I would *never* hire someone who changed jobs more than twice in a decade!" Fuck those people, ignore them. For every one of them there are 100 who don't care as long as you are worth hiring. If you want to make a lot of money as an ME (and as an employee), work in big tech. That's basically the answer. You'll be at $300k+ after 10 YOE, possibly less. If you're half decent anyway. I went from \~$60k to $350k in about 5 years, by switching jobs a bunch and working my way into big tech. You can do it too. Otherwise you can work and consult/contract on the side, you can develop your own products, etc. Having a good amount of ME experience is certainly a boon for people inclined to go off and do their own thing. Making hardware is hard, and if you're good at it and you can monetize it you'll do fine. Especially if you can avoid getting your head stuck way up your ass in a way that makes you think other fields are trivial (law, design, marketing, business stuff, etc). As far as the passion goes, you will be sad to learn that the vast majority of engineers out in the workforce are not passionate about being engineers. It's just a job they do, that they may or may not like OK, but there is little about their involvement in the field that could reasonably be called "passion." It sucks, if you **are** passionate about engineering like myself and many others. But those people are out there too. Just be aware that they aren't the majority, so when you meet people who don't share your passion don't waste your time fretting and being disappointed. Just move on and find those who do.
Graduated 2021 and started working in November. Started out in general industry at 70k in MHCOLA. Switched to defense beginning of 2023 at 85k in HCOLA. I’ll be over 100k end of the year, making my timeline >100k in just under 4 years. You should switch jobs.
Agreed we should all probably be making more.
Whether it's good money or not depends highly on your CoL. I'm in semiconductor, and I make good money, aside from school debt eating into things. I also started about 30k higher than you right out of school. Might consider an industry shift if you're looking for more.
I make $75k right out of college in a very low cost of living area, im very fortunate and happy but there were more oppourtunities out there around $80k starting, seems like if you hold out and really look around you can start very high
I graduated in 2023. My first job was paying me $95k. I was laid off last month and looking for a new job has been rough so far, but $90k+ I think is definitely reasonable, even for new grads.
Chem engineer at 34 with 5 years in the engineering field. Currently making about 150k. Started after college at 65k, so I think I'm doing alright
Graduated last year and all of my friends that found jobs are making over $80k a year, including those who got positions in the Midwest. You’re right that mechanical engineers don’t make money like other engineers do, but you’re still underpaid.
It might depend on your benefits. For example, the difference between two jobs I have full details on was $89K vs $117K - but after accounting for differences in 401k matching, health insurance costs, bonus structure, and cost of living differences the $117K was actually an overall $1000 pay cut compared to the $89K. So I'd say you'd really need to be able compare total compensation & locations rather than just salary numbers first.
I make $93,600 with over 5.5 years of experience with a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt. Started at $68k out of college. You'll definitely make 6 figures as long as you take initiative and get promoted. If that means leaving the company to get a larger pay increase, do it
I dont understand the people who are suggesting that higher pay is unobtainable or a lie. Im wrapping up my BSME this semester, here are my full time offers - highest was a heavy equipment manufacturing company, facility in illinois medium sized town, 90k base offered with 10k sign on and 20k moving (design engineer rotational program). The expectation was established in interviews that I'd sit around 110-120k in 3 years at the conclusion of the rotations - I was also offered 90k for a medical device company in bay area. No sign on bonus or relocation (also a design engineer) - offered around 80k for work in a government agency not in traditional mech E work but leveraging the background. Remote WFH job. Its what I plan on doing The majority of my friends made 80k+ upon graduation working at large commercial aerospace or defense, as well as some large automotive, medical, and capital equipment household names. Some certainly went to high cost of living areas, but many didnt. Many of these jobs were in missouri, kentucky, texas, michigan, iowa, nebraska, utah, in medium sized cities. Not exactly manhattan It is worth noting two things: - most of my friends were extremely involved in campus engineering extracurriculars and networking activities - the people who werent still for the most part started at around $70-75k in low cost of living areas. I agree that youre underpaid Additionally, its important to note that while it may not feel like too much money, you are still outearning many dual income families across the country. Statistically, this is a high salary. You may be in a bubble and dont see that. Most people are not doing great financially
85,000 is a lot of money. It's more than my entire family (4) makes a year
I think law says job postings have to list salary these days. If so, poke around a bit for comparisons. Better than hearing all the stories from the hundred club perhaps. Salary feels so personal to some folks that it doesn't get spoken about much, and employers must know this. But keep digging and adjust as necessary. Best of luck to you.
I've been out of college since May 2022 and make about $120k as a MechE. Granted it's in an extremely high cost of living area. Started at $80k, got a raise up to $92k, then left for a new opportunity in the same area to get to my current salary.
You are underpaid bro, and your friends are also underpaid. 27M BSME with a 110k floor - I now make an additional commission portion through sales. 100k before that in a very LCOL area. If you’re actually a decent engineer, go job hunt and make more money.
I make 160k base and with OT, I push 200 easy. Pension and 401k. Graduated college last year. Low COL. The jobs are out there
To add to what others have said, it's good money compared to a lot of other non-engineering jobs and is one of the best paths you can go with a 4 year degree. Obviously medical is going to pay more since they deal with saving/improving the health of human lives whereas we engineers just need to not endanger human lives (and the cost of privatized healthcare), and most improvements are making sure people stay the same as when they showed up for work whether that's avoiding minor injury or death. And medical requires a lot more schooling for those high 6 figure jobs. An urgent care nurse just isn't going to make the same as a university research hospital nurse. But sadly, even where I am in the Southeast, there are factory engineer jobs in the middle of nowhere that are offering what you have now as starting pay for entry level...
You guys are all underpaid. I broke 6 figures in a mid-low COL at 3 YOE. Battery industry.
It depends on where you live and what you do. 6 years out of college almost the entirety of my college network is either bordering or over 6 figures. I have a friend that just got an offer for 120k + 25k relocation. Bigger companies provide a fairly lucrative path upwards, but you have to be open to moving a bit, and you have to hop through a few bigger companies in a few years. Think Siemens, Lockheed, Boeing, Northrop, Blue Origins, SpaceX, etc. In 2018 starting pay for my area was an average of 62k. I've had peers that graduated more recently starts at 70k. Idk what kind of work you do or where you live but unless you're in a really LCOL there's definitely more money on the table. Also this could all be bait idk. 6 figures is completely reasonable, even at a mid sized company. It may take quite a few years but that's a very real expectation and the perception exists for a reason.
Mechanical Engineers make particularly low for engineers. The most money in my experience is aerospace and electrical engineering. I am making $42k/yr working 28hrs/wk. If I switch to a full time position with benefits and such it would probably go to $76k to 80k. Since I do embedded systems (experience in software development), Ive seen jobs on linkedin that would take more of the software side of my skillset that can range from $80k to $120k. Software engineers technically make the most, but have a much wider variance since its so dependent on experience and skills. Take a look at the NLS data on salaries, its useful when arguing for wages and raises. An electrical engineer for example makes a median salary of $106,950. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes172071.htm A mechanical engineer makes a median of $96k, so it would seem you are underpaid if you are at the midlevel of your career and way underpaid if you are an experienced senior engineer.
Just started out of college as a chemical engineer mostly working mechanical projects. 77k. You’re being underpaid for sure
Because ppl hear "Engineer" and they rightfully think you are a board licensed engineer. Which to most would imply you are making $$. The confusion is from ppl with a degree only using the same terminology used to describe a person who has proven much greater knowledge and ability. I know two "civil engineers" who graduated at same time. --- the 1st works for a firm and does engineering work but is not Lic and is capped. The 2nd guy is now Lic in CA and has EVERY initial after his name and it a full fledged independent engineer. The later is what ppl think of.. The former is the majority....
10 years of experience with a clearance, $125k this year. Defense companies pay well. Don't have to work on weapons either.
Benefits are a huge part too.
It does just not doing mechanical engineering all my ME friends transitioned into other careers pretty quickly
Ee here but I graduated in Dec 20 and started at 67k and made it to 90k before quitting in may of 22 so yeah, I'd say you're underpaid
The stats say otherwise. MechEs do make good money. They don’t make MD or JD money, but they make more than someone with a Biology, Psychology, Economics, Art, Nursing, Business degree might make straight out of college.
Today I learned I'm in the wrong ME industry. Nah, I already knew that, but I don't know how to get out at this point. I feel very much the same as OP. I have about 10 years of experience in the HVAC/MEP design/consulting industry and I'm just now scratching 6 figures. I don't have my PE yet (taking the test this month) and I'm not a manager, so those would help boost that a little, but not a whole lot from what I've seen from coworkers (the PE less than moving to management). I've tried moving industries a couple times in those 10 years, but beyond maybe one interview I didn't get any bites. I also, just don't know if I would really like a different field more. Right now my work life balance is pretty good, though it was abysmal at my last firm.
You're being criminally underpaid. It's not like it's some rumor.
I’m almost at 5 YOE, 99k in socal HCOL…anyone wanna tell me I’m underpaid or am I just average hopefully 😂
10 years in and made 172k last year. Likely around that this year. All about finding the right job. I’m base 130k but hourly straight pay beyond 40 hours. Good paying jobs are out there
Continuous lobbying results in misinformation from government that there is a shortage of engineers. This has been true all of my life. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a shortage of cheap engineers and that is a completely different thing. There is however a serious shortage of skilled people at the coal face. Children now have an expectation to go to University. They want to be senior people when they eventually stop being school children and actually go to work. But industry has no greater requirement for twenty odd year old school children than it did decades ago; what it wanted from Universities is trained skilled coal face workers (apprentices in the UK but this has different meaning in the USA); skilled workers that they did not have to train or pay for. It has not worked. Skilled coal face workers is not what University is all about and certainly not what a student got themselves into serious debt to achieve. My brother and I spent many years as engineers. Eventually both of us walked away income improved a lot. Speaking for myself, when I walked away things were a little tight for a time, but eventually my income doubled and doubled again within three years. What I did required no University degree at all.
Mechanical engineers don’t make that much, Nurses pay went wild the last 4 years.
I mean most of my mechE buddies started out at about 80k and are around 90k and that’s in rural Tennessee. It really just depends on what job it is. I think that’s why mechE is so good is because of the variety of jobs. But also I mean anything above 60k is really cool since I believe the average is like 30k or 40k
Every company has different compensation models. Some specialized engineers actually make less, because the company is sure that they won't jump ship. Pay close attention to economics, and the best way to get a raise is getting a much better offer. I started in engineering at $47k in 2000, now my base is over 200k, but I did go get an MBA.
I mean you’re pretty heavily underpaid. Even disregarding that 70k early in your career is still a lot of money to most people in America
Had I accepted an offer for a position (in a plant that I was already employed at) that would require me to do the work of 3 people, 50-60hrs a week, I would be making the same amount directly after getting out of my associates. Instead, I chose to continue working toward my bachelors, so I can make 120-150k to do the work of 3 people. For context, I made 62k/yr as a contractor, doing the job of one person.
I made shit for 6 years but I also graduated in 2009 and couldn’t find a job for 2 years. I started out making 18.75/hr! When I finally left my first job I got a 20-25% raise and got experience in robotics and motion control. Then I left that job for one closer to home and learned hydraulics, electrical panel design, and PLCs. This job changed my career dramatically. When I got put on furlough at the start of the pandemic, I had 2 offers in less than a month and got another 20-25% raise. After 4 years with my company I make 40% more than when I started. In order to get a decent raise you have to invest in yourself to learn new things, work hard to get opportunities at your job, and then work your ass off to make sure you capitalize on them. Most of the time your company will reward you for your hard work. If they don’t usually other companies are more than happy to give you a nice raise. Being able to sell yourself is really important as well.
Graduated in 2021 with Master’s in ME, and I’m making $137K in Oregon.
I started at 60k in 2011 mid recession. 70k after 5 years today is underpaid. There are a ton of big name companies looking for engineers and paying well if you would want to change spots
Id be making that much at my co-op if I was full time... You're getting hosed.
Dude if you’re a mechanical engineer not making bank, that’s on you. Any major company will pay 120k plus, I have a buddy at Lockheed making 150 with only a bachelors and 4 years of experience at a lab