Engineer Salaries going down...
Q. It looks like no one is interested in engineering salaries and the
decline in real earning power over the last 10-15 years. Is there any
thing that can be done to boost salaries and make engineering a more
respected profession? Is anyone out there interested?????
Do you want to be thought of as the jerks on the sitcom "Dweebs" or the
studs on "ER" ? Think about it
A. -So what you're saying is that a high salary is necessary for a profession to
be respected? Maybe you should drop engineering and become a professional
athlete. Or maybe a lawyer... I hear they're highly respected.
-I think about it everyday I go to work. I am a mechanical engineer
that graduated from PSU in may of 1993. It took me almost 1.5 years
to land an engineering position. However, I hold this position as a
consultant and my salary is below an average starting salary for an
engineer. I have to work 50 hours per week to slightly exceed the
engineer's average starting salary.
The thing that gets me however is that even after years of employment,
an engineers salary still isn't anything to brag about. Your lucky if
you ever exceed the $60's ($60000)/year. I have friends that work at
steel mills, construction sites that are making more money that I'll
be making 5-10 years from now. And these individuals do not even have
a college degree. Business majors, accountants and other professions
are making all the money. These are the individuals with the $250000
homes. For the degree of difficulty an engineer goes through as a
student and as an employee, I do not believe it is worth it anymore.
Do you?