# $100k



## buddingpe (Feb 21, 2012)

Anyone with Enviro PE making in 6 digits?

Wanted to know if its worthwhile to stay in Engineering/ Technical field?


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## Slugger926 (Feb 22, 2012)

If you are deciding on a field, you want to do some technology forecasting. What is hot today may not be hot tomorrow as candidates flock to that field in school. A lot of fields go through cycles, and technology leaps that require changing number of expertise.


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## envirotex (Feb 22, 2012)

If you want people to vote in your poll, you might consider making the results anonymous...


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## MGX (Feb 22, 2012)

Why? I want to know who is making fatty money.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Feb 22, 2012)

I make fatty money because I'm a PE, but since I don't do environmental I won't answer the poll...


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## Dleg (Feb 22, 2012)

I don't like the public poll, either.

The only Enviros I know making more than 6 figures are fairly senior federal employees (GS 13 or above) and senior consultants, or engineers working in high cost of living locations (what's the point in that, anyway).

For those engineers, I think the crossover into 6 digits occurs somewhere in the 10 to 20 year range, probably closer to 20.

The important thing to note is that it's not just a longevity/seniority thing. Those engineers making 6 figures are usually pretty good ones who have made a reputation for themselves and have taken on a lot more responsibility than the average engineer.


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## FLBuff PE (Feb 22, 2012)

But do they have their own airplanes? And, more importantly, can they take off from a treadmill?

Thread related: http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=737&amp;view=findpost&amp;p=3574898


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## okeng (Feb 23, 2012)

I know they are out there, they most likely don't frequent a sight for new and aspiring PE's thought... Here is a link I found to search federal employee salaries. This is the result page after search parameter : environmental engineer

/&gt;http://php.app.com/fed_employees/results.php?name=&amp;agency_name=%25&amp;job_title=ENVIRONMENTAL+ENGINEERING&amp;statename=%25&amp;countyname=%25&amp;Submit=Search

Its only a 2008 data set but Im sure there is more current data if I took the time to search more.


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## buddingpe (Feb 23, 2012)

Good find Okeng!

There is hope for Enviro Engineers- move to DC!


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## Dleg (Feb 24, 2012)

That website's kind of creepy. I know public expenditures are public information, although I am not sure if there are privacy rights when it comes to individual employee compensation information. Still, pretty creepy to think someone could find your salary at the tip of their fingers on the internet, and then target you for theft/fraud/whatever.

But yes, you proved exactly what I said - hit GS13 or higher, and spend some time in service, and you can break 100k in the federal government (and a lot of other industries, too).


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## okeng (Feb 24, 2012)

I agree Dleg. As a public employee, salaries are entirely public information and easily searched on the net. All this aside, here is an article that says 75K indeed does buy happiness. Something to think about for those seeking thier pot o' gold...  http://ronideutch.blogspot.com/2010/09/up-to-75000-dollars-money-buys-some.html


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## Dleg (Feb 26, 2012)

I forgot I could edit this poll with my super moderator powers.

Poll is edited to no longer be public, so maybe some lucky, fatty money enviro type will vote now.


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## Supe (Feb 27, 2012)

"

Perhaps 75,000 dollars is a threshold beyond which further increase in income no longer improve individuals' ability to do what matters most to their emotional well-being"
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I call bullshit on that one! I could maybe see that... if you put a 1 in front of it!


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## envirotex (Feb 27, 2012)

Did the article really qualify whether or not it was individual income or household? Seemed like it was individual income. $75K for a single person's salary would be pretty darn good...


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Feb 27, 2012)

^Depends where you live, I'm near Boston and it's insanely expensive here.


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## Dexman PE PMP (Feb 27, 2012)

I've seen several similar articles stating that ~$75k is the point of "happiness." I think alot of that is tied to the fact that those who tend to make more end up being very career driven and those who make less are stressed over being able to provide for themselves (and their family). Consequently both ends end up very stressed and overworked, and tend to neglect some of the "little things" in life that are natural stress relievers.


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## envirotex (Feb 27, 2012)

I definitely agree VT, that it could vary with where you live, but it's an average.

I was just thinking about it from a purely mathematical standpoint...assuming a 28% tax rate that nets about $4500/month, then say you follow the ~30% rule for your rent/mortgage, that's about $1350 to $1500/month rent (that's probably a pretty nice apartment or condo), $700/month for utilities including a cell phone, $300/month for insurance, that leaves you $2000+/month in dispoable income...it's not a glamorous lifestyle, but chances are if you want to go out once in while, or splurge on that nice bottle of scotch, it's not going to hurt very much. Add a spouse and two kids to that income, your definitely on a tighter budget...


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## wilheldp_PE (Feb 27, 2012)

Motivated people usually don't have salary with which they would be "happy." You should always strive to maximize your salary.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Feb 27, 2012)

^Are you sure you're not my ex wife?


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## wilheldp_PE (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm living comfortably with what I make now, but I'd be happier with my compensation if it were higher. I don't need more money to make me generally happy. But much less would definitely make me more miserable (just having to worry about paying the bills will automatically make you less happy).


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Feb 28, 2012)

Agreed, I would be happier with a bigger slice of cheddar too.

She is inordinately status and image conscious, just sounds like something she'd say.


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## cdcengineer (Mar 12, 2012)

I notice that there is a point/threshold where more money equates to less happiness. As mention ed above, I think it has to do with being career driven rather than life driven.


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## linuxpenguin (Mar 15, 2012)

Nuclear field will pay system engineers "6 figures" in less then 10 years if you work at the same utility.


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## Chucktown PE (Mar 16, 2012)

Until I took my newer job, I would say money was pretty tight. I live in a moderate cost of living area, have 3 kids, and a spouse that doesn't work. I was making &gt;$85k and money was a constant stress. I haven't had any debt for some time. Fast forward, I bought a house, and I had a significant pay increase to &gt;$100k and while money is not tight any more, by the time I fund retirement, college accounts, and pay my mortgage, there isn't a whole lot of fun money left over at the end of the month.


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## DCEnvEngPE (Dec 4, 2017)

Is this still relevant?  You can work for the Federal Government as a Environmental Engineer and make 100K.  (I do.)  However, 100K doesn't feel like all that much money in DC given how expensive it is to live here.  However with the government you reach that level (GS-13) fairly quickly and then it becomes very very difficult to get any higher - especially if you want to be technical and not a supervisor.

How do Env Engineers fare outside of the Federal Government?  It looks like FedGov is the highest paying employer for Env Engineers (according to BLS data https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/environmental-engineers.htm#tab-5). I'm curious about long term salary growth.  I understand how the Federal Government's system works (go up in "step" over a specified period of time based on the GS Scale https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2017/general-schedule/), but it seems hard to figure that out for private employers.


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## DCEnvEngPE (Dec 4, 2017)

i dislike that the FedGov pay system puts technical professionals (e.g. engineers, lawyers, scientists) on the same pay schedule as administrative people who don't have technical backgrounds (e.g. administrative assistants, budget analysts).  But if FedGov really is the highest paying employer it wouldn't make any sense to leave it.


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## samiam9005 (Apr 16, 2018)

What about someone with 3 years of experience who's just an EIT!    

Just broke 6 digits as of this year through some lucky promotions (my manager left and I stepped up). 

I work for a consulting firm (environmental) in Houston, TX but I definitely don't feel like I make a lot of money compared to my friends who work as petroleum/chemical engineers at the major O&amp;G companies.


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