Asking for a raise after passing the PE Exam.

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I kind of feel like you're knowingly bragging right here. I think it's widely known and accepted that most engineers regardless of field/industry do not get near 6 figures in their first 6 years of working. So I don't believe you find it shocking that everyone else here isn't in your same position. 
Not bragging, just genuinely curious. As a habitual jobseeker, I have had a lot of offers over the years in various industries (power gen, university facilities/utilities, EPC firms, federal gov, public agencies, etc.) and all have been very strong offers. I don't feel like I am the exception either, I work with a lot of engineers that have had the same pay trajectory as I experienced. Maybe we have been lucky?

 
What industries do you guys work in that you are nowhere near 6 figures?

I surpassed 6 figures only 4 years after getting my degree if you include bonuses and made it past 6 figures in base salary alone 6 years after getting it.
I'm with this guy. I work freelance, so asking for a raise doesn't apply to me, but at my prior full-time job the pay bump for getting my license was from around 60K to a little over 100K. If you guys are only getting offered a few percent raise and are nowhere near these figures, you should get your resume out and test your own market value. Not trying to be braggadocios at all, I just hate to see my peers selling themselves short!

 
My hubs has worked for the federal gov't for 14 years
Found problem #1.

Where the heck do you people live and what is your concentration?  Even in the private sector I don't expect to bust that mark for a while.
Midwest. One of my motto's is you are only worth what you settle for. As unfortunate as it may seem, job-hopping in the 3-5 yr range is where one will make the largest bumps in pay. Negotiating skills helps a bit too. :thumbs:

 
Where the heck do you people live and what is your concentration?  My hubs has worked for the federal gov't for 14 years, and doesn't even make 6 fig.  Even in the private sector I don't expect to bust that mark for a while.
CA, land development design.

Federal job is his #1 problem most likely.

I am 3.5 years in and hoping to break 6 figures with my freshly passed PE. We will find out tomorrow though.

 
Found problem #1.
Ahh, but his benefit package is quite nice. 

Midwest. One of my motto's is you are only worth what you settle for. As unfortunate as it may seem, job-hopping in the 3-5 yr range is where one will make the largest bumps in pay. Negotiating skills helps a bit too. :thumbs:
We had an electrical with about 4 years experience come in and expect $90k, no license.  They politely showed him the door.  Perhaps it is the "small" town thing, but in this area there aren't many places that pay that well, even in the engineering fields.

 
I blew passed the 6 figures last go around with out my PE and I am in Cali. My guess is that I would get maybe a dollar. I did get a promotion. I am called a PM officially now.

 
Ahh, but his benefit package is quite nice. 
Ahh, but that is often the old way of thinking. Private sector benefits have gotten pretty darn good and can even be negotiable at times too.

We had an electrical with about 4 years experience come in and expect $90k, no license.
That's just silly. It's not a bad thing to ask what you think you're valued at, but you should have the credentials to justify it.

Perhaps it is the "small" town thing, but in this area there aren't many places that pay that well, even in the engineering fields.
It's definitely locational driven, but probably independent of small town vs. city. If the talent, experience, and credentials are there, employers are willing to pay. :thumbs:

 
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Where the heck do you people live and what is your concentration?  My hubs has worked for the federal gov't for 14 years, and doesn't even make 6 fig.  Even in the private sector I don't expect to bust that mark for a while.
Currently in Texas, but have lived/worked in PA and FL prior. Concentration is Mechanical and have worked in power generation for the last 5 years. I job hop every 1.5 to 2 years and typically look all over the US (though mostly concentrate one a few East coast states).

 
Ahh, but his benefit package is quite nice. 
I tend to disagree with fed benefits being nice. I have been offered several fed jobs and have found the benefits to be much worse than what I can get in the private sector. The last three places I have worked all had insurance fully paid by the company, excellent pensions (which obviously I won't get since I bailed), very nice bonuses (15-25%), good vacation/holiday allowances, and plenty of promotion potential.

 
59 minutes ago, vhab49 said:
Where the heck do you people live and what is your concentration?  My hubs has worked for the federal gov't for 14 years, and doesn't even make 6 fig.  Even in the private sector I don't expect to bust that mark for a while.


3
I've worked in the private sector for 13 years and haven't passed the 6 figure mark, and I don't think I will anytime soon.  I have doubled my salary since I started working, though.  

My friend who works at one of the top MEP firms in NYC where I would expect salaries to be highest, only started making more than 6 figures after about 10 years.  

 
It seems this is highly dependent on which are of engineering is practiced. I'm in structural building design in California, and feel that I have a salary on the higher side of the pay scale yet I'm only paid $75,000 with 1 year of experience ($65,000 starting).

This has raised my curiousity of what people make. Might make a poll.

 
My current job does not require a PE license and we have over a dozen engineers but we all practice under the industrial exemption. I expected nothing and was content with that. This was more a personal goal more than anything.

I was a bit shocked yesterday when my manager asked me to send him all the receipts I have for anything related to the exam (NCEES exam fees, study materials, board application fee, etc.) and he said that he is interested in getting me some reimbursement for it.

Hoping there are no strings tied to being reimbursed, otherwise that might be awkward.

 
State government gives 16% going from an EIT position to a PE position. Long live the unions

 
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