2019 Engineer Boards Salary Survey

[phillstill]

Just FYI I took your advice and started asking around.  An engineering firm got wind that I was looking and after 1 interview they made me an offer on the same day with 20% increase plus better benefits.  I put in my two weeks and my current company wished me the best and told me if I didn't like it there to please come back, which was nice to hear.

I start next week!

Congrats!!!

 

[MendyMe]

What salary of an engineer can be considered high?
 

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

What salary of an engineer can be considered high?
 

It depends on a lot of factors (not all inclusive): where you live, how much experience you have, your skill set...

There really is no universal answer.

 

[Dothracki PE]

Saw these articles posted the other day. I had no idea that most of these cities would make the list. Keeping in mind that these do not take cost of living into consideration

https://www.ecmweb.com/design/media-gallery/21136829/top-10-highestpaying-cities-for-electrical-engineers-2019

https://www.ecmweb.com/design/media-gallery/21137527/the-top-5-highestpaying-states-for-electrical-engineers-2018

https://www.ecmweb.com/design/media-gallery/21137524/the-top-5-lowestpaying-states-for-electrical-engineers-2019

 

[DoctorWho-PE]

Saw these articles posted the other day. I had no idea that most of these cities would make the list. Keeping in mind that these do not take cost of living into consideration

https://www.ecmweb.com/design/media-gallery/21136829/top-10-highestpaying-cities-for-electrical-engineers-2019

https://www.ecmweb.com/design/media-gallery/21137527/the-top-5-highestpaying-states-for-electrical-engineers-2018

https://www.ecmweb.com/design/media-gallery/21137524/the-top-5-lowestpaying-states-for-electrical-engineers-2019

I was gonna say... most of those areas that is barely a living wage!

 

[DLD PE]

My salary doesn't even match the annual salary of any of the top-5 LOWEST states listed.  I find that very strange.  I'm in my 40s, over 15 years experience in my industry, and I feel like I have a very nice home/yard, 2 relatively new (2015 and 2017) vehices that are paid for, a wife and child and we're able to have her stay home with him and at the same time live comfortably and put away for savings.  I feel like we're doing very well, yet these numbers indicate I'm well underpaid.  I definitely don't FEEL underpaid, so something seems amiss.  I will say neither the city nor state I work in (Nashville, TN) is on any of these lists.  I also live in a much lower cost of living area than I work at, so that may contribute to us feeling well off.

 

[Road Guy]

Do you ever take a look around to see whats out there just to check? Just out of curiousity?  
 

I know even when happy at a job I will take a headhunter call just to see what they are selling.

I dont know anything about the Electrical side (or the COL in Nashville) but I would think the COL would be higher in Tennessee / Nashville area than in the states listed in that link (Kansas, Ohio, South Dakota) -

I wish we could get these populated with some more data to help - maybe one day!

 

[Dothracki PE]

The amount of headhunter calls I get is ridiculous. I don't even know how or where they get my personal cell number from.

 

[ruggercsc]

My salary doesn't even match the annual salary of any of the top-5 LOWEST states listed.  I find that very strange.  I'm in my 40s, over 15 years experience in my industry, and I feel like I have a very nice home/yard, 2 relatively new (2015 and 2017) vehices that are paid for, a wife and child and we're able to have her stay home with him and at the same time live comfortably and put away for savings.  I feel like we're doing very well, yet these numbers indicate I'm well underpaid.  I definitely don't FEEL underpaid, so something seems amiss.  I will say neither the city nor state I work in (Nashville, TN) is on any of these lists.  I also live in a much lower cost of living area than I work at, so that may contribute to us feeling well off.

Without knowing how much you make I feel you are probably underpaid for Nashville, but I am not sure what the electric engineering market is like.  The Civil Engineering Market is good right now for those wanting to make the move.

What area are you in where the COL is still lower than where you work.

 

[DLD PE]

Do you ever take a look around to see whats out there just to check? Just out of curiousity?  I did a while back out of curiosity.  I'm currently right around the average for someone with my experience.  I wasn't back then, which is why I changed jobs earlier this year.
 

I know even when happy at a job I will take a headhunter call just to see what they are selling.

I dont know anything about the Electrical side (or the COL in Nashville) but I would think the COL would be higher in Tennessee / Nashville area than in the states listed in that link (Kansas, Ohio, South Dakota) -

I wish we could get these populated with some more data to help - maybe one day!

Without knowing how much you make I feel you are probably underpaid for Nashville, but I am not sure what the electric engineering market is like.  The Civil Engineering Market is good right now for those wanting to make the move.

What area are you in where the COL is still lower than where you work.

To give you an idea:

If you go to the #1 state on the list (Arkansas), I'm just under that, but that doesn't include bonus.  I also have a very nice health care plan.  

I have a 45 minute commute.  We live in a small town south of Nashville.  In TN there's no state income tax, but for real estate:

In 2016 we bought a 3 bed/2 bath home, 1900 sq ft with 3/4 acre lot for $216K.  We could probably sell it now for $270K.  The same house in Nashville would cost close to $350K.  I have a friend in real estate so I know I'm not far off.  Also, last year we paid $716 in property taxes vs. $2,447 for a similar size house in Nashville.

In TN there isn't a statewide vehicle inspections/emissions test.  It varies by county, and we live in a county which does not require emissions testing for vehicle registration.  In our county the registration renewal fee is $54.

I work from home a few days a week so we need good internet.  We get it through the county and it's 200Mbs and it works great.  We get our internet, trash pickup, water, electric and sewer all through the county and it comes as one bill.  Our internet is $50/month and our total bill for the above was $304.77 and that included the internet.  I doubt you can get that in Nashville.

 

[ruggercsc]

To give you an idea:

If you go to the #1 state on the list (Arkansas), I'm just under that, but that doesn't include bonus.  I also have a very nice health care plan.  

I have a 45 minute commute.  We live in a small town south of Nashville.  In TN there's no state income tax, but for real estate:

In 2016 we bought a 3 bed/2 bath home, 1900 sq ft with 3/4 acre lot for $216K.  We could probably sell it now for $270K.  The same house in Nashville would cost close to $350K.  I have a friend in real estate so I know I'm not far off.  Also, last year we paid $716 in property taxes vs. $2,447 for a similar size house in Nashville.

In TN there isn't a statewide vehicle inspections/emissions test.  It varies by county, and we live in a county which does not require emissions testing for vehicle registration.  In our county the registration renewal fee is $54.

I work from home a few days a week so we need good internet.  We get it through the county and it's 200Mbs and it works great.  We get our internet, trash pickup, water, electric and sewer all through the county and it comes as one bill.  Our internet is $50/month and our total bill for the above was $304.77 and that included the internet.  I doubt you can get that in Nashville.

I would have guessed you are in Dickson or Maury Counties where the COL is reasonable compared to Davidson, Williamson Sumner or even Wilson Counties.  I live in the very southwestern part of Davidson County and our property taxes are going up 34% this year (an extra $1,000) .

The most important thing is that you are happy at what you do and enjoy your coworkers.  More money is not worth a bad job experience.

 

[Orchid PE]

Here's a little information for anyone that's interested. This is the pay scale for... lets just say a Company in the Southern area of the US.

These are 2019 numbers. You can multiple by the company's average adjustment of +2%.

These numbers are for all salaried employees in the parent company and subsidiaries.

For reference:

Grade 3: Engineer III, just out of college
Grade 4: Engineer II, engineer with ~2 yr. experience
Grade 5: Engineer I, engineer with 4-5 yr. experience
Grade 6: Engineer Sr., engineer with 6+ yr. experience
Grade 7: Supervisor
Grade 8: Manager

The company generally keeps employees between the minimum and average values (at least for the worker bees). If you are at or above average, your raise will only be around 1%. If your pay is below the average, your raise will generally be 2-4%. The company generally likes to promote people once they reach the average value.

However, things started to change when I was with this company. When I got promoted from Engineer II to Engineer I, I only got a 2.5% raise (the standard used to be 6% with a promotion) and that put me at $74k/yr (based on my job, I should've been around $80k). So I was a Grade 5 and barely making the minimum. This was after 5 years with the company. I quit 2 weeks later.