I Get To Be An Engineer Again!!!

[jeb6294]

Funny how competitive engineer pay in the federal government is these days....

It's also hard to argue with the perks. At my old job it was like pulling teeth to do anything...training, seminars, etc...trying to get my CEU's for my PE were a pain in the butt.

I started here in Sep. My first day here they were sending me upstairs to get my travel credit card. I went to Key West for a week in Dec. for dive inspector training, they sent me to San Diego for a week in January for a Hypack conference, and I just got back from a 4-day hydrographic survey conference in Norfolk, VA. On top of that there are the trips to exciting Paducah, KY which aren't terribly exciting, but the per diem is nice.

Damn, you just missed a HUGE one at the McAlpine Locks in Louisville.

I'm not sure I'll still be in this section, but maybe I could be there when they have to fix it. It is pretty impressive seeing a 1200' x 110' lock when it's been dewatered.

Yeah, it depresses me seeing how much I'd be making now if I'd stayed in the gov.

That's the only thing I really regret...if I had stuck with the Corps who knows what grade I'd be by now, I'd have over tens years towards my retirement, and I probably could have transferred up here by now.

 

[ALBin517]

Funny how competitive engineer pay in the federal government is these days....

I work for the local government and make 62k per year. A couple years ago, local engineers with similar backgrounds were getting 70-80k but now they're getting 50-60k. (Most have been laid off and found new jobs at lower salaries.)

So I have gone from underpaid to arguably overpaid without changing jobs.