Passed, Pay Raise?

[willsee]

In Kentucky our license doesn't show discipline either but how can an Electrical Engineer knowingly sign off on Mechanical drawings? (Well I guess they could understand what is going on and feel competant enough to sign/stamp and defend if something came up)

I also agree that you should be making more...65k?

 

[cdcengineer]

That is my understanding of the law. But I don't know many multi-discipline engineers that are actually competent beyond a mid-level of understanding. They might argue different as some Arch-engineers think they can design any building system. I would argue against this logic.

 

[mars]

Thank you cdcenginer & willsee. I always know I was under pay since I was EIT(now is PE), LEED AP and the only one know Revit in the whole company, but I don't know I'm way under. I'm going to looking for new job soon. So, you guys think 65K is reasonable?

 

[cdcengineer]

Depends where you are. I would think a CAD monkey running revit would be worth $23-25/hr. An engineer with the skills and qualifications you describe must be worth at least 65k unless it's in the poorer States in the Union. These are rates here in Colorado, perhaps where you are is different.

 

[Dolphin P.E.]

Thank you cdcenginer & willsee. I always know I was under pay since I was EIT(now is PE), LEED AP and the only one know Revit in the whole company, but I don't know I'm way under. I'm going to looking for new job soon. So, you guys think 65K is reasonable?

PE, LEED, and REVIT, I would say 70k or more!!

 

[willsee]

I know Revit, just passed PE but only have about 2 years of experience in MEP consulting and I make more than 50k a year but less than 65k a year

 

[cdcengineer]

Will - with your new license, and considering you only have 2 years of MEP experience, are you willing to stamp dwg's for your firm if requested?

 

[willsee]

Will - with your new license, and considering you only have 2 years of MEP experience, are you willing to stamp dwg's for your firm if requested?

No

Already talked to my boss about it and he won't ask either

 

[mars]

Thank you cdcenginer & willsee. I always know I was under pay since I was EIT(now is PE), LEED AP and the only one know Revit in the whole company, but I don't know I'm way under. I'm going to looking for new job soon. So, you guys think 65K is reasonable?

PE, LEED, and REVIT, I would say 70k or more!!

I don't even get to order new business cards. I guess my company is in a bad shape.

 

[James3AE]

I think this is the one time in your career in this field when it's justified to go kick down the door and demand more money.

I already spoke with my boss, and i guess i will wait until i get my actual license number from NJ before I can get my bonus, and demand a raise. I am also planning demanding a raise for another fine engineer who passed last year and didn't get one.

Gut check time for your employer. If the projects you work on can support additional fee for you, there is no reason not to give a raise. They will bill the clients accordingly, and you should benefit since you are adding value to the company, and the projects they are working on.

 

[Carnac]

Just for perspective, I worked for 4 years for an MEP firm then jumped ship and did my own thing for several years, got back into Engineering at another MEP firm about a year ago and considered myself lucky to get a job t that poing. I wasn't disappointed with my starting salary, low $50Ks, but then again I took 6 years off Engineering. I just passed my PE and got an 11.5% raise to upper $50Ks. I think it all depends on what company you work for, how busy (productive) you are, how the company is doing, etc. Now I'm not LEED or Revit or anything else, and there are 5 other PEs in the office with decades more experience than me. So I think this salary thing is all relative. Maybe it's just me. You also can't put a price on actually liking the company that you work for and the people you work with. 'cause I've been on the other side of that fence and it's worth $10K/yr less to not hate your job.

 

[bingcrosbyb]

SHOW ME THE MONEY. :bananapowerslide:

If you do NOT get a pay raise and/or bonus for getting your P.E. license, leave your current company and go somewhere else. The P.E. demands a premium price and if you agree to no raise/no bonus, you are just slapping everyone on this board in the face and devaluing everything we all worked so hard to obtain. Your company WILL earn more just with you on staff regardless. If you are in a manufacturing plant, I understand if your employer doesn't see the value. But for everyone else, SHOW ME THE MONEY. arty-smiley-048:

 

[kstatenupe]

Out of curiousity those that received a raise from passing the PE, did your salary get bumped up to at least 60k? Mine didn't unfortunately, but at the same time we don't have alot of work going on right now but it's slowly turning around so I do feel lucky I did receive something for passing the PE though. Plus side from my job is my health benefits and other miscellaneous benefits are top notch.
The other question is what should a brand new PE be actually making in terms of salary? I always thought it should be at least 65k.

That depends on where you live. I made more then 65k without a PE. Now that I passed, I hope to get about 7-10k more

That's cool, what kind of Civil work do you do? Maybe that makes a difference since I'm in the consulting business doing public works.

I am currently in the mid 60's without the P.E. Just found out last night. Hopefully I will get a bump. I am a transportation engineer (highway design)

 

[knight1fox3]

SHOW ME THE MONEY. :bananapowerslide:
If you do NOT get a pay raise and/or bonus for getting your P.E. license, leave your current company and go somewhere else. The P.E. demands a premium price and if you agree to no raise/no bonus, you are just slapping everyone on this board in the face and devaluing everything we all worked so hard to obtain. Your company WILL earn more just with you on staff regardless. If you are in a manufacturing plant, I understand if your employer doesn't see the value. But for everyone else, SHOW ME THE MONEY. arty-smiley-048:

While I certainly agree with you, there are a number of companies out there still suffering the effects of the recent economic down-turn. Mine being one of them where there were wage freezes across the board, no exceptions. So in that regard, it can be difficult to demand a pay increase when no one else in the company is getting wage increases. Another thing that is important to consider in which someone already mentioned and I agree with (see below), yes you may have a PE now but if you are not stamping drawings then what value have you added to your company to justify a wage increase? Now if your company starts billing you out at higher rates because of your PE title, then that should be reflected back to you as well.

Lets play devils advocate:
It all depends on what you bring to the table for your employer. If your day to day tasks do not change after you get the PE, why should they pay you more? I understand you may be worth more to a new employer, but I dont think company A should pay you more just because company B will, especially if you dont bring anything new to the table.

If you want a raise from your current employer, make yourself more valuable. Take on the responsibility of being a design lead, project manager, take a more involved role with the company. Adding 2 letters to your name is worthless if you just stay a CAD-monkey.

Also, is a PE necessary in your line of work? Some industries and employers dont want and/or require a PE. Look at construction, despite needing a civil degree to get some of the jobs, you are not needed to get your PE to get promoted to superintendent or higher. My first employer (heavy highway contractor) actually discouraged engineers from getting their PE, because it would mean they would leave since the contractor let it be known they wouldnt give pay raises.

Also, what it the current state of your employer and industry? If you work for a land development consultant right now, they may be doing everything they can just to not crash. If there has been a 2+ year pay/hire freeze, how do you think the other employees would feel if you're demanding 10% or more without doing anything new for them?

The company i worked for when i got my PE wasnt able to give an immediate raise because the projects i was working on had me at a contracted EIT rate. My responsibilities didnt change, my company wasnt billing me out for any more, and was actually losing money because they had to add me to their liability insurance. When i talked with my boss after passing, he explained all of this to me and let me know that as soon as we started on a new project i would get a raise (10% raise received 3 months later).

My point: look at the whole picture before you trash your current employer. If after that you still want more (both more $ amd more responsibility), then talk with your boss and explain yourself.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Mars, you definitely should be making more money, but it doesn't sound like your firm is in the position to offer you more money. At this point, you need to make an important decision. You can stay on at the small firm, making low wages with the potential payoff to be partial owner/principal in the firm as it grows. Or you can leave for "greener pastures" now, and be a small fish in a bigger pond, but be making more money in the short term.

I would definitely talk to your current boss about a raise, and if that isn't feasible right now, discuss other options such as partial ownership in the future (assuming that is something that would interest you). If you aren't interested in that, I would jump ship...but ONLY after I had found another job.

 

[Coastal Engineer]

I think this is the one time in your career in this field when it's justified to go kick down the door and demand more money.
I already spoke with my boss, and i guess i will wait until i get my actual license number from NJ before I can get my bonus, and demand a raise. I am also planning demanding a raise for another fine engineer who passed last year and didn't get one.

Gut check time for your employer. If the projects you work on can support additional fee for you, there is no reason not to give a raise. They will bill the clients accordingly, and you should benefit since you are adding value to the company, and the projects they are working on.

So as the guy on the other end of this equation (the client) my position would be if Engineer A started a project that is going to take 6 months of design as a non-PE, his having the PE today doesn't suddenly make his work more valuable to me. Someone was already reviewing the work to stamp it and unless that person has moved on in the company all the client is seeing is a higher hourly rate for the same job. Not sure how well that will fly.

 

[mars]

Thank for everyone advice, I just talk to 2 recruiters today. They think they highest salary I can get is in the mid 60k in DFW area.

 

[mars]

Mars, you definitely should be making more money, but it doesn't sound like your firm is in the position to offer you more money. At this point, you need to make an important decision. You can stay on at the small firm, making low wages with the potential payoff to be partial owner/principal in the firm as it grows. Or you can leave for "greener pastures" now, and be a small fish in a bigger pond, but be making more money in the short term.
I would definitely talk to your current boss about a raise, and if that isn't feasible right now, discuss other options such as partial ownership in the future (assuming that is something that would interest you). If you aren't interested in that, I would jump ship...but ONLY after I had found another job.

I already decide to look for another job. When I leave my company, I will free up my position for the part time guy who have more HVAC experience than I do. However, did anyone know is Revit play an important role at MEP filed at this point?

 

[The Man]

I passed the October PE exam and have barely received a congratulations from my company. I sent this email to my boss this morning. Do you think I did the wrong thing? I work in the northeast in an average sized city with a company of about 100 (10-12 engineers in the company) and I am making in the low 50s. I feel I deserve mid 60's. Let me know what you think.

Approximately 6 months ago I passed my PE exam. This was a very exciting moment for me and my family, however, I did not receive the response in both responsibility and compensation I was hoping for from ____.

I understand that the economy is not what it was 5 years ago, however I hoped that my hard work, 6+ years of experience, and skill set has proven me to be an asset to the company. After passing my PE exam, I was hoping that there would be some opportunities in which I could take additional responsibilities and in turn an increase in my compensation. I am open to any opportunities that may exist within the company and I am willing to put in the time and effort to ensure their success. I am interested in doing whatever is possible to advance my career and expand my professional experience and in turn increase my value to the company. I do not feel that the opportunities that will benefit both me and ____ in the future are available in my current situation.

I was hoping that we could sit down and discuss these items and also discuss what opportunities might become available to me in the future. We could discuss this over lunch or after work sometime you have availability.

 

[James3AE]

I think this is the one time in your career in this field when it's justified to go kick down the door and demand more money.
I already spoke with my boss, and i guess i will wait until i get my actual license number from NJ before I can get my bonus, and demand a raise. I am also planning demanding a raise for another fine engineer who passed last year and didn't get one.

Gut check time for your employer. If the projects you work on can support additional fee for you, there is no reason not to give a raise. They will bill the clients accordingly, and you should benefit since you are adding value to the company, and the projects they are working on.

So as the guy on the other end of this equation (the client) my position would be if Engineer A started a project that is going to take 6 months of design as a non-PE, his having the PE today doesn't suddenly make his work more valuable to me. Someone was already reviewing the work to stamp it and unless that person has moved on in the company all the client is seeing is a higher hourly rate for the same job. Not sure how well that will fly.

And in that case, the project can't support the additional fee, then the raise may have to be delayed a few months. On the flip side, the engineer could now take responsibility for his own work, depending on the laws in the state. The case your presenting with a 6 month project duration, it's reasonable to assume that it's already in progress and the engineer can be submitted on future projects at a higher rate.