PE and Money

[knight1fox3]

HFS!!! It's a JDS siting. I thought you had retired from this board.

LOL..... lusone:

 

[NJmike PE]

Its been two and a half months since receiving my PE results and I am now at a new firm with a 27% raise. The PE is not meaningless!!!!

OK, let's go money bags. Fork over some money, become a supporting member and hang around for a while.

 

[petegiam07]

Hey Guys, been lurking for a while now and thought I'd contribute.

I'm 29 from NJ just shy of 7 years full time experience in Potable Water Resources and 2 summer internships in Geotechnical Engineering. I have both a BS and MS (got part time while working full time).

Anyway, I worked a large amount of overtime the past 3 years (average 300 hrs per year) and worked several Saturdays as well especially holiday summer weekends. I also practically lived in another state 4/5 nights a week in a hotel for a big job for 1 year 3 years ago.

I passed the Oct. PE and received a bonus for my efforts but I still felt it wasn't enough with all the personal sacrifice and extra money I made for my company the past 3 years. That being said I made a salary of 69K and got bumped to 72K as part of my increase for 2014. Personally, I thought it was time for a promotion considering I was watching the president's son get promoted above me with less experience! But what can I do about that? It happens.... The real thing that got me upset is they made me feel as if my PE license was the only thing holding me back. Instead they said I had to wait for a "board review" in Oct. 2014 and i MAY get a promotion then.

Anyway, I did some searching on the market for new jobs. Long story short I work now for another company with a 22% increase in salary before any overtime. My old company did not even counteroffer. From my estimate it would be at least another 4/5 years before I made this much with my old company.

I would encourage anyone to look around if you feel you are worth more. I even saw my old coworkers (Vice President's and all ) at a conference I went to with my new company. They were not down at all about me leaving and knew it was just business and I had to look out for myself. They took the time to talk to me and explain how many people leave and come back to companies in the business and it is a small world. You never know whats out there until you give it a shot.

 

[NJmike PE]

Pete, your story is very intriguing to me. As I stated earlier in this thread, I'm waiting patiently for the remainder of this year. Waiting to see what offer is made to me at the end of the year. Waiting and accruing valuable experience which will only work in my favor. Waiting while I update my resume and waiting as the economy continues to steadily improve. Everything that will work in my favor if I am forced to move on. But thanks for your inspiring story to know that there is still work in this wretched state.

One question if I may. North, central or southern NJ?

 

[I M A PE]

^^Ouch

yeah, tell me about it. and with 15 years of experience at the same company too.

Wow, 15 years experience and you're in the low 60's? I'm surprised at that. And you're in the northeast too? Here in Texas, we're hiring kids whose ink isn't dry on their diploma with or without EIT for the mid 50's. Heck, way back in 1999 I came out of school and started at $42k. I'd say if your salary has stalled and you've been there 15 years, it may be high time to look around. Some companies simply don't appreciate or value loyalty. A civil PE in my area is making around $95k. Mechancial is probably similar but Mech E jobs in Austin, TX are somewhat fewer, it seems, than civil which is why I've jumped from ME to CE. I had to take a step back in salary because I'm rebuilding my expertise in a new arena but I'm already at $85k. Hopefully I'll pass the PE and be at $95k soon. If my current employer doesn't come up with that kind of money within a year after passing (I think they will), I'll definitely look around. Love my company and have every reason to think they plan on coming through but the PE is really going to open up options here locally. State capital. TxDOT is here. Lot's of civil design going on.

 

[cajone5]

^^Ouch

yeah, tell me about it. and with 15 years of experience at the same company too.

Wow, 15 years experience and you're in the low 60's? I'm surprised at that. And you're in the northeast too? Here in Texas, we're hiring kids whose ink isn't dry on their diploma with or without EIT for the mid 50's. Heck, way back in 1999 I came out of school and started at $42k. I'd say if your salary has stalled and you've been there 15 years, it may be high time to look around. Some companies simply don't appreciate or value loyalty. A civil PE in my area is making around $95k. Mechancial is probably similar but Mech E jobs in Austin, TX are somewhat fewer, it seems, than civil which is why I've jumped from ME to CE. I had to take a step back in salary because I'm rebuilding my expertise in a new arena but I'm already at $85k. Hopefully I'll pass the PE and be at $95k soon. If my current employer doesn't come up with that kind of money within a year after passing (I think they will), I'll definitely look around. Love my company and have every reason to think they plan on coming through but the PE is really going to open up options here locally. State capital. TxDOT is here. Lot's of civil design going on.

Huh... maybe I need to look into my options here... I am a structural engineer doing specialty consulting work (complex designs and analysis for wind, seismic, blast, etc.) and have a BSCE, MSSE, and half-way through a part-time PhD in CE at UT and I have my TX PE and should officially have my IL SE in the next few weeks and I only make a little less than $80k salary (no overtime). I have about 7 years experience... based on what you say, my pay sounds low?

 

[I M A PE]

Hey Guys, been lurking for a while now and thought I'd contribute.

I'm 29 from NJ just shy of 7 years full time experience in Potable Water Resources and 2 summer internships in Geotechnical Engineering. I have both a BS and MS (got part time while working full time).

Anyway, I worked a large amount of overtime the past 3 years (average 300 hrs per year) and worked several Saturdays as well especially holiday summer weekends. I also practically lived in another state 4/5 nights a week in a hotel for a big job for 1 year 3 years ago.

I passed the Oct. PE and received a bonus for my efforts but I still felt it wasn't enough with all the personal sacrifice and extra money I made for my company the past 3 years. That being said I made a salary of 69K and got bumped to 72K as part of my increase for 2014. Personally, I thought it was time for a promotion considering I was watching the president's son get promoted above me with less experience! But what can I do about that? It happens.... The real thing that got me upset is they made me feel as if my PE license was the only thing holding me back. Instead they said I had to wait for a "board review" in Oct. 2014 and i MAY get a promotion then.

Anyway, I did some searching on the market for new jobs. Long story short I work now for another company with a 22% increase in salary before any overtime. My old company did not even counteroffer. From my estimate it would be at least another 4/5 years before I made this much with my old company.

I would encourage anyone to look around if you feel you are worth more. I even saw my old coworkers (Vice President's and all ) at a conference I went to with my new company. They were not down at all about me leaving and knew it was just business and I had to look out for myself. They took the time to talk to me and explain how many people leave and come back to companies in the business and it is a small world. You never know whats out there until you give it a shot.

Yep, definitely don't ever burn any bridges. Always act professionally and without any hard feelings on the way out the door. Thank them for the job and the opportunities over the years. Don't ever trash talk a former employer (except maybe among trusted fellow former employees, hehe). They will appreciate it and respect it. It is a small world and you're likely to continue running into them professionally one way or another. The more "good" professional relationships you have, the more valuable you are.

 

[I M A PE]

^^Ouch

yeah, tell me about it. and with 15 years of experience at the same company too.

Wow, 15 years experience and you're in the low 60's? I'm surprised at that. And you're in the northeast too? Here in Texas, we're hiring kids whose ink isn't dry on their diploma with or without EIT for the mid 50's. Heck, way back in 1999 I came out of school and started at $42k. I'd say if your salary has stalled and you've been there 15 years, it may be high time to look around. Some companies simply don't appreciate or value loyalty. A civil PE in my area is making around $95k. Mechancial is probably similar but Mech E jobs in Austin, TX are somewhat fewer, it seems, than civil which is why I've jumped from ME to CE. I had to take a step back in salary because I'm rebuilding my expertise in a new arena but I'm already at $85k. Hopefully I'll pass the PE and be at $95k soon. If my current employer doesn't come up with that kind of money within a year after passing (I think they will), I'll definitely look around. Love my company and have every reason to think they plan on coming through but the PE is really going to open up options here locally. State capital. TxDOT is here. Lot's of civil design going on.

Huh... maybe I need to look into my options here... I am a structural engineer doing specialty consulting work (complex designs and analysis for wind, seismic, blast, etc.) and have a BSCE, MSSE, and half-way through a part-time PhD in CE at UT and I have my TX PE and should officially have my IL SE in the next few weeks and I only make a little less than $80k salary (no overtime). I have about 7 years experience... based on what you say, my pay sounds low?

I can't say for sure for sure if it's low. I got my $95k number for civil PE's from a salary survey website and from some recent comments directly from my boss who said when he was interviewing me for an internal transfer/promotion that PE's at my company make "at least" $95k. I have about 15 years experience and most of that is in an executive position where I was heading up an engineering department of about 25 people at a company with about $60M in revenue. I was making more than a typical PE or engineer. It wasn't really my role at the time. Now that I've jumped to civil, I made the deliberate decision that I would drop several rungs down the ladder and work my way back up. I'm in a project management position now but with no where near the financial responsibility I had before and nowhere near the number of people reporting to me (in fact, officially I have none right now which is a wonderful, wonderful thing if you can still make enough to pay the bills). So I'm not really sure how much of my current $85k is in recognition of my previous experience. I don't know what other PM's make in the company. I am blissfully ignorant and don't ask because all it can do is either piss me off or make someone jealous of me and I don't want either of those headaches. I have a hunch that I'm paid in line with other PM's.

I'd also update LinkedIn. I get half a dozen or more headhunters reach out to me a year. In fact, I've never had any luck at all applying cold for a job. Almost zero response. I've switched jobs when headhunters have contacted me or, in the case of my current job, I had a previous professional relationship with the owner. I invited him to lunch and told him that I wanted to come work for him. He's a no BS guy. He asked how much I wanted, I named what I thought was a safely low number and I was hired. I was desperate to change jobs at that moment. I had been commuting 285 miles round trip for 5 months every day. I'm not kidding. That's how far I had to go for a decently paying ME job after losing a previous job. I think my "safely low" number turned out to be right in line with their salary structure but that was a coincidence.

In the end, I think the only way to know what you're worth is to put yourself out there and talk to people. I learned the hard way to always have an exit strategy anyway. I'd been at my company where I was the VP of Engineering for 11 years. Get on the wrong side of one powerful shareholder and you're unceremoneously shown the door without much warning or explanation or chance to fight for your job. Job success, awesome subornidate reviews and morale, stellar year after year performance reviews, and sustained measurable high job performance can mean nothing.

I would think in Austin, as a consulting structural PE, you'd be higher than the 80's. My company doesn't do any design, otherwise I'd ask you for a resume. We're growing. We do some construction management for transportation but that's the closest we get to design. We're actually a surveying a mapping firm. One of the largest in the country.

 

[engineergurl]

I like money.

 

[knight1fox3]

You like money too?! We should hang out...

 

[NJmike PE]

I like bacon

 

[engineergurl]

I like free bacon so I can keep my money.

 

[NJmike PE]

I like free bacon so I can keep my money.

even better

 

[I M A PE]

PE and Money...

I have to restrain myself from laughing but I do understand why the question is asked.

Am going to quote a professor during the orientation week in an engineering college. He asked a group of maybe 200 freshmen: " Who here wants to be an engineer because it pays good money?" A good group raised their hands but I am sure there were more than the ones who did it.

"Well...sorry to burst your bubble but you have selected the wrong career. You should have gone to law or medicine school".

All of my doctor and lawyer friends had to go to 3-7 extra years of school and are still paying back student loans 15 years after getting their white coat or passing the bar. I explored law school. All the lawyers out there say "Don't do it!!! The only way to make decent money so you can afford to pay back your law school loans is to work 55-60 hour weeks in a cubicle farm. Sure the money is good but you're a slave because of the student loan. I have no life."

 

[I M A PE]

Folks, there is no money in the PE. It is how it is and that is the bottom line. If you are doing it for the money you are up for a rude awakening. Saying something different is just a sales pitch.

I'm making $85/hour on the side doing some consulting in a different industry from my day job. Work out of the house, on my own time. My only overhead there is a laptop and Autodesk Inventor that I have to keep reasonably up to date. I want to work an extra 5 hours a week, that's an extra $22k in my pocket.... for some relatively easy work. I do it in front of the TV. There is money to be made if you find the right gigs.

I don't even have my PE yet and I've been asked if, when I get my stamp, I'll review some work. It was about 40 hours of engineering and they wanted to pay me $1500! It would have been an easy gig. Too bad it's out of my area of expertise. I had to turn it down. Speaking of... any structural engineers with a Texas license want a consulting gig?

 

[petegiam07]

Pete, your story is very intriguing to me. As I stated earlier in this thread, I'm waiting patiently for the remainder of this year. Waiting to see what offer is made to me at the end of the year. Waiting and accruing valuable experience which will only work in my favor. Waiting while I update my resume and waiting as the economy continues to steadily improve. Everything that will work in my favor if I am forced to move on. But thanks for your inspiring story to know that there is still work in this wretched state.

One question if I may. North, central or southern NJ?

My old one was north but moved central and my new one is north Jersey (by north I mean north of Route 78) . They both however have other branches throughout NJ. They are also both international engineering firms.

Also, a college buddy of mine works out of another branch of my old company in NJ and they gave him a nice raise and promotion this year. He is with a different department though and it is run by completely different people. It's sad it came down to me leaving, but they know they didn't really give me much choice. No one in the department I worked in near my level of experience would put in the hours I did.

 

[I M A PE]

Folks, there is no money in the PE. It is how it is and that is the bottom line. If you are doing it for the money you are up for a rude awakening. Saying something different is just a sales pitch.

I respectfully disagree. There is great money to be made in engineering. And the work is very rewarding IMO. It's all about what you think you are worth and convincing your employer of this accordingly. You're only worth what you settle for in getting paid by your employer. Want a higher wage? Then you have to go get it and make it happen! I've more than doubled my salary since I graduated from my undergraduate program. And that did not happen by staying put in my first engineering position.

I more than tripled my starting salary by staying at the same place for 11 years and growing a department. When I started, the company was 38 employees and I was the entire engineering department. 11 years later, the company was 140 employees and the engineering department I headed was 25 employees. Knight Fox is right on. If you're smart, ambitious and don't let your employer pigeon hole you and define you, there are ways to be successful.

A wise man once said, "Your boss owns your job. You own your career."

 

[I M A PE]

Oh, and as luck would have it, I ran into an old geotech professor this morning. He is the Senior VP of the geotech dept at his firm and lives in my town. We talked for a few mins and he told me if I was ever interested in making a move, he would have a spot open for me. It would be a nice jump, from a small private consulting firm, to a larger corporate firm.

That conversation right there... that might be your next job. Why wait 9 months to continue this conversation? I'd keep it going, even if it's on a slow burn and see where the conversation goes. Tell him, "As a matter of fact, I have thought that it might be time to make a move. Let's talk about how I can help you because I'm interested." Carpe Diem!

 

[engineergurl]

Folks, there is no money in the PE. It is how it is and that is the bottom line. If you are doing it for the money you are up for a rude awakening. Saying something different is just a sales pitch.

I respectfully disagree. There is great money to be made in engineering. And the work is very rewarding IMO. It's all about what you think you are worth and convincing your employer of this accordingly. You're only worth what you settle for in getting paid by your employer. Want a higher wage? Then you have to go get it and make it happen! I've more than doubled my salary since I graduated from my undergraduate program. And that did not happen by staying put in my first engineering position.

I more than tripled my starting salary by staying at the same place for 11 years and growing a department. When I started, the company was 38 employees and I was the entire engineering department. 11 years later, the company was 140 employees and the engineering department I headed was 25 employees. Knight Fox is right on. If you're smart, ambitious and don't let your employer pigeon hole you and define you, there are ways to be successful.

A wise man once said, "Your boss owns your job. You own your career."

I'm wondering if you work with another member here, Exception Collection... seem to have similar stories here.

 

[I M A PE]

I'm wondering if you work with another member here, Exception Collection... seem to have similar stories here.

Don't know. I haven't run across Exception Collection. I just looked her up on the board. She's in Seattle. I seriously doubt I know her. In my past life, I didn't know any female engineers and I've only been with my new company for a year.