How Much Do Engineers Make? (My Salary History)

How much money do engineers really make? Well...it depends. In this video I reveal what structural engineering positions I've held since finishing college and the salaries associated with them. I go over all my credentials and how I negotiate each engineering salary If you stick around until the end, I reveal how much money I make as an engineer currently!!

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Disclaimers: Richard Racz, P.E. does not hold the title "structural engineer". Any claim of it in the videos or descriptions is unintentional and is superseded by the title "civil engineer" in the states of MA and OR.

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#salary #structuralengineering #civilengineering

[Kestava_Engineering]

I cant believe the engagement from the Team! Thank you everyone that has commented and added insight and transparency to engineering salaries.

[DRS]

First job, Engineer 1 = $55k/3 yrs, Second Job, $73000/6 months, Third job, $95000/I just accepted the offer today. Wish me luck! I will also take the PE in April 2024

[nicholashudson]

Engineering companies are billing engineering work at anywhere from $150-$300/hr for basic engineering design work. Even higher for Principal Eng and Expert Witness. Following the rule of 3's, the compensation package (if not salary) should be about 1/3rd of the revenue you bring in for the company. That works out to $50-$150/hr pay rate, and a full-time salary of $100k-$300k.

There are some "catches" of course. To make that you need to be 100% billable. Almost nobody does this because it leaves no time for overhead, PTO, training, downtime, lunch, etc. 70% utilization is a reasonable target, so that brings the salary range down to $70k-$210k. And depending on how your company operates, if your benefits package is particularly good (401k, medical, dental, PTO, etc) this might reduce the amount you are actually getting in your paycheck.

Either way, if you're not at least $60k to start, and aren't making $100k by about 5 years in (or whenever you get to the level of being the lead engineer for a project), then the company is robbing you blind.

Another note, engineering salaries top out around $200k. And that sounds like a bunch, but PMs and Execs can make a lot more than that. The most lucrative way to make your engineering skills pay out is by getting ownership in the company/projects you are working on. Join a startup, start your own business, or find other ways to monetize your skills with side gigs.

[industrialarts]

I graduated with a degree in Naval Architecture in 04. I got my "dream job" in Vancouver making $42k. I could barely afford rent and groceries and learned that the company Had "gotten away from" giving annual COL raises. So I "got away" from that company and now do mechanical/ structural engineering for a company that does heavy lift work for offshore O&G. After 19 years with this company I make $145k. I started at $70k.

It has not been easy, but I do enjoy the creative aspects of my job, and that's what keeps me here. It would have been a breeze to go the project management route and make $200k. However, PM's in this industry are a dime a dozen and get laid off all the time - so there's that.

Good design engineers, although payed a little less tend to have more secure jobs.

[bcnuggets]

Thank you Rich, just passed my FE, prepping for the structural PE. . . .

TBH, I thought off the jump, PE’s in structural made $100K and more.

You have given me a better mindset as well as get my wheels turning to increase my value!

[kevinkasp]

This was eye opening. I had no idea. The contrast between pay in engineering and the pay in Big Tech blows my mind.
Here's a story that illustrates that.
My son was a greeter/host at a restaurant. He has no college degree. During COVID the restaurant was shut down. So he went home and studied basic IT stuff. Took a test and got his CompTIA A+ certification. Translated: he knew how to install software on laptops, could swap out hard drives and other basic computer stuff. With that he got the lowest level IT support job at a local hospital. He had that job for five months.
During those five months he studied on the side and passed the next IT certification exam, CompTIA Network+.
That equates to being able to set up a basic computer network in an office and keep it running.
That's it. Two certifications and about 20 weeks of beginner IT work experience.

And that's all it took to land a job at Amazon. They are desperate for IT people. Desperate. They started him at $60K to help keep the WiFi up and running at a fulfillment center. But that was just the beginning.
He was hired in early 2022. Over a period of four months, they moved him around various facilities, and he continued studying on the side and passed a basic cyber security certification. Then Amazon asked him if he would he be willing to work doing cyber security. He said, "sure."
BOOM.
They moved him to Austin. Raised his salary to $80K. They let him work from his apartment. Gave him study materials and support to obtain a high level cyber security certification. Next month he will complete the certification and his salary will be raised to $140K.
Crazy. He has no degree. He doesn't know electronics nor engineering. His math knowledge tops out at Algebra II. He's never taken a physics or chemistry class. He knows only some programming because he's had to study some of it for the certification he's currently working on.
He will have gone from making $30K per year as a restaurant greeter to $140K in literally 20 months. It's kind of like winning a lottery.
Working in Tech for a Big Tech company is so out of wack compared to the rest of the working world.

[el_ingeniero_]

I’m a civil engineer from DC area(with previous drywall /roofing experience). I interned with big GC from 2008-2012, and started @ $18/hr and finished at $21/hour. When I finished school, I got an offer from them of $57k salary with $3k(cash) sign in bonus. I went to another GC for assistant superintendent and started with $75k salary in 2015. Left that company last October making $90k/year(as a superintendent) for an offer that came to from former coworker with another GC. Currently have $130k/year salary as a healthcare superintendent. Bonuses are pretty normal at least once a year too. Knowing Spanish in the field is a huge plus!! Best of luck to everyone!

[abumaalik]

Wth? You got over 50k as an intern? Bloody good.

[QuickQuestionEngineering]

Great work Rich! This is such an important topic that isn’t talked about much in our industry. Also, $30/hr was a killer internship! My first internship was in 2017 as a structural engineering intern, and I got paid $20/hr. That same year I got another internship during the semester as a concrete lab technician and was getting paid around $17/hr.

[victor_barranco]

Thanks for the transparency. I'm in California and the numbers are roughly the same. The cost of living is high so I've resorted pursue side projects to bring in more income.

[madlad.]

30/hr for an internship in 2014-15 is pretty dope

[MrWebon]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve been thinking about moving to the USA to find a better job as a civil engineer, but I see the situation is quite similar to here (México) in proportion.

I started in Hydrology and Hydraulic design for 2 years with a crappy salary but the knowledge and the projects were incredible.
Next two years I worked in project controls in estimating for roadway projects and now I’m moving to construction as a Field Engineer for an energy plant.

Throughout these 3 jobs I’ve been working easily over 60h a week and with OK salary.

Its sad to see how low civil engineering jobs are paid. All my friends from tech or HR with less experience make easily more than double than me and with 40h weeks that are actually 20ish effective.

I think it’s time for me to switch careers because even though working for these projects feels incredible… there’s no return in terms of money, just pride.

[eddynoe]

87K in Oregon, not bad at all, I would be happy with that. but here in Tx not good for PE

[Theneutralaxisclub]

Awesome video Richard. Love to see someone else being this transparent with their salary. From experience talking about salary is still some sort of "taboo" topic, not sure why is it to this day.

Keep up the good work and down to earth content!

[jackwilliams]

MEP Engineer PE about 7 yoe.
Without getting into the nitty gritty, just look at the people's lives.
For example:
The Engineer lives in mediocre house, many qualifications requiring years of hard work, not much respect from people and looks nervous most of the time.
The Contractor lives in house on the bay with 50 foot yacht, easily acquired qualifications, people adore them and looks confident most of the time.

Nowadays a plan built to spec is a rarity, and engineers are supposed to control the contractors and also get the bad reputation when things go bad.
Don't do construction related engineering, and if you are already in it, consider switching to contracting.

[JorgeGonzalez-iseh]

Thanks for sharing this information. Most people don't like to discuss their financial compensation, but you have been very open about it. This definitely gives younger engineers a perspective on what to expect from the structural engineering market. Thanks again!

[Karimclean]

For any new grads or anyone looking to change jobs and you’re interested in negotiating your worth. ASCE as well as the civil engineering subreddit have salary surveys that you can use to your benefit it’ll mention things like location, title, education level, licensing, industry, benefits, and so in and so forth. It will give you a really great idea as to what’s fair and average. And it’s data so it makes you look more prepared having verified sources.

[fbad]

I'll add my situation - I'm a Civil/Structural PE in the Midwest coming up on 10 years of experience this year. I work for one of the largest engineering firms in the Midwest and am in the Telecommunications field analyzing cell towers (and stuff related to cell towers). I've worked at the same firm since right out of school (still under the same boss, too). My starting salary was 58.8k and my current salary before bonus is a little over 106.5k. I currently get three weeks PTO and have the option to carry over one week. I work a normal 40 hr week but do get paid overtime (paid 1.0, not 1.5x for OT), when it's required. Our firm recently offered a work-from-home option, which means I get to skip my 40 mile round trip drive to the office every day, which I did five days a week for more than eight years.

[Owngeeeeee]

I work as a manufacturing engineer. I have been working as an engineer for 1 year. Salary is $80, 000. I hope to break 100, 000 relatively quickly. I will probably jump out of engineering into management in order to do that at some point.

[TemperLoss]

Everybody in the UK looks down at you if you say you’re an engineer.