Underpaid Engineers

It's good to see that after 30 years I've finally reached "median".

mechanical engineers are not even on the list?!?

Hi Steve S.,

Still in KL?. I would like to add that one of my friend's son,a Graduate Engineer from one of the top Institute (IIT Mumbai) worked for few years with Ernest & Young as consultants. He latter on did MBA part time and specialised in Finance and finally joined one of the top Financial Institution and very high salary which he would have never earned as engineer. So this is the fate of engineering profession comparatively poor paid slogger.

Suresh Sharma.

Why is it that most of the jobs I see posted require an engineering degree, 10+ years experience, multiple certifications, ... and pay 50% of median income?

These statistics, much like those from ASCE tend to be highly skewed by management slaries who still like to claim to be technical professionals. I know of many mid and low level managers who have titles liketo use their project org chart titles such as senior engineer or principle, and have formal titles within corporate operations as programatic manager or managing engineer. One project I just proposed on we had the national level and regional level marketing management for a 45,000 person company listed in fluff roles as principles, and I recognize this is a common practice as I have seen similar things in other large corporations when they bid projects. It builds the resumes of marketing management personnel by getting them listed on many projects, while it does not tie them down to having to attempt to actually perform any engineering work on all the projects as that would severely overburden them. This allows the organization to develop some people to appear to have very deep project specific resumes to use for proposals, without having to have actual technical specialists in the field. These marketing puppet, and other managers, however, still prefer to be considered technical speicalists rather than management or marketing. Even they recognize the perception that differentiates in our environment between management/marketing and technical personnel, and try to play the benefits. They also have a tendency to use their residual technical titles in technical forums far more often then their corporate organizational titles. So they tend to turn in their salaries under titles of senior engineer or principal engineer far more often as a practice then as manager, because that is how they want technical people to perceive them. this skew tends to drive up the apparent earning potential of some positions, that really doesn't exist unless you are a manager.

Because the title behind the name counts for soooo much, Ky.

It does in marketing, public perceptions, and to some degree in obtaining respect as a peer amongst the technical specialists. So over many year the tendency is to just consider ones self in the light of the technical specialist rather than in a less flattering light of a manager or marketer.

One thing to ask is what region of the country those salaries equate to. $105k for an EE in San Jose is not going to be a great standard of living. But in Rochester, NY you would be in good shape. Not that you would find that salary there....if you could even find a job!

All you meches can go back to your robotics games and wonder how the computer does connect to the stepper motor....

From Tim H

The qualifications for a Mech Engineering job in detroit area are simple.

1. Have a Masters degree.

2. Be able to work for minimum wage.

3. Be age 23 with ten years excerience.

4. Have good credit score.

Almost forgot!

5. Prove you live with mom, ride a bicycle to work, and your diet consists of fishheads and rice.

6. Speek good German or Chinese in case of promotion and job relocation.

Then leave Detroit...