Eng-Tips Salary Survey 10

[CivilSigma]

Hi Everyone,

I am four years into my career as a structural engineer, and to be frank I am un happy with my salary.
I currently make $70 000 CAD working for one of the "big" consulting companies. I am an EIT, and expect my P.Eng by the end of summer.
My peers working in the public sector easily get paid $80k+ and get great benefits while more or less making the same spreadsheets as me.

May I ask the users here for their input on their salary, type of work (consulting vs. management), general location and years of experience?
I really enjoy structural engineering, and I just want to know what I will realistically make as I progress in my career.

Sincerely,
CS

Edit: I am in Ontario, Canada.

 

[canwesteng]

Depends where you are I guess, looks like QC. 70k seems reasonable for QC but on the lower end in western provinces.

 

[IDS]

It would also vary a fair bit depending on country and which sort of $ you are talking about


Doug Jenkins
Interactive Design Services

http://newtonexcelbach.wordpress.com/

 

[ryaneng]

Sounds like I am in a pretty similar position. 4 years in, EIT and expect P.Eng shortly. I live in Western Canada, not in the most expensive market but not cheap either.

Currently get 77k, two weeks paid vacation, paid overtime @ 1.5x, medical spending account, ~4% bonus.

I think I could get more on the construction side of the industry, but I'm expecting a sizeable increase with P.Eng approval and will re-evaluate then.

 

[ggcdn]

Does PEO do a salary survey? EGBC does them occasionally, I think the last published one is a few years old now.

It would be good to at least cross reference with that, because I think these type of posts tend to get a response biased on the high side (ie people making more than you will post to humblebrag, while people making less don’t post).

For what it’s worth, my sense is that 65-75k is around the starting salary for new EITs with a masters, in BC.



-JA
try [link calcs.app]Calcs.app[/url] and let me know what you think

 

[human909]

You are 4 years in don't expect to be getting paid the big bucks.

No use asking salaries on this forum without context. While US and Canada seem make up the majority of the people posting on this forum it has people from across the globe. Even within US and Canada there is significant variation.

$70k might be on the low side but it doesn't seem excessively low from my perspective. You are 4 years in, what you are learning and experiencing matters just as much as what you take home at the end of the day.

 

[phamENG]

What was your starting salary? I knew EITs that didn't get a raise until they got their PE. So they went from $45k or $55k USD (56k CAD or 69k CAD) to $85k USD ($106k CAD) the day the test results came out.

 

[DrZoidberWoop]

Ask your offline local peers. Online is a waste of time on this topic. Variance in USA alone is geographically dependent (over $20k difference coast to coast), and online you're typically going to find either 1) dedicated, enthusiastic, engineers $$$$ or 2) over-their-head idiots who are looking for easy answers <<<$. Your question is too broad to be applied properly. Que someone with the market data you can pay for.

Edit to add: Just marry a rich woman and work at a leisurely pace for the rest of your years.

 

[NorthCivil]

I'll second point 3 by DrZoidberWoop.

biggest financial mistake I made was not marrying that sweet old girlfriend from my younger days who came from a family with more money than jesus.

any salary discussions after that in relation to engineering bear no real meaning when compared to that mistake

 

[rb1957]

pay is one thing, having a job you enjoy is another.

Working where you want, in a field you like, is worth a pile of dough.

higher salaries will be in fields that have difficulty attracting people, or in places where either people don't want to work/live or have higher costs of living.

at the same time, getting "gypped" (or ripped off) is no fun ... if another company is offering more for the same work (and not for a more toxic workplace), then that's an option.

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?

 

[phamENG]

As long as the OP understands the variables at play, there is still some benefit to having the discussion. We're not all in the same market so none of us will have exactly the same story, and even some within markets will have vastly different experiences (I mentioned EITs getting no raises until they got their license; I got a nice raise at least annually and wound up in about the same spot). But understanding overall trends is still valuable. After all, as more and more companies (even engineering firms) are going remote, qualified candidates can get work with companies located across the country. So some of those market divisions and variations may start to blur at some level.

 

[Brad805]

I would look at the salary survey mentioned. I do not recall when EGBC last had a survey, but it will show you pay differences between sectors. If comparing gov't to consulting, that be the problemo. If I were starting over, and I could stomach the work or the office politics, I would look more closely at the jobs offering great pension plans. I know of a lot of gov't workers retiring at 55.

 

[CrabbyT]

I make just over $47 USD an hour. I get paid hourly after 40 hours (i.e. not time and a half).

I have a 401K that they match, but I don't receive health insurance, eye insurance, paid time off, holiday pay, and etc. They offered me those things, but it would've been something like a $6/hr pay cut. I buy my insurance on healthcare dot gov with the added benefit that I can itemize it on my taxes.

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Okay, you're 4 years in. Based on my career I'll say the following:
1) Expect a decent salary bump when you get your engineer's license like 10 to 20%. That should hit you soon.
2) If there is another licensing where you are (SE), then you can probably expect another bump when you get it.


At this stage of your career (more than anything else) you need to be looking at your career path yourself and making sure that you're getting the job skills / knowledge / experience that you need. My recommendations:
a) Evaluate your knowledge level in various aspects of your profession.
b) Understanding the "tools of the trade".... Maybe you need to be better at some computer program (AutoCAD, Revit, SAP, RISA, BlueBeam, et cetera). Spend time trying to get better at these things. It could be taking "training classes" or watching instructional videos or such.
c) Where are the "blind spots" in your technical knowledge. This was wood and masonry design for me early on. Later it became drawing review (because I worked in structural software for too long). For you, maybe it's steel connections / detailing. Whatever it is, make an effort to address it.
d) What about the "business" aspects of your company? Do you need to have a better knowledge of budgets and project management? What about your management skills. Early on, I got used to taking notes for every meeting I attended and writing down "action items" for me and others. I made sure I got my action items done, and I'd follow up with others on action items that affected me. This organizational process ends up being a good part of what being a manager is.
e) Same sort of thing with "marketing" aspects of your company.
f) And, don't forget about networking.... Go to meetings of local civil or structural engineering associations. You'll meet a lot of people with structural backgrounds that are doing "non-tradition" things with their careers. It might give you a glance into a different career path you might like.

 

[Aesur]

I agree with all the posts here, but wanted to add in that comparing private to public sector salaries is a useless endeavor, the governments are notorious for paying higher salaries in exchange for doing next to nothing. I have many friends that work for DOT's and they all make bank and all they do is push papers.

Also it's worth noting that engineers doing real engineering tend to make less than "engineers" who work for construction companies as project managers or superintendents.

 

[PEinc]

More (successful) responsibility brings more compensation and more responsibility. Be valuable and you will be better compensated. If not, move on.

http://www.PeirceEngineering.com

 

[FSS]

ASCE puts out a salary survey every year. Not exactly sure how a non-member gets to search through the results, however. I am sure other societies offer similar services.

 

[Deker]

Lots of great info in this document based on a national US survey of around 2,000 structural engineers (half of whom practice in California). Chapter 3 plots income vs several variables such as position, years experience, licensure, number of hours worked, etc. Chapters 4-6 are particularly interesting.

Link

 

[JStructsteel]

we are structural engineers, always underpaid, and always overworked, making other rich usually.

 

[skewl]

Ontario / Consulting / Structural
3 year EIT, but technically qualify for P.Eng. this year due to pre-grad experience
75-80k (depends on OT), 5-10% bonus

I've heard some not so great stories about larger firms in the area in terms of work culture/compensation, but they are just stories.