engineering salaries 20

[ballist]

hi!

I work as a trainee in a large automaker in UK. The pay is decent, comparing to other sectors, but not considerably. Graduates start with 30k, reaching 38k in 4 years. Then, it is a bit hard to become senior, in order to earn 50-60k. Some people after 7-10 years haven't become seniors. After that, it's harder to become supervisor (I guess you need 10+ years) and supervisors earn 60-80k. To become chief engineer or director, it's even harder and comes after 20 years of service at least.

Is there any department I could try to get in to earn a bit more or have better career progression? Maybe legal or finance or IT? Any advice please?

 

[natepiercy]

I never saw engineering as something so prestigious that parents would pressure a child into it. Then again, I'm just another boring mechanical in the sea, not biomedical or aerospace.

 

[IRstuff]

It's not a question of prestige, per se, but a diversion from something wholly unemployable like medieval clothing design...

The lack or prestige, I think, is mostly a American thing; most foreign countries treat, or at least, used to treat, engineers with a modicum of respect. Historically, America has been culturally disdainful of academics and intellectuals.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[natepiercy]

Historically, America has been culturally disdainful of academics and intellectuals.

That's a pretty hefty claim against the country that invented the airplane and put a man on the moon. What history are you talking about?

 

[canwesteng]

Doesn't seem like it's historically accurate, but America seems pretty anti-intellectual at the moment.

 

[IRstuff]

Popular culture has portrayed scientists and engineers as "nerds," "eggheads," etc. Rocky and Bullwinkle had a segment where the white-coated scientists had egg-shaped heads. Even when the tables are turned, it's still "Revenge of the NERDS." While education and intellectual pursuits have been the purview of the middle and upper classes, the "common man" has treated college education as a sell-out of their class. see:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006LSVB1M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[FeX32]

I too noticed the lack of prestige we deserve (not that there is none)...
Though, I am lucky enough to deal with engineers from all over the world.. I find Japanese and German hold engineering in a the highest light (this is obvious to most..)

 

[prc]

In India, one million engineering graduates are coming out of colleges, every year. Hardly 20 % can get a job connected with engineering, including IT sector. You can find engineering graduates as Clerks in banks. In Germany and Japan, good engineers are preferred for business managers,but in other countries, MBAs are running the show.

 

[GroovyGuy]

Howdy,
A couple of my personnel observations;
1) On a recent Trip to China, myself and several business people, we were invited to a dinner by the director of the free-trade zone at Dalian. At that dinner I was told to sit at the RHS of the Director because "You are the Engineering Manager, and the Others were just business people".
2) In Germany, an engineer is called Ir. Wolfgang (assuming that your name is in fact Wolfgang). The term "Ir" means "Engineer", similar to 'Dr" means "Doctor". [ie an Engineer is held in high esteem in Germany.]
3) In North America, whenever an expert from a University is interviewed for her/his opinion, they are seldom referred to as Dr so-and-so, but just as so-and-so. Why do they do this, when clearly the interviewee clearly must hold a PhD? I believe it is (partially) because of the negative stereo-types being portrayed by our media. [ie all technical people are eggheads.]
Is it possible that the media does not want to confuse the public, since many of the public may not realize that the title "Dr" can apply to someone other than a medical doctor?
4) Without scientists and engineers, we would still be sitting in trees throwing our excrement at each other.
GG

"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." -- Bob Seger

 

[IRstuff]

3) I've heard PhDs referred to as "Doctor" in most interviews that I can recall, but, I think there's a self-censorship at play; non-medical PhDs are often derided for referring to themselves as "Doctor," and, many PhDs feel the need to not refer to themselves as "Doctor" so as to lend in better with the unwashed masses.

4) excrement can be washed off, and most people, I think, won't get killed by excrement; nuclear bombs and chemical weapons, on the other hand... If progress is measured by how well and thoroughly we can kill each other, then yes, we've arrived. As Pogo once said, "Yep, son, we have met the enemy and he is us."

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[natepiercy]

I don't see why medical doctors don't make more frequent use of the MD abbreviation. I think a title like "Dr James Bond" carries the same weight as "James Bond, MD". If we could somehow convince the medical doctors to follow the standard "<First> <Last>, MD" and "MD <Last>" it would make room for the rest of the PhD professions to use "Dr <First> <Last>" and "DR <Last>". Then again, even with this clarification, people will need to ask the follow-up question "doctor of what?".

 

[IRstuff]

The problem with that is you don't call your medical doctor Mr. Smith, MD, or MD Smith, you call them Doctor Smith.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529

 

[SomptingGuy]

You'd get a hard stare, possibly a correction from a medical consultant in the UK if you unknowingly called him/her (only) Dr.

Steve

 

[KENAT]

Sompting, I believe it's only surgeons that like to associate their title with barbers, for physicians I believe Dr is still correct.

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