Motivation to study/learn on my own time 7

[shacked]

Please understand this disclaimer, "I am not only concerned with the pay and I did not become an engineer because I thought it payed well.

Having said that, I have a question to other Structural engineers.

I have passed the FE and I now have 2 years of structural experience all in light framed residential structures.

I have experience designing steel moment frames, cmu and concrete retaining walls, structural foundation systems including cassions and temp shoring systems, not to mention all the other daily problems that one deals with at a small structural engineering office.

Now here is my dilema the way I see it. I make $24.00/hr which is just about 50k. My girlfriend makes $26.00/hr and she does not even have a degree. She is a surgical technician, and she still has a little more to go until she tops out as far as pay goes. Oh, she also hardely ever works more than 40 hours a week.

Now I am at the point in my career where I should start studying for the PE, which takes up a lot of my free time, but I am starting to wonder if it is worth it. So much of my own time spent studying for the PE and not to mention learning more about structural design in order to be a good practical structural engineer. All this extra time spent working towards my career, but the compensation is not even close to what it should be, especially considering that I live in Southern California.

Now as far as pay goes, all I have to go on is what I think that other small structural companies are paying in Southern California and I think that based on my experience, the average pay is just a little higher than $24.00/hr, say maybe $27.00/hr or so??

So just throwing this out there, and I look foreword to hearing your comments.

Thanks

 

[KENAT]

Where did you get your 'average' figures.

If this was from some trade publication or the like they may have some veracity.

You could check somewhere like Salary.com but make sure and take it with a pinch of salt.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[GregLocock]

Well, 25 years after I graduated I still read textbooks and do things that look remarkably similar to learning for about 10 hours a week in my own time.

Frankly if I wasn't learning I'd be bored.



Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[DiscoP]

I'm not a structural engineer, and not from the US but it sounds a similar story.

From what I have found, there are many people who earned slightly more then me in jobs requiring lower qualifications when I first started out.

If you are interested in your field, and good at your job then you will eventually start earning a lot more than people doing jobs requiring lower qualifications (there will be exceptions of course !)

I too earned more money starting out than some others with better qualifications than me, and am sure most of them earn more than me now too :-(

Greg has given some good advice. Most people in this profession need to keep learning and developing - much of it is unpaid but it is rewarding.

 

[TPL]

Why not have a go at being a surgical technician?

Seems to tick all of your boxes

 

[shacked]

The whole point of this post was although I like what I do, it just seems that there is a disproportionate amount of work/studying that has to be done, compared to the monetary benefits.

I guess I just wanted to test the waters and see what other structural engineers that work at smaller companies thought.

 

[Gymmeh]

It is hard to compare you job to a job like your GF. Engineering pay is based off your knowledge and experience. Where jobs like hers have get pay raises that flat line sooner.

For example: I worked in construction work for 5 years, and the max I could make was $18 /hr ( $25 /hr if it was a Gov’t job). The only thing that would increase my pay is if I got my Journey Man, or worked in some obscure location. For the rest of my life, my pay would only get adjusted for inflation.

Now take engineering, I have not passed the $25/hr mark yet, but I know I will. I know I always have the opportunity throughout my life to get a raise greater then inflation (with a little luck). Like some other threads on this forum, engineers can get for 3% - 20%, most were nicely above inflation. I wish I could find the thread, but someone had a good saying to the extent of, “don’t worry about what you’re making now, but what you want to be making in 5 yrs, and how to get there.” (sorry to whomever for sealing your quote)

I guaranty the majority of general worker positions will never see a 20% raise.

Best Regards

 

[TheTick]

The medical industry is very different. Prices are high, demand is high, more money is available, and customers are not making suppliers compete.

Non-PE civil seems to be about the lowest pay scale in the engineering field, based on what I've seen. Civil engineering is in a market full of tight budgets, stiff competition, and bidding wars.

The simple answer is to not worry about it. You are looking for fairness where there is none, nor any true measure of fairness in any case.

 

[Gymmeh]

Star to tick, one thing Tick, its not high demand, its a nessesity!

Its not even fair, just tell people with will die unless the fork out alot of money!

 

[chusker15]

I've always believed that if you work hard and never stop learning that the money will take care of itself. Having a job that you enjoy is worth a lot.

 

[salmon2]

I did not check salary.com in your area and don't know much about medical field except that I know MD are paid unreasonably higher than any other doctors but law. Having said that, your salary seems fine to me if you are just bachelor + 2 years of experience, maybe falling towards lower end.

I have a PhD in manufacturing and 5 years of experience, still thinking to get a PE soon if I can find spare time after work. I personally think PhD is a lot harder than a PE exam, even though I haven't taken PE yet, and it means more to myself than PE even though I am not in academia. Did my PhD pay off in term of pay? I don't think so. Do I regret? No. Do I want people to call me Dr? No, even though it is on my card. Then why I still think going for a PE which I think means less to me and will require a long time as I will have to do it after work? I guess I enjoy learning and educating myself and think PE will teach me a lot new things even I have a PhD. And it will definitely increase your qualification and potentially increase your pay as well.

As you can see, I share the similar view on pay with you. I care about pay a lot but it is not my first priority.

 

[Lion06]

I am in a mid-size compoany (very well-respected, reptable firm on teh east coast). I have my 2 year review coming up soon and expect my salary afterwards to be better than $27/hr (salaried, of course, based on 2080 hours per year).
I have a very close friend who is a surgeon (in residency). She has 2 years to go to finish residency and is already being offered a small fortune at different places - Far more than I will probably make in 25 years.
That being said, I am a firm believer in the saying,
"Do what you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life"

 

[csd72]

With 10yrs experience and a PE you could probably earn $50 an hour on contract so dont give up.

Yes the starting salary is small but dont give up, it gets better, never great but better.

 

[Zogzog]

"Do what you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life"

That is one of the best quotes ever. I was all about the $ in my last few jobs and recently took a paycut to do something I enjoyed more and allowed for more time with my family. Somehow I feel richer at 70% of the salary I was making before.

 

[salmon2]

Zoqzog,

Feel happy for you. I hope I can do that too, but I think I have a long way to go before I can afford that.

 

[graybeach]

Shacked,
By all means get your PE. The studying is not all that difficult and you will keep your options open. Being that you are in So Cal, there must be other companies to work for. In light framed residential construction you have builders and architects pinching every penny. Civil engineering for heavy construction probably pays better. Or, you might find yourself a government job with better pay, shorter days and more vacation.

 

[UcfSE]

All I can say is welcome to engineering. I was in the same boat you're in. Perhaps adjust your attitude a little in that you should study something because you don't know it, rather than studying for a test. Do that and the test will fall into place, and your peers will come to recognize that kind of attitude. You may also have to shop around to find relatively good money. It just takes time and patience.

You'll have a tough time competing with medical people as far as money goes, so don't waste your thought on that.

 

[shacked]

Thanks for all the helpfull insight.

I think that there is someone that proofreads these posts and edits them prior to posting, because in my 2nd response portions of what I wrote were cut out.

I pretty much thought that this was the case, but I just wanted to find out from others.

Ya, right now I just have to "put in my time" learn as much as I can study for the PE as well as educate myself about other structural information that I can.

 

[TheTick]

I saw your original 2nd post. You were definitely out of line. Try to minimize (= eliminate!) personal attacks in the future and keep them PG-rated. Your post was probably red-flagged by a user and edited by moderator. Usually such frothing is deleted outright without editing.

 

[Lion06]

I wish I got to read that before it was edited!