Salary after P.Eng. 2

[FourierT]

Hi, what is the typical salary range in the consulting industry (structural, mech, elec) for individuals after they earn their P.Eng., especially if they are using their stamp as EOR on projects?

How does this range look like across the different provinces in Canada and across different consulting fields (utilities, oil & gas, buildings, etc.)? How accurate are the figures in the official APEG salary surveys?

Thanks!

 

[Ashereng]

Congratulations on you pending P. Eng.

Some bad news for you. A P. Eng. does not entitle you to a salary bump. In fact, your question "How does this range look like across the different provinces ..." and "... accross different consulting fields ..." probably have more affect on salary.

Oil and gas pays well. So does utilities. If you work for one of the Silicon Vally/Alley companies, so would electronic and software engineering. The disciplines within each industry will also affect pay. A elec eng in the power sector will make more. A process eng in the oil and gas industry will make more. Get the idea?

It is my feeling that salary surveys are pretty accurate, as a "general impression". A better guide may be industry publications over the "engineering" association's survey reports. Individual differences are numerous.

In the end, what you make most likely will depend on supply and demand, geography, and most importantly, your own capability.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[moltenmetal]

Unfortunately there is no Canadian survey I'm aware of which covers non-P.Engs./non EITs.

Unless the P.Eng. allows an immediate increase in responsibility (i.e. becoming EOR on projects rather than a supporting team member), I wouldn't expect to see any increase in pay.

Considering that only about 20-25% of eng grads go on to licensure, the lack of a pay increase would at first seem surprising. But when you consider that only 1/3 of eng grads actually work in any capacity as engineers, that's a fairly high capture rate of the fraction of eng grads actually working as engineers. So the P.Eng. isn't as rare is it would at first seem. Most people who qualify for one easily will seek and maintain it because the fees are low and the maintenance responsibilities/costs are comparatively few.

This assumes that you're a Canadian grad who was previously working as an engineer. If you're a foreign grad who was working as a draftsman or a tech etc. because of concern about the validity of your credentials, getting your P.Eng. can represent full entry into the profession and a BIG potential bump in pay.

 

[HPRifleman]

Your salary will increase after getting a P.E. only if having your license will bring value to your employer.

 

[RDK]

Every provincial association conducts and publishes some sort of salary survey. They rank everyone on either a points basis or a general description to determine your ranking. Then they compare asalaries across disciplines and years of experience etc.

For the Manitoba survey see

http://www.apegm.mb.ca/SalarySurvey_Index.html

You may have to dig around the association’s web sites to find it but it should be there for every province, at least in a summary form.


Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[moltenmetal]

As I said, nobody publishes a survey for people WITHOUT P.Eng. licenses, so that might not be of much use to the OP. If anyone knows of such a survey I'd be interested in seeing it.

Given that in Ontario we capture about 20-25% of fresh grads as P.Eng. licensees, and only about 1/3 of eng grads end up working as engineers, there aren't actually as many non-licensed engineers practicing engineering here under the C of A or industrial exemptions as most people imagine.

 

[eliebl]

APEGGA's survey is conducted yearly and available at

http://www.apegga.ca.

The companies I have worked for typically give some sort of change in salary when a P.Eng. is attained.

 

[fel3]

I'm a consulting civil engineer in California. Each of the three companies I have worked for has given automatic promotions and salary increases for obtaining professional licensure. When I got my license way back in 1983 I got an additional $100/month. I don't know what it is now. I hope it's more.

It works something like this:
-- Obtaining a license earns an automatic promotion to a new classification, say from "Assistant Engineer" to "Associate Civil Engineer" (as an aside, the assistant engineer can't be called an Assistant CIVIL Engineer because the title of "Civil Engineer" is legally protected).
-- With a license, the newly minted Civil Engineer can now take on real professional responsibilities, justifying a higher salary, though the rate they take them on varies by individual and circumstance. With a license comes the ability to manage projects (starting small, then working up) and the ability to stamp and sign documents (after rigorous QC review, of course). We can now also include the newly minted Civil Engineer in proposals for new work. The "advertising" benefit to the company starts small, but increases with experience.
-- The new classification carries a higher billing rate and the higher billing rate can handle a higher salary while still maintaining profitability. In fact, the company benefits too because the individual's Net Labor Multiplier (i.e. the ratio of Billing Rate to Salary) typically increases at the start of each promotion cycle. I used this fact one time to negotiate a higher salary increase that I was first offered and I still left the company with a higher NLM than I was leaving behind. IIRC, I was at a NLM of 2.95 (our target was around 3.00), the salary I was offered produced a NLM of 3.50, and I obtained a salary with a NLM of 3.30. I came out good without overplaying my hand and the company made out even better.

==========
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[sam74]

When I got my license the consulting company I worked for had a standard $2.00 raise for this. Although they shafted me for 9 years prior.

The company I work for now gives me $175 a month to keep my licesne up to date. I have to take care of all necessary continuing education and state fees now but there is a lot of required training for the jobsite and that covers most continuing education.