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Salary, Signing Bonus, negotiating tactics 1

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badgerdave

badgerdave

Mechanical
Mar 4, 2011
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What seems to be the going rate for entry level mechanical engineers near you?

I took a temporary/trial hourly position for 90 days and I'm going to be getting a job offer next week to be full time. Any tips/strategies?

Finally, I've read a couple general salary negotiating articles and they mention a signing bonus, is this typically done for engineers?

Thanks!!
 
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Depends upon the industry, but signing bonuses were big back in the late 90's and early 00's when the .com boom was still going strong. If you get a signing bonus now, you're one of the lucky few. Most industries just aren't pulling strong enough these days to warrant it.

Go into the meeting with an idea of what someone in your position is truly worth from an industry-wide standpoint. Account for locality, account for your recent experience with them (hopefully you did solid work), etc. Don't waffle, but don't be arrogant/cocky... if you know what others in your situation command, you should have a good starting point. If they look flexible, you may be able to get an extra few $k, but don't push too hard... this is your first spot, after all, and you need experience more than you need an extra couple of $k at the moment.

Dan - Owner
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You have to look at how much you want/need the position, and as Dan suggests, your current "fair market value". As a prospective employee (during my career changes), I've always started with determining my desire to have a particular job, and what I think I am reasonably worth to the company. Based on that, I will negotiate accordingly.

Check around for current salary information in your area. Our professional association publishes salary information annually, which is (at least I have found) quite accurate compared to the various industries in my locale.

Also, if you're entry-level, your bargaining position is probably diminished slightly. As you develop more experience, your ability to negotiate improves.
 
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Have only been offered a signing bonus once. Not sure how typical it is. If you get one you are lucky.

I work in automotive and have heard of starting salaries anywhere between 45-60k at least in my corner of Automotive (electronic packaging). With some experience you could probably pull 60+. Of course that was before everyone went bankrupt. In the past I have been offered 35k.

I have found to be somewhat reliable. If you know a company name that you would like to work for do a search for specific job titles. You might find what they have paid previous employees. Some of the data for my company was in line with what I expected, but take everything with a grain of salt.
 
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Thanks for the help everyone. I've gone to a couple salary websites and printed out the info to cite if needed. I was wondering about tuition reimbursement, is this usually 100%? 50%?
 
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Tuition varies all over the place... it will vary from 0% to 100% to everything in between, and there may or may not be all kinds of rules tied to the money. My current and last job offered 100% reimbursement if the class(es) was deemed appropriate to my duties... the job before that was 0%.

Dan - Owner
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Some comapnies put a retriction on the number of courses they will cover. My company will only cover 12 credit hours, but the degree is 30. My choice is to not get the degree or pay for 1/2 the classes. There is also a requirement to stay for XX months after taking the class or the company can ask to have the reimbursement refunded.
My last job would have covered all courses to get the degree.


"Wildfires are dangerous, hard to control, and economically catastrophic."

Ben Loosli
 
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I did not take advantage of it, but at a place I worked the tuition reimbursement was based on the grade level attained in the class. 100% for an A, 80% for a B, 60% for a C, and nothing if lower than that.

I also believe they had some sort of minimum stay at the company after the class to keep the reimbursement. 2 years maybe? But it was based on percentage of time of 2 years, so if you left a year after the class you would only have to refund half of the reimbursement. Something along that line.
 
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Like was said, signing bonuses are more for when people really need to get someone in the door. If they have a surplus of applicants, why would they offer extra to bring someone on?

Things like tuition reimbursement are likely laid out in the employee handbook, and are most likely not negotiated per person upon hiring them. Don't count on that for sure though. It never hurts to ask, especially if you are in process of getting the degree and want help with paying for it. Also, with all the other limitations mentioned above, these programs are often discretionary so the company can determine if there is a benefit to them for the degree associated with the individual.

As far as negotiations are concerned, keep an pen mind. Many things are negotiable, not just pay.
 
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If you're going to ask salary questions, at least give a vague geographical location so you don't get salaries given in peso's (but without units) or something and get upset when you don't make $500000 PA US at your first job.

Also, in many ways, long term it's often better to get a bigger starting salary than a 'signing bonus' as future pay raises with probably be based on a % of your current pay.

Relocation expenses are a slightly different kettle of fish, but even then unless it will cost you in short term loan interest or something, money in your base pay may be better long term.

(Of course if they set pay for positions based on 'average industry remuneration for the position' or similar rather than what you personally bring to/have done for the company, then any bonus when you can get it may be better - there's no simple fits all answer.)

One of our interns just got hired on for around 60k at a different company in a different industry sector.

Posting guidelines faq731-376 (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​
 
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KENAT said:
Also, in many ways, long term it's often better to get a bigger starting salary than a 'signing bonus' as future pay raises with probably be based on a % of your current pay.
Click to expand...
That assumes you stay at the job long enough to make percentage pay raises worthwhile... in many industries (e.g., mine), staying at a position more than a few years is practically luck!

Even though the move may not have been my choice, I've found that my biggest jumps in salary come from moving jobs and negotiating for a better salary. Getting into companies large enough to allow good pay while staying away from ones that are so big they force you into a paygrade helps...

Dan - Owner
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Paygrades... Gross. Stay away from that if you can. Thats the case in my company, your raises are basically stuck based on whichever paygrade HR deems your position belongs in. If you want to negotiate a raise, good luck, you aint gonna get it. If you want to negotiate a promotion, you aren't likely to get that either.

 
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When negotiating salary:
Try to negotiate with the ONE signing the checks, not his subbordinates.
Negotiate with the one that needs you, not his assistant.
 
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