Split Wage for Engineer 3

[danby64]

I'm currently an electrical designer doing control system design / PLC programming at a manufacturing plant. I'm about to get my P.Eng and my employer is saying I would then get a split wage. One wage for when I'm doing my design work, and another wage for when I'm doing engineer work.

My employer says this is common practice. Is it or are they just trying to low-ball me? My feeling is that it shouldn't be a split wage since I'm obligated to keep my "engineer hat" on at all times.

At first, the engineering work would be minimal such as stamping the odd drawing and doing the occasional pre-start safety review. So I can see from their POV that they could save a few bucks by not paying me a full engineer's wage.

 

[TheTick]

Never heard of this before. Sounds like it’s time to move that employer down a few lines on the resume.

 

[danby64]

I should also add that I'd be the first P.Eng at this company. So I'm basically their ticket to more revenue/opportunities.

 

[Latexman]

I've worn several hats simultaneously from time to time in my 39 year career. NEVER did I have a split wage. They are taking the low road IMHO.

Good luck,
Latexman

To a ChE, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.

 

[JohnRBaker]

The last time I knew anyone who got so-called 'split wage' was when my granddaughter got a job at a restaurant where she worked both as a hostess and in the back-office. She got a regular, well above minimum-wage hourly rate, for her time in the office, but when working as a hostess she got a lower per-hour rate but she did get a share of the tip pool.

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[TheTick]

It’s a trash move by your employer. Tell them I said so.

 

[monkeydog]

When you are doing your design work, are you going to think like an engineer?

 

[TheDW]

Having to justify why some work I've done was engineering work instead of design work isn't something I'd be interested in doing.

Likewise, it would be hard for me to hold my tongue if my manager told me some work I'd done was 'design' instead of engineering and made me change my timesheet.

 

[Latexman]

It's time to see what you are worth elsewhere, so you know what to tell them.

Good luck,
Latexman

To a ChE, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.

 

[danby64]

Yes I'd be thinking like an engineer since I'd be obligated to think about safety/standards a bit more.

Better put down that 5 seconds it took me to stamp that drawing on my timesheet!

 

[1gibson]

Maybe counter with proposing to only do "engineer" work and stamping after hours, and charge as a consultant, on top of your current designer salary. Everything is a negotiation.

 

[Terratek]

I'd like to see them find an outside hire willing to agree to that. If you are serious about furthering professional development as an engineer, you need to get a job with a company where you are not the only engineer.

 

[CWB1]

I'd ask the boss which you are, a designer or an engineer? Pay should be commensurate with the role and never split. Regardless, many of us do both and the correct term is "design engineer" with a proper engineer's salary.

 

[IRstuff]

They're trying to have their cake and eat it too. They're too chintzy to hire a part-time designer, but want you to do that work at the designer's lower wages. That's BS. We don't have any "designers," and we suck up the cost. It's makes for a more expensive contract billable, but that's the price of integrity, which your company appears to have a lack of. If they cut corners on this relatively important thing, imagine what they'd do to save money on a big job.

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[monkeydog]

Danby64,

What I was trying to point out, and hoped you would have picked up on, is while you are designing, you are thinking like an engineer, therefore you are working as an engineer. The 5 seconds you spend stamping is a result of the past "40 hours" you spent designing as an engineer. The engineering evaluation/review etc, was performed while designing.

 

[jari001]

If you can't get your company to understand your TOTAL value and pay you accordingly, you need to find a better job ASAP. I'd look into whether this is illegal where you work - this just sounds like a scam (and you can quote me).

 

[Sparweb]

Good advice from anyone. I can add nothing but amplify the overwhelming opinion that your (current) employer is trying to steal from you.
Your next employer won't get that opportunity.

STF

 

[dik]

With nearly 50 years of experience, this is the first I've heard of this approach.

Dik

 

[handleman]

I think a lot may depend on the background circumstances here... To some degree wages have to be commensurate with the economic value of the work done, not just the qualifications of the individual. McDonalds can't afford to hire a CPA full time to run a cash register, even if they do balance the books once a quarter (or something like that).

If the employer really just needs a designer but the OP has gone and gotten a PEng, he may be overqualified for the needs of the employer and unable to create the value required to be paid as a PEng full time, just due to the nature of the work done. If that's the case, he can choose to be underpaid for work that he's overqualified for, getting paid a higher rate for higher value work at times, or choose to go somewhere that he can create that economic value all the time. Theoretically, if PE work is rare enough that it would cost less to contract out the occasional PE work than to pay the OP as full-time PE, the split wage is pretty crappy but still somewhat justifiable.

But yeah, I'd still be looking for another place.

 

[HamburgerHelper]

Designers get paid sometimes as much as engineers and they often get paid 1.5 for overtime. Maybe, you morph into a designer whenever you exceed 40 hours.

I don't think this has been brought up. I could imagine someone at a small company not wanting the client to think "why am I being billed for an engineer to do non-engineering task?" That is your bosses problem. You just care about take home pay. This doesn't sound like what is happening but if I was running a small company and I didn't want to make it look like I had a small operation, I might not want the client to know that Bob is responsible for drafting/document control/design/engineering/procurement/contract/janitorial services/IT support/secratary/technical support. Bob does all those things but when I bill for Bob, he is 10 different positions.



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