Structural vs Civil Engineering Pay 1

[swooneyWOODSTRUCT]

So I just passed my PE Civil-Structural exam and applied for my PE license. I am busy preparing for negotiations with my boss about pay after I receive my license. All of the resources I am finding have little/no pay statistics for structural engineering, just civil. Can I use civil salaries for the purposes of negotiating or are the salaries very different? Which sector tends to make more?

For a little background: I have a B.S. in Civil Engineering but all of my elective classes focused on structural. I have also been working at the same structural engineering firm for the last 7 years (2 as an intern during college and 4 full-time after I graduated).

 

[JLNJ]

I believe the pay is comparable between Civil and Structural. Maybe a little more for structural on the West Coast.

The better you are at your job, the more your company will be willing to pay you. Are you good at your job? How easily could you be replaced? Two years of an internship isn't really the same as full-time professional employment, so I wouldn't use that. And 2 years intern plus 4 years full time definitely doesn't equal 7 years.

The employee has had the upper hand for a while now. The engineering market has been strong. Some of us have been around long enough to remember when the employer had the leverage and it wasn't so easy to just walk in and "negotiate" a raise.

 

[NorthCivil]

The only real way to find out your true value, is to start your own company.

 

[phamENG]

The only real way to find out your true value, is to start your own company.

I get it, but I disagree with it. I went this route, and I'm glad I did, but I'd say 80% of the engineers I know would be worthless in this position. But most of them add tremendous value to the teams they are on.

 

[DTS419]

Throughout my career, most of my big jumps in pay have come from changing employers. Getting your PE is a great time to update your resume and look around.

Comparing civil to structural is hard to do because civil can be very broad. For example, there are civil engineers who specialize in land development, site planning, municipal, hydrology, dams, etc. and those markets place different values on engineering services. I was once told that structural engineers salaries are constricted by the fact that most of their work comes from architects. Architectural services tend to be under-valued and there is only so much they can charge their clients to pay their structural consultants. In my opinion, structural engineers are some of the most under-paid professionals out there given the level of knowledge, skill, and responsibility that it takes.

 

[hawkaz]

Be careful how often you do that DTS491. After a few of these- potential employers start to wonder why you can't hold a job.
If I see a resume with 5 jobs in the last 10 years- it's going in the trash.

 

[phamENG]

Depends on what those jobs are. I agree 2 years would be a bit short - I've heard the 'norm' talked about as 3-5 years now. But if the jobs are relatively transient in nature or contract based (design and oversee CA for a particularly large project/development, for instance), or if they are steadily increasing in scope and responsibility, I'd have questions but I'd also be very interested. Could be a fantastic candidate. Could also be a 2-bit hack good at pulling the wool over peoples eyes, too...but worth probing to see if you can see which is which.