U.S. Salary 3

[lordkaos]

Hello,
I'm posting from italy.
My question regards u.s. salary.
I cannot understand what an u.s. 50k-60k entry level enginner salary means.
Is it a gross salary?
What is the net salary?
I mean, How much does an 50k-60k entry level engineer make a mounth, at the net of all?
Here in italy, on the average, an entry level engineer gains 1k euro at net.

 

[IRstuff]

That's gross salary. The net depends on where you live and how much tax you pay.

> Deduct Social Security Tax ~6.5%
> Deduct Federal Income Tax ~15%
> Deduct State Income Tax ~9%


TTFN

 

[ctopher]

To expand on it, if you don't understand....
50k min-60k max.
IRstuff is correct.
Just curious, are you planning on moving to the U.S.?

 

[jmw]

No, but I think I will... in the UK after NI deductions (don't know how much, but a lot) income tax at around 40% for a pretty average engineers wage, plus pensions deductions plus all the tax allowance losses for private health insurance and all on a lower gross salary.... and then add in local government taxes, TV licences, car tax etc etc, the US is obviously the place to be... except of course, where are all the US engineers jobs going?

JMW

http://www.viscoanalyser.com

Eng-Tips: Pro bono publico, by engineers, for engineers.

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

 

[GregLocock]

Add in medical insurance and pension provisions and income protection insurance when you compare thos enumbers.

It still works out in favour of the USA, just not as much as you might think. Cost of living is a lot lower most places as well.

Meanwhile in Australia almost all professionals will be on a marginal income tax rate of 48.5%, plus health insurance (mine's 50 bucks a month, not a big deal, but not much cover either).



Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[tygerdawg]

Be careful also of the differences of employment cultures in different companies / different countries.

After working for a French company for five years, I saw that the French employees had great health benefits, subsidized lunches and other things, lots of vacation time and holiday time, and what appeared to be lifetime employment. The method of getting ahead was not by achievement and initiative (was discouraged!) but by getting along well with fellow employees, if you went to the "correct" university, if you had the "correct" family name. It was generally a stress-free, but boring, discriminatory, and frustrating existence.

In the US, your salary is higher, but you have to pay (or choose not to pay) for your level of benefits, etc. Generally it is a meritocracy where one advances their career by achievement, sometimes by climbing over the dead fingers of your co-workers or working tremendous extra hours. There's more freedom in my opinion, but there's also more risk of getting terminated when the economy sinks.

TygerDawg

 

[corus]

jmw is quoting tax figures of 40% for the highest income earnings in the UK and does not represent average earnings at all. The true figure is 22%. The National Insurance amount deducted is 6%, which covers you for state pension and National Health Insurance. This is limited to a certain salary range though over which there is a flat rate. On top of that you may pay into a company pension scheme which is usually increased by the same amount by the company. This pension would be added to your basic state pension on retirement. To compare with the US you also have to consider that they pay extra for health insurance (for those that pay into it), which can be considerable depending on your current health and age, I believe. Of course in the UK you only pay into the National Health scheme while you're working but still get all the benefits from cradle to grave, and you're covered for everything, regardless of your current circumstances. You 'takes' your pick I guess.

corus

 

[IRstuff]

And, bear in mind that the effective US federal income tax rate varies greatly depending on whether you have lots of deductions, e.g., if you "own" a house and are paying off a large loan, that knocks down your tax and tax rate.


TTFN

 

[Comcokid]

Don't forget the cost of living and housing in different parts of the US. In the tech areas of California, a 3 bedroom house may be $900,000 up. In other metropolitan areas of the US, the same house may be $90,000 - a 100% differnce. Yet, the engineering pay difference may be only 30%

 

[IRstuff]

It's not quite that extreme, at least from what I can see. For a comparison, a 1600 sqft 1-story house in Los Gatos, CA goes for around $750,000. Los Gatos is within the classical definition of Silicon Valley

A 2200 sqft 2-story house in Brea, CA goes for $600,000. Brea is a semi-industrial suburb in North Orange County.

Silicon Valley home prices are indeed high, but at this time, most of California is also on the bubble.


TTFN

 

[MintJulep]

And we're back to the illnumeracy thread.

100% more than 90,000 is 180,000, not 900,000.

 

[lordkaos]

1000% !!!

 

[ctopher]

"A 2200 sqft 2-story house in Brea, CA goes for $600,000"??
That's pretty good! I'm in the other side of OC, you can't touch a house that size for that price here.

 

[SomeYahoo]

Let's see... 2200 sq ft. and an acre around here runs 150K or less. I'm glad not to be in California.

 

[IRstuff]

A set of houses that just went up last year in Brea have no more than about 7,000 sqft of lot, even for a 3,500 sqft house.


TTFN

 

[sms]

Near Houston, my house is valued at $135000 USD, almost 1 acre, and 2500 square ft.

 

[SomeYahoo]

And no state taxes, correct sms?

 

[sms]

Correct, no state income tax, but hefty sales tax of 8.5%, and while there is no tax on personal property there is a pretty hefty tax on your house. Between the school district, the county, and the city I pay about $3500 per year in property tax. Overall, I believe that the Houston metro area is among the cheapest places to live in the US. And it is heaven for mechanical engineers, lots of work to be done...

It is really hard to compare apples to apples between the US and Europe. I worked in the Netherlands for some time and tried to compare against them, and never really could decide who had the better deal. Housing in Holland is shockingly expensive, but housing in California is too. A lot of things that Europeans take for granted, we end up paying for in the US, like health insurance, and a good portion of retirement. The days of employer funded pensions a going away fast, although most employers will contribute to your 401 K retirement account as long as you do so as well.

Three weeks a year vacation is about the best you'll do, unless you put in more than 10 years with a company, which my European friends consider barbaric...

 

[Haf]

lordkaos,

You've probably figured this out by now, but no one spelled it out explicitly, so I will. The salary quoted is per year, not per month. So the average entry-level engineer MONTHLY NET pay is $2500 - $3500 USD, depending on location, tax status, etc.

Haf

 

[profengmen]

My net salary is gross.