Wealthy Engineers 9

[pavlik]

I haven't met many rich engineers. Principals at engineering firms are typically well paid, but that is about the extent of it. Why?

Anyone knows a rich engineer and how she/he got there?
The way I see it:
i). Open up own practice;
ii). Rise up through the ranks of an established firm, ending up with the company's shares.
iii). Get an MBA and go work for a venture capitalist firm.
vi). Get a PhD in Applied Physics/Math and go work for a hedge fund.
v). Marry rich.
iv). Patent an idea, and see item i).
iiv). Inherit estate, win money or read Trump's "How To Get Rich" book ok...maybe that wouldn't help you

I am very scared of turning 40 one day and realizing that all I am worth is a meager $75,000. Very scared...

 

[ornerynorsk]

It ain't about the money. You need to do something you enjoy, otherwise, it's only voluntary servitude.

 

[denoid]

I agree with ornerynorsk. From your list, your best bets are v. and iiv. As for myself, I'm already married (poor), so the lottery looks like the best bet.

 

[IRstuff]

Please define "rich."

Many engineers make over $2M in a lifetime, or more. And a large number of engineers have net worth in excess of $1M by the time they're 50.

You can certainly be more than comfortable if you practice any modicum of frugality. The rules are absurdly simple:
> Save before anything else
> Live within your means
> Do not accumulate debt
> Buy a house as soon as practical

TTFN

 

[pavlik]

Let me define "rich":
I am of course using term "rich" loosely here. It's commonly accepted that one is truly rich when he/she no longer works for income.

But I am talking about working rich. For the sake of discussion, say over $120,000 annually.
I know, I know it's hardly considered wealthy, but it's in 5% of the highest paid americans.

 

[EngJW]

Ha! I am turning 60 and don't make near that much. You will never get rich as long as you are an employee. If you are just starting out, you are likely to be laid off a number of times, move several times and use up your savings, and eventually stop getting raises while new people are hired at more money. It's just the nature of the business. Beats pushing hamburgers. To work for yourself you need an opportunity, lots of guts, the ability to sell yourself, and the ability to get jobs done soon and at low cost. There is still no guaranty that you will make money though. Those of us who are lacking in all those attributes end up working for someone else.

It is all about living within your means, as IRstuff says, and finding a balance between work and your private life. Money can be low on the list of things that really matter.

Remember: when you get your first million, once you spend the first dollar you are no longer a millionaire.

 

[IRstuff]

It all depends on how much you're willing to put in to get that salary.

At most aerospace companies, $100K is midrange for senior engineers, managers and program managers:

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/

swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=126&statecode=
CA&state=California&metro=Orange+County&city=&geo=
Orange+County%2C+CA&jobtitle=Aerospace+Engineer+V&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=
EN01&r=salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=
EN04100068

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/

swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=126&statecode=
CA&state=California&metro=Orange+County&city=&geo=
Orange+County%2C+CA&jobtitle=Engineering+Manager&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=
EN01&r=salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=
EN04100037

TTFN

 

[sms]

At our company 100,000 per year is fairly normal for a senior engineer, with say 10-15 years experience. I know probably a dozen people either here or at other companies, that are individual contributers, still engineers and not managers, that meet your 120K criteria.

 

[IRstuff]

Lest you think I stacked the deck, this one is for senior applications engineers:

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/

swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=126&statecode=
CA&state=California&metro=Orange+County&city=&geo=
Orange+County%2C+CA&jobtitle=Applications+Engineer+V&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=EN01&r=
salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=EN04100101

I've not done an exhaustive study, but the same job in Houston seems to be comparable in salary:

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/

swzl_compresult.asp?zipcode=&metrocode=46&statecode=
TX&state=Texas&metro=Dallas&city=&geo=
Dallas%2C+TX&jobtitle=Applications+Engineer+V&search=
&narrowdesc=Engineering&narrowcode=EN01&r=
salswz_swzttsbtn_psr&p=&s=salary&geocode=&jobcode=
EN04100101

TTFN

 

[tulum]

Pavlik,

It has been my experience the people that make alot of money are the ones that....

(a) Self employ themselves
(b) manufacturer a product or provide a service that no one else wants to!

There are alot of engineers,doctors, and lawyers in my town, but the guys that are making out like bandits are the owners of the sewage removal companies, and the top soil suppliers....go figure...

My advice; find a widget and mass produce the damn thing.

Regards,
TULUM

 

[BJC]

Pavlik
There are more wealthy people with engineering degrees ( or taining ) than there are wealthy engineers. They don't get rich working for others and they don't work as engineers.
Just because someone has an engineering degree doesn't mean there an engineer.

 

[EddyC]

I have a friend who is an ME, is 42, does design engineering and not managing, and makes $100k/year+. And he works in industry, so he bears no liability if his designs fail and cause injury or property damage. I think that he has it pretty good.

 

[buzzp]

You will not get "rich" working for others. If you do, you got lucky. Now by rich, I assume you mean really rich (not merely making 200k). The only way to make this happen is to work for yourself. The ideal way is to design a product that everyone needs (not easy) and manufacture and sell it. I have worked in product mfg and consulting, mfging offers way more possibilities when it comes to profits. This is because your selling a product and not a service. The service industry is limited to the man hours and the time in a day. The number of products you can sell is not limited by the hours in a day and you can make money on it, theorhetically, for the rest of your life.
I like the idea of working for myself, not to get rich, but to be my own boss and have more control over my future.

 

[IRstuff]

If you assume that the only way you can be well-off is by working for yourself, then you're nearly guaranteed a 90% 1st-yr business failure rate and designing yourself into a position where there are no other avenues to achieve your desired goals.

If you're a half-way decent engineer, there's no guarantee that you'll be any good as a business manager.

There are lots of people who make less than $50K/yr and end up millionaires.

How many of you are saving 10% of your gross salary every year?

TTFN

 

[justroln]

The key to being rich is making your money work for you not the other way around. My best advice is look into real estate. Also you have to define "RICH". Is rich for you making 200k but spending 180k per year? or is it making 100k / year but having a net worth of 1mil? These are the questions you have to answer and on this path you will find the secrets to wealth.

 

[HVAC68]

I think the figure of $120K is a US figure. This can be a huge sum of money in many other parts of the world where the cost of living is much lower and hence the savings potential is much higher.

The best way to feel rich is to live a simple life, (doesn't mean cheap), a healthy life, a life in which you give more than you take from others, help the needy (there are so many under-privileged) and derive satisfaction out of it.

Probably, I have deviated from the main topic, but couldn't resist writing this.

Some of the worlds' famous millionaires do just that.

As somebody pointed out earlier, livng within your means and saving enough can make you rich (financially).

HVAC68

 

[TrevorP]

Check out the following website, to see how rich you really are:

http://www.channel4.com/4money/funnymoney/richometer/index.html

 

[GregLocock]

Well, let's take pavlik's goals on face value. (I disagree with them, but hey).

He wants to earn 120k, US $, in 2005 COLA

Here's what you do.

1) Don't use a mortgage to buy a house.

2) Live in cheap rented accomodation until you can buy a sensible house without a mortgage

3) Never buy a new car

4) Burn all your credit cards (or pay them off before interest is due)

5) Invest every spare cent

6) never take out a loan unles the interest is a business expense.

7) Only work for reputable firms, have a career plan

(5) is a bit of a trick. Choosing what to invest in is a hard thing to decide. I've done well out of the stockmarket, as a long term investor, but many people lose their shirts, as daytraders.

By following those rules I am ahead of pavlik's target, at the grand old age of 45.

On the other hand, I drive a POS car, and I don't have a nice yacht. And I /really/ want a nice yacht.



Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[ghghghgh]

Also,
- Marry someone with a similar financial plan or goals, or at least make sure you understand and accept theirs.
- Invest in yourself to increase you earning potential, education, licensure, professional affiliations, etc.

 

[EngJW]

Does "rich" have to be defined in terms of money? At my old age I am taking drum lessons and just bought a nice set. I have also learned to fly. I can't afford to go to Europe, but I can afford to get in the car on the weekend and drive 2 or 3 hours to see some interesting things.

Now, if I were making $100k and working 80 hours a week, I couldn't do any of that, and I would not feel very rich.