PE Salaries??
PE Salaries??
(OP)
What are the new PE's getting now? I passed last April and was wondering what everyone is getting? I got an 8% raise when I passed. I think others are doing much better.
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RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
After doing this for a while, your salary will max out. More you move, younger you will be when your salary maxes out.
Then you become the first on the layoff list.
You can get a salary survey from www.seaint.org
Click on California map to get to SEAofCalifornia
There is a link to 2002 Salary Survey near the bottom of "What's New" column. This is a result from California engineers and is quite pitiful.
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
Hg
RE: PE Salaries??
One notable item from my last thread was this, when you pass your PE it qualifies you to take on additional responsibility. However, this does not necessarily mean that your office will have the immediate need for another project manager. You have two choices: 1 -Stay put and wait for an opportunity to arise, or 2 -Jump ship to another firm where you will immediately come into a position of greater responsibility, and therefore, greater pay.
From a business standpoint this makes perfect sense, from an employees standpoint it really stinks. I don't think you should have to switch jobs to get a proper pay raise.
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
Project Managers are usually paid more than technical people. In fact, almost all managers are paid more than technical people. They are perceived to have more impact on profitability than the technical people (not necessarily true, but then management should never be accused of having relevant perspective on such things!). As such, they are perceived to have greater value than the technical resources. This is particularly true at the point in one's career at which currently sit.
Do you have skills that others of your same experience and tenure do not have? If so exploit that to management. Do you have an interest in Project Management? A good technical person who can manage a project is very valuable (though somewhat rare!).
If a company does not recognize your potential and generally does not do a good job of assessing and progressing people, then perhaps you should consider a change. Just be aware that you might be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Unfortunately, engineering expertise is beginning to be perceived as a commodity service. It should never be, but that's a fact that we have to recognize and fight. We spend too much time gaining experience and honing our judgment skills to be taken so lightly by those who don't understand our obligation of protection of the health, safety,and welfare of the public. It took you at least 5 years to get licensed, maybe more. Yet when you look at the chargeability of your services compared to, say, a mechanic at the local Chevy dealer, the hourly rate is not significantly different. That's abominable, but a fact.
Remember that you MUST understand your VALUE to your organization. That comes most often in your billability, your career progression, and your attitude.
Good luck.
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
A 5% increase pay for registered PE is ridiculous if they are expecting signatures/stamps of approval. I am guessing this would have been your increase, anyway, if you did NOT get your PE. Are they paying insurance costs?
RE: PE Salaries??
Hg
RE: PE Salaries??
Another way to get a raise is to get another job offer so that the employer can counter that offer. If you are valuable enough, employer will try offer what they feel you are worth.
It's a pity...
RE: PE Salaries??
I have mostly had excellent reviews but the economics with the companies I worked for did not justify larger raises than 3%.
The year I received my best review was the year I got a 1% raise and was later laid off.
When i was laid off I took a 30% pay loss then started climbing again. Two jobs later and I am at 90% of that salary.
RE: PE Salaries??
I hear your pain... Average salaries and typical raise in terms of percentages differ significantly for different types of engineers. I speak for the structure engineering profession based on my experiences.
For example, percentage raise for an intern who becomes a full time staff after graduation may be as high as 50% or more (given that intern rate was around $10/hr). 8% raise for someone at $30/hr rate is roughly equal to 5% raise for someone at $50/hr.
Your 4% raise seems a bit on the low side... Which discipline is your PE?
Structchick,
That 8% you got for passing the PE... I really can't say for sure whether it was fair or not as it depends on your base rate. Couple of months before I received a notice that I passed the SE, I received a 5% standard annual raise (which is given to everyone). Once I got the SE license, I got a nice hand shake. I am no longer with that company.
RE: PE Salaries??
Let's assume you made $50,000 before you passed your PE exam. You were given an 8 percent raise or an additional $4000 per year. Assuming your salary is based on 2080 hours per year, then you got a $1.92 per hour increase in pay. You say that your company raised your billing rate by 5 times your increase. That means they raised their hourly chargeable rate for you by roughly $10 per hour. That's a nominal increase. Assuming before your increase you were being billed at $75 per hour, then the increase would take that to $85 per hour. With a labor multiplier of 3.0 (that's about the minimum for a professional services company employing a reasonable mix of professional, paraprofessional and admin people), your maximum salary for that "category" of personnel would be about $59,000 per year. Until you strive to reach the next level, that only gives you room for two more nominal salary increases before the company would be forced to require you to be promoted to a different category or stop your increases. Just facts of business.
To run an engineering business, you have to reasonably get a labor multiplier of at least 3.0. If you don't achieve that, profits will suffer, shareholder value will decrease, and the company will be forced to take fiscal action, sometimes including layoffs or cut-backs in other areas.
Your contribution should be to learn as much as possible, get your own base of clients who rely on YOU, and make yourself more valuable in the marketplace. This will impress your company and hopefully you'll be rewarded accordingly. If not, then you should move on. Do not; however, expect salary increases without a commitment on your part to progress your personal career agenda and that of the company. Prove your worth. Most engineering firms will recognize that.
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
In the "best advice ever" thread someone mentions that having "I quit" money in the bank provides for piece of mind. I think having an "I quit" resume can be just as comforting.
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
One simple solution: to prevent you from looking for another job. It's employee insurance as far as I'm concerned.
The employerisn't making the employee rich, they are preventing him/her from leaving the company, forcing them to find another person who may or may not be competent, and has to be trained on what the company does and how it does it.
RE: PE Salaries??
Bottom line (for private industries) is to do your best and prove your worth. Once you can honestly say that you are exceeding your employers expectations and a better raise does not come, start looking for another job if you want to make more money.
RE: PE Salaries??
TTFN
RE: PE Salaries??
Sometimes it provides leeway. Based only on my one experience as a manager, the percentage increase for each employee was given to me. The next year I had a little leeway but certainly not more than 1-2% off from the standard 3%.
RE: PE Salaries??
I'm in an industry (oil and gas) that supposedly pushes as many of its engieers as possible to get the PE license and I've not heard any of my colleagues mention raises just for getting the license.
To the question of getting more than the standard 3% raise, I agree that the best way is to leave your job for a new company. I've done that three times and each time the raise was good, at least 8% and a couple times over 10%.
With one of my previous companies I was averaging about 6% for my annual raise. Of course, I now work for a company that hasn't seen fit to provide any kind of raise for 3 years.
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
Thread507-108193
Hg
RE: PE Salaries??
RE: PE Salaries??
Being on one's own brings about freedom, more $/hour and flexibility in whom they choose as their clients, but work load isn't always steady... Not to mension working 24/7 and in your sleep too.