Engineering Grad Salaries (3 Viewers)

[dr pete]

Hey fellas,
Which type of engineering grads are making the most out of uni?
I know most are making about $50-$55k but whats the upper escalon making compared to that?
Anyone got stories of massive salaries.

cheers,
Pete.

 

[Joel8945]

I don't really know about any salary stories, all I do know is that chemical engineers and electrical engineers tend to make the highest salaries.

 

[blue_chameleon]

I've got a friend in working in mining earning $80k first year out of uni, but he has ace marks and a workable skill set.

Other than that, engineers don't tend to get paid mega bucks across the profession, until they get experience and take more responsibility with projects.

To put salaries in perspective, i've received an offer with a utilities company for their grad program paying $54k a year first year out. I'm also waiting on an offer for another role with a large contracting company and expect that to pay around $55k - $60k a year. I'm an accountant.

You should look at the 'stories' of massive salaries grads are scoring straight out of uni, as even though engineers are in demand and will continue to be, on average, salaries aren't going to push above $55k a year for grad engineers.

 

[Joel8945]

I've got a friend in working in mining earning $80k first year out of uni, but he has ace marks and a workable skill set.

Other than that, engineers don't tend to get paid mega bucks across the profession, until they get experience and take more responsibility with projects.

To put salaries in perspective, i've received an offer with a utilities company for their grad program paying $54k a year first year out. I'm also waiting on an offer for another role with a large contracting company and expect that to pay around $55k - $60k a year. I'm an accountant.

You should look at the 'stories' of massive salaries grads are scoring straight out of uni, as even though engineers are in demand and will continue to be, on average, salaries aren't going to push above $55k a year for grad engineers.

55k isn't a bad starting salary! I personally would be happy getting 50k+ but careerwise I don't want to get >30k - 40k. I'm looking at what I major in based on what it allows me to do careerwise (i.e. I want to use what I can do best and what I am interested in my profession) and what salary I can expect (something that allows me to earn a decent amount of money).

 

[blue_chameleon]

55k isn't a bad starting salary! I personally would be happy getting 50k+ but careerwise I don't want to get >30k - 40k. I'm looking at what I major in based on what it allows me to do careerwise (i.e. I want to use what I can do best and what I am interested in my profession) and what salary I can expect (something that allows me to earn a decent amount of money).

If you're good at what you do in engineering, you'll set yourself up to earn a good salary, regardless of the area of engineering you work in.

I'd say take the salary expectations out of the picture and just look at aligning what you enjoy and are talented in, by choosing the right subjects in your studies.

Talk to your Program Officer (in charge of administering you through your degree correctly, right subjects met etc) when it comes time to choose you major/s, and tell them what you are interested in pursuing or what you found you did well at in your studies thus far, and they should be able to help you choose the right subjects.

 

[dr pete]

thanks for the advice everyone.
i think i'm most interested in mechanical engineering because of the variety of interesting areas it covers and i'd be good at it.

what kind of salary do engineers expect when they move into senior and management positions?

cheers.

 

[gcspsp]

thanks for the advice everyone.
i think i'm most interested in mechanical engineering because of the variety of interesting areas it covers and i'd be good at it.

what kind of salary do engineers expect when they move into senior and management positions?

cheers.

If youve got enough experience, project management roles can earn close to $100K if not more.

 

[blue_chameleon]

If youve got enough experience, project management roles can earn close to $100K if not more.

I'd say that is the minimum/average for that role, in a decent company.

I have a friend that has done Civil at uni and received an industry scholarship to work whilst studying. He's finished studies and is now junior Project Manager roles, earning $65k.

 

[Miner]

Which type of engineering grads are making the most out of uni?

Mining followed by Petroleum

 

[Joel8945]

Mining followed by Petroleum

When they say mining is that like an area that incorporates mechanical, chemical, electrical, structural engineers, etc?

Like say if I were interested in the mechanics of the machinery used, technically a mechanical engineer could be employed to work out the mechanical requirements of the equipment being used?

What is a mining engineer? Also petroleum?

These two look as though they would involve a vast amount of engineers from different areas working on these projects.

 

[Miner]

What is a mining engineer?

They are the ones that manage/co-ordinate the various activities at mines. The bosses at a mine site are usually but not always Mining Engineers. Mining engineering courses start out with the first two years of civil and structural engineering and then the final two years are the mining specialties like minerals processing, resource estimation, mine planning, environmental management etc

Grad mining engineers get to drive around on the boggers and trucks as well as blow stuff up.

Also petroleum?

Petroleum engineers supervise and improve drilling and petroleum-producing operations. They study and understand geologic and engineering principles to predict maximum oil and gas recovery as well as ultimate production and production rates. Petro engineering is more based in Chemical engineering but like mining engineering includes a geological emphasis.

 

[Laika_]

Hey fellas,
Which type of engineering grads are making the most out of uni?
I know most are making about $50-$55k but whats the upper escalon making compared to that?
Anyone got stories of massive salaries.

cheers,
Pete.

escalon lol

 

[shady145]

on the UNSW engineering guide it says that petroleum engineers earn up to 110k or even more in the 1st year, followed by mining engineering which they say 90k

 

[Miner]

on the UNSW engineering guide it says that petroleum engineers earn up to 110k or even more in the 1st year, followed by mining engineering which they say 90k

It really does depend on who you work for and where you work, along with what they are including in the salary figure.

Personally I'd treat the "average" and "up to" type figures provided by universities with a healthy dose of skepticism because they use those figures to market these courses. While both disciplines pay extremely well compared to others, there are lots of extras that can confuse the issue of actual salary.

 

[dawso]

on the UNSW engineering guide it says that petroleum engineers earn up to 110k or even more in the 1st year, followed by mining engineering which they say 90k

you also have to look at the work hours and living conditions but

living on some off shore oil rig for 11 months a year or in mt isa for 10 days on, 2 days off doing 14 hours shifts...it aint the type of engineering thats getting the money its the general work conditions

also, students considering taking the plunge into mining engineering just remember what goes up must (and is beginning to) come down.... the boom is over children

 

[addikaye03]

If youve got enough experience, project management roles can earn close to $100K if not more.

Well where i work, Managers of sectors (e.g. Survey manager, Quality Manager) earn alot more than that (150k).

A Project manager ( the person who is top of the whole site etc) earns in excess of $200k. With experience and even greater responsibility would obv mean even greater money

 

[SoAmazing]

on the UNSW engineering guide it says that petroleum engineers earn up to 110k or even more in the 1st year, followed by mining engineering which they say 90k

110K?? can there be any truth to that!!! wow that is quite an impressive starting salary
i was told that for mining the average is approx 60K, which is already quite impressive in its own right

 

[Miner]

110K?? can there be any truth to that!!! wow that is quite an impressive starting salary
i was told that for mining the average is approx 60K, which is already quite impressive in its own right

That's way too low for mining. The lowest I've heard is 90k with many earning well above 100k. Pays to bear in mind that mining grads need to work on-site to gain essential further certification. Management wouldn't be too happy if their grads did their blasting requisites in head office.

 

[blue_chameleon]

I'll be starting work with a major construction contractor next year, starting on >60k. Salary progresses to possibly 200k with the right amount of experience and qualifications for Commercial Managers on large projects. The CM on the project i'll be working on is only 34.

Pretty sure that the majority of grad engineers are on a similar starting salary to me, with the opportunity to earn a lot more at the top of their career path in project management roles and into executive mgmt.

 

[dr pete]

does anyone know what the salaries are like in biomedical engineering?