Salary concerns for Engineers (Degree Level Matter ?)

[RobS232]

THAT is the most true thing! Save obsessively…well, not obsessively, enjoy life. But count how many months you could go if you got fired tomorrow-the more months, the merrier.

A friend quit one day and moved to France for a year because she felt like it. This was enabled by her yes high salary, but really because she didn't care about cars and drove an old one, had a modest apartment (which she shared to boot), and simply didn't spend wildly. She didn't HAVE to show off-her friends knew she had a bunch of money in the bank!

Also, stuff every penny into IRA/401k etc especially while young. Working a summer job while in school? CONTRIBUTE! Money stuffed away when young has longer to grow.

And yes, if you want to be REALLY wealthy better go into law or medicine or finance or start a business. You can do nicely on an engineer's salary, but in big cities you will NOT get rich from that.

If you want to be really wealthy, DO NOT go into law or medicine. Finance? maybe. Start your own business? Doing what? Most successful business that I am directly familiar with were started by an engineer.

 

[AnandLeo]

I am not motivated to discuss the original post because as it has been well explained by several posts it’s a rather vain venture to make much lucidity out of the topic. I am inclined to subscribe most of the exposition presented by Almeisan.
I would have liked to mildly revise or elaborate on some of the statements

What matters most is PRACTICE, not education

while strongly endorse the idea

Engineering is a very practical field. What matters most is PRACTICE.

I believe that education does matter as much as practice. However, it is mostly what engineers have gained and assimilated from education for practical purposes of engineering that matter. It is the application of the benefits of education appropriately for varying environments and circumstances I refer to. On the one hand some aspects of education may be directly transferable to the needs of the job, and on the other hand one has to embrace what one has learned from education to best suit the situation. Further, education comprises what we learn in the universities and colleges as well as what we learn eternally at work, and from in-house and external training programmes, journalistic and seminar spheres, and also from life experiences.

 

[AnandLeo]

A caveat is that education from work and life experience needs to be corroborated with education from school or other credible sources. Perception and practice itself is not end-all.

With regard to the relevance of degree level, Masters is an enhancement of the B S. At doctorate level there is a conventional discipline of engineering in academics. There is also research and development where people with MS and/or BS, or even diploma can join. Salary is often commensurate with degree level and relevant experience.

There are other issues that intervene with salary or rather the suitable sector for employment for engineers with different personalities and values. Attitudes towards rules and regulations and professional ethics intervene with successful employment in different employment sectors. The engineering careers, like many other professions require to blend subject specific knowledge and skills with other decision making and managerial responsibilities that affect the fabric of the society, economy and the environment or vice-versa. Ability to conform to the law and make a profit is a skill advantageous in some occupational situations. ;)

 

[analogdesign]

It also depends entirely on your subfield as there is no one "Engineering".

In my field, integrated circuit design, it is difficult to get a job without an MS and a Ph.D. is very common for practicing engineers*. I know this is unusual in engineering but it is the way it is for this subfield. In my experience it is very rare to see someone designing ICs who has a BS unless he or she has been doing it for many decades. In my design group of 10 we have: 7 Ph.D., one ABD (did everything but file theis), 2 MS, and 1 BS-level engineer.

I'm throwing this out there to show WHAT you're doing matters. If you want a job as a civil engineer you probably don't want a Ph.D. If you want a job as a chip designer, a Ph.D. is probably a good idea.

*Edit: I'm talking about the design team. There are a lot of jobs for support and applications engineers who typically have BS or MS degrees, for example test engineers, firmware and software engineers, applications engineers and the like.