An Engineers Salary?

so basically im going into A levels but i waant to go into engineering when i get into a good uni (hopefully!) and i like mechanical engineering (will prob go into mechatronic engineering or robotics, thinking of the future) but ive recently heard that the pay for engineers is not what you would hope? now i know i shouldnt be thinking of the money more than the job but you have to balance it out at some point. are they paid well? for example over a certain average pay? and which branches are higher paid? ive searched around and recieved loads of different answers :confused:

can someone please help? id be very worried for the world if a guy who can study the most complex understandings of maths and physics and apply it to real life situations does not earn more than a guy who has little understanding :s-smilie:

Reply 1

Bow Tie

14

I'm looking at the same field (However in aeronaughtical) and I had a chat to a director of a project at BAE systems (A very competent man with a PhD in aerospace engineering) and he said basically the pay is average to low however it is in his opinion a fairytale job. You earn around 25,000 out of a good uni as a grad and can get up to maybe 80,000. Its not enough for the work you have to do to get there (Like doctors) but if you enjoy it then its a good job and a comfortable pay.

Reply 2

KingKlook

OP

2

hmm fair enough, my mum is a gp and shes always saying how being a doctor will land me a happier life (mainly due to the money) but i think its pretty unfair how doctors get paid so much. i mean i could spend all day trying to make my mum understand 'some' quantum mechanics or even schrodingers cat but she wouldnt understand and yet theyre getting paid more /:? but thanks for the answer man i appreciate it

Reply 3

Bow Tie

14

Original post by Oliver Bel

Doctor's don't get paid much at all. If you want a high paying career medicine is the last thing you want to go in to.

Would statistics suffice? An average GP gets around £70,000 a year and they only work say 2-3 days a week.
If that isn't a lot for the time worked, I don't know what is.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 4

KingKlook

OP

2

yeah the top hat is right, mediciine is known world-wide as a high paying career, but i find it extremely boring in most cases /:

Reply 5

Clickers

17

Original post by KingKlook

yeah the top hat is right, mediciine is known world-wide as a high paying career, but i find it extremely boring in most cases /:

If you want real money you need to work in the oil and gas industry. You can get starting salaries from £35k to £40k. A lot of money in oil and gas!

Reply 6

Bow Tie

14

Original post by KingKlook

yeah the top hat is right, mediciine is known world-wide as a high paying career, but i find it extremely boring in most cases /:

Oh I find medicine a fascinating field! All that diagnosis and human anatomy however I also love astronomy and engineering so thats the field I am wanting to enter. Ultimate aim? PhD in aerospace engineering and working with JPL or NASA on space probes or satellites.

Reply 7

shahbaz

15

I chose physics instead of engineering theres hardley any differance in pay.

Reply 8

PilotHolly

4

What about engineering in RAF, anyone know the salary for that?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 9

KD35

15

Doctors don't earn as much as you think they do.

First off their hours are pretty bad with being on call one or two nights a week quite common. Also 5-6 years of schooling, then many years of low pay until you become experienced and or specialise.

Reply 10

Bow Tie

14

Original post by Oliver Bel

My Dad is a consultant anaesthetist and earns about that (70-80k). It's not a bad salary, but you don't even get that until you're 40+. Investment bankers on the other earn 100k+ after just 3 years.

I agree, I never stated ages but compared to 2 successful men, one an engineer and the other a doctor both of the same age, a doctor would be earning a whole lot more.
Banking is just a ridiculous area :tongue:

Reply 11

AreebWithaHat

18

I'm a medic and have done a lot of research into salary potentials for doctors. Hospital consultants get a pretty **** deal tbh. GP's are much better off, they work easy hours and get paid a lot. An average pay I've seen is £75-100/hr with incentives and sometimes even a 'golden handshake'. Private practice can be lucrative too if you know what you're doing. Private work in general is high demand and highly paid too such as medical examinations for accident victims.

That being said, there are careers with higher earning potential if thats your thing.

Reply 12

AreebWithaHat

18

Original post by Oliver Bel

My Dad is a consultant anaesthetist and earns about that (70-80k). It's not a bad salary, but you don't even get that until you're 40+. Investment bankers on the other earn 100k+ after just 3 years.

Investment banking is ridiculously difficult to get into though, and the salaries are often exaggerated. I was seriously considering it at one time but even for an internship the application to place ratio was 250 to 1, never mind for a job.

If you want a well paying career, medicine is your safest bet. Engineers can start on nice salaries too, but equally I know some on rubbish salaries, there is too much variation.

Original post by KingKlook

so basically im going into A levels but i waant to go into engineering when i get into a good uni (hopefully!) and i like mechanical engineering (will prob go into mechatronic engineering or robotics, thinking of the future) but ive recently heard that the pay for engineers is not what you would hope? now i know i shouldnt be thinking of the money more than the job but you have to balance it out at some point. are they paid well? for example over a certain average pay? and which branches are higher paid? ive searched around and recieved loads of different answers :confused:

can someone please help? id be very worried for the world if a guy who can study the most complex understandings of maths and physics and apply it to real life situations does not earn more than a guy who has little understanding :s-smilie:

It varies a lot, as you have found. The money's fairly decent in many fields, like chemicals and arms, and can be quite phenomenal in oil & gas, though.

Reply 14

t-swiper

4

Original post by PilotHolly

What about engineering in RAF, anyone know the salary for that?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Last time I checked it was £35k after training, so that's the starting salary which is incredible. Too bad I don't like maths. :redface:

Reply 15

KingKlook

OP

2

hmmm and what if lets say i took up mechatronic/robotic engineering and went to a different country where robots are becoming increasingly popular such as China or Japan? i know the pay will be about the same but i heard somwhere that korea expect there to be a robot of some sort in almost every house by like 2030? so would the job be in a better position then?

Reply 16

Aerosports

13

yh go to USA to work because according to forbes mag aerospace and pertroleum engineers earn the mosy, like 65k+ out of Uni

Reply 17

Bezaberry

1

You're only looking at base salary. You haven't taken into consideration overtime pay, pay for working abroad, bonuses and share schemes. I work for BAE Systems and we get a 5% bonus (dependent on performance) a pretty awesome share buying scheme, share bonuses, a decent pension scheme, and a good TOIL system. Just because it says £25k that doesn't at all mean that's what you'll make.

Reply 18

spock007

4

Oil & gas for decent money. Mate of mine is getting £70k up in Aberdeen (civils) plus overtime pay and offshore allowance. For a senior electronics designer like myself, say £40-60k tops. I agree, considering the workload and coplexity of the work, it doesn't pay (in the UK).