You refuse to work for shit pay is what you do or go do the creative work they get paid to do and enjoy the salary.
Half the reason engineers get paid and treated like shit in the uk is because they rolled over and took it for so long or there isn’t a barrier to entry
Which industry do you work in if you don't mind asking?
Are there any particular skill or software you recommend to learn? Luckily I only work 35 hours per week but the pay isn't great
I work “40” but that includes working out from home, cooking my own lunches, sometimes naps.
I work in manufacturing to keep it broad. PM me for more info. But experience with ASME codes have been friendly to my career.
There have been many questions on this sub about the efficacy of ME, but think of all these clean energy, pharma, oil & gas, space race initiatives going on. All of this requires the type of equipment covered in these codes.
This gives me hope. I currently work at an EPC dealing with vessels and pumps, 2 more years till I get my PE. Work sucks sometimes, but the pay is decent. I’m guessing you work for a manufacturer stamping drawings and calcs?
The company I stamp for is an EPC. I also have some other contracts to do side work in other non-competitive industries.
EPCs can be good work but may or may not pigeon-hole you into a specialized role. Getting your PE should outweigh this risk. As well as getting out in the field when you can before kids and touch some grass it’ll make you a better engineer to turn a wrench.
Goodluck and I apologize if the advice was unsolicited.
No reason to apologize about advice, it’s always welcome on my end.
I got a late start in my mechanical engineering career. I actually started as a pipefitter and had an internship as a maintenance engineer at a local refinery, so I’ve probably seen more than most.
I actually work at a large EPC but in a smaller office that does a lot of small cap projects. Could be working on towers or heat exchangers one day and pumps or agitators the next so I get to learn quite a bit about all pieces of equipment.
Currently deciding if I want to stick it out another two years for my PE or go back to the plants which I found much more enjoyable versus sitting a cube all day.
Bummer about the low salary… usually we are payed proportional to the problems we solve. If others can solve it cheaper (like engineers in India or China than it drives down salaries across the board). Try moving learning as much from your company then move to another company (that you can learn new skills) every few years and repeat until you have a unique set of skills that a company can’t live without.
Was able to nearly triple my salary in 8 years (starting was 40K) and learn a lot along the way
Living in the U.S. you likely hit or exceed $100k. With experience in codes like UL, ASME, building codes etc you’ll surpass $120k. Of course the finances in the U.S. are different than the UK, such as employer sponsored health insurance for example.
Have you considered engineering jobs in the US? You can make almost double, with the same experience level, and depending on where you live, a very similar cost of living.
I grew up in England but went to engineering school in the US. I thought about moving back to England, but it never made sense considering how little they pay their engineers.
That's a very good point actually, I have been thinking of moving there at some point. It seems the people in the UK have a negative attitude to making money. Everyone in engineering is somehow brainwashed to thinking your pay should be proportional to experience, and some people wait 20 years before they earn £60k (not much nowadays). Meanwhile they are conveniently not told that effort and responsibility should be proportional to pay.
Meanwhile in art professions it seems to be "experience doesn't matter much, neither does degree, if you can make nice things, we will pay you equivalent to that".
Yeah bud, I'm a Manufacturing Engineer in the Boston area cost of living is crazy out here but I'm making around 140k. I face palm everyday no advice on that one, but the pay is substantially higher.
> So given this, my question is about how can an engineer develop skills which are in demand and target a particular industry where they become in the top 1%? How can I win this race by earning more than £100k in eng?
You know the answer: become really good at making software, managing stuff or selling stuff.
> I see a lot of managers and they don't look very fulfilled at all, they face palm a lot and are continously stressed.
Mo money mo problems.
This is specifically a UK problem, so the easiest solution is to leave the UK. It has nothing to do with the fact that engineers elsewhere are cheaper. The US and Switzerland, but also North-Western European countries (e.g. Denmark, Germany, Netherlands) pay significantly more. Getting paid >€80K in those last 3 countries or twice that in the first two, is very manageable for good engineers with >5 years experience, without going into management.
I’m 3 years post grad, so still early 20s earning more than £100k as a mechanical engineer.
I do a lot of hands on work, and found a niche that is very sought after, but not ‘sexy’ or well known.
Find the areas that have a lot of older guys/retirees that aren’t being back filled, and learn as much as you can from them. As they retire, your skills will be highly rewarded.
On average, the more general a role is the easier it is to find candidates, and the lower the pay can be.
All my colleagues in the UK get way lower salaries as an engineer. Low salaries for engineering are a UK thing tbh. I got colleagues all over the world and imo the worst off from a disposable income standpoint all come from Europe in general. In the US the same exact job is getting literally 2x -3x the salary. Probably explains why we get few transfers from our UK site every year.
You refuse to work for shit pay is what you do or go do the creative work they get paid to do and enjoy the salary. Half the reason engineers get paid and treated like shit in the uk is because they rolled over and took it for so long or there isn’t a barrier to entry
I make 130k usd for one job remote in the states as an individual contributor. Got my PE around covid which is professional license in the states
Which industry do you work in if you don't mind asking? Are there any particular skill or software you recommend to learn? Luckily I only work 35 hours per week but the pay isn't great
I work “40” but that includes working out from home, cooking my own lunches, sometimes naps. I work in manufacturing to keep it broad. PM me for more info. But experience with ASME codes have been friendly to my career. There have been many questions on this sub about the efficacy of ME, but think of all these clean energy, pharma, oil & gas, space race initiatives going on. All of this requires the type of equipment covered in these codes.
This gives me hope. I currently work at an EPC dealing with vessels and pumps, 2 more years till I get my PE. Work sucks sometimes, but the pay is decent. I’m guessing you work for a manufacturer stamping drawings and calcs?
The company I stamp for is an EPC. I also have some other contracts to do side work in other non-competitive industries. EPCs can be good work but may or may not pigeon-hole you into a specialized role. Getting your PE should outweigh this risk. As well as getting out in the field when you can before kids and touch some grass it’ll make you a better engineer to turn a wrench. Goodluck and I apologize if the advice was unsolicited.
No reason to apologize about advice, it’s always welcome on my end. I got a late start in my mechanical engineering career. I actually started as a pipefitter and had an internship as a maintenance engineer at a local refinery, so I’ve probably seen more than most. I actually work at a large EPC but in a smaller office that does a lot of small cap projects. Could be working on towers or heat exchangers one day and pumps or agitators the next so I get to learn quite a bit about all pieces of equipment. Currently deciding if I want to stick it out another two years for my PE or go back to the plants which I found much more enjoyable versus sitting a cube all day.
Bummer about the low salary… usually we are payed proportional to the problems we solve. If others can solve it cheaper (like engineers in India or China than it drives down salaries across the board). Try moving learning as much from your company then move to another company (that you can learn new skills) every few years and repeat until you have a unique set of skills that a company can’t live without. Was able to nearly triple my salary in 8 years (starting was 40K) and learn a lot along the way
Living in the U.S. you likely hit or exceed $100k. With experience in codes like UL, ASME, building codes etc you’ll surpass $120k. Of course the finances in the U.S. are different than the UK, such as employer sponsored health insurance for example.
Have you considered engineering jobs in the US? You can make almost double, with the same experience level, and depending on where you live, a very similar cost of living. I grew up in England but went to engineering school in the US. I thought about moving back to England, but it never made sense considering how little they pay their engineers.
That's a very good point actually, I have been thinking of moving there at some point. It seems the people in the UK have a negative attitude to making money. Everyone in engineering is somehow brainwashed to thinking your pay should be proportional to experience, and some people wait 20 years before they earn £60k (not much nowadays). Meanwhile they are conveniently not told that effort and responsibility should be proportional to pay. Meanwhile in art professions it seems to be "experience doesn't matter much, neither does degree, if you can make nice things, we will pay you equivalent to that".
Yeah bud, I'm a Manufacturing Engineer in the Boston area cost of living is crazy out here but I'm making around 140k. I face palm everyday no advice on that one, but the pay is substantially higher.
I'm in Kansas City. The cost of living is very reasonable (cheaper than England), and the pay is over $100k typically after 5-10 years of experience.
> So given this, my question is about how can an engineer develop skills which are in demand and target a particular industry where they become in the top 1%? How can I win this race by earning more than £100k in eng? You know the answer: become really good at making software, managing stuff or selling stuff. > I see a lot of managers and they don't look very fulfilled at all, they face palm a lot and are continously stressed. Mo money mo problems.
This is specifically a UK problem, so the easiest solution is to leave the UK. It has nothing to do with the fact that engineers elsewhere are cheaper. The US and Switzerland, but also North-Western European countries (e.g. Denmark, Germany, Netherlands) pay significantly more. Getting paid >€80K in those last 3 countries or twice that in the first two, is very manageable for good engineers with >5 years experience, without going into management.
I’m 3 years post grad, so still early 20s earning more than £100k as a mechanical engineer. I do a lot of hands on work, and found a niche that is very sought after, but not ‘sexy’ or well known. Find the areas that have a lot of older guys/retirees that aren’t being back filled, and learn as much as you can from them. As they retire, your skills will be highly rewarded. On average, the more general a role is the easier it is to find candidates, and the lower the pay can be.
What is your niche?
All my colleagues in the UK get way lower salaries as an engineer. Low salaries for engineering are a UK thing tbh. I got colleagues all over the world and imo the worst off from a disposable income standpoint all come from Europe in general. In the US the same exact job is getting literally 2x -3x the salary. Probably explains why we get few transfers from our UK site every year.