EngineerSalary.com receives many thousands of requests every year from new engineering grads asking "what am I worth"... and what is a reasonable starting salary?
We have provided a table of the national average starting salaries for new grad engineers -- with a engineering or technical BS degree. Add 6-10% for a MS. While we don't track starting offers for entry level engineers (our data starts with one year of work experience), we hope this table will assist you in understanding what new grads earn. In larger cities, or higher cost of living areas, these numbers will be at least 10-25% higher. Remember... these salary numbers represent a national average, and will be very different when comparing Boise to New York City or Little Rock to San Jose.
We have provided a table of the national average starting salaries for new grad engineers -- with a engineering or technical BS degree. Add 6-10% for a MS.
In larger cities, or higher cost of living areas, these numbers will be at least 10-25% higher. Remember... these salary numbers represent a national average, and will be very different when comparing Boise to New York City or Little Rock to San Jose.
Carefully evaluate the local cost-of-living, including apartment rentals and state income tax, prior to making your decision. Make sure you can afford to live on the annual salary a potential employer is offering. Additionally, determine if the environment and lifestyle (in a new location) will be right for you. Decline an offer that is outside of your ability to afford the location. People accept horrible offers every day, without adequate research, because they find something appealing about the company. Don't hesitate to go back for more money, explaining that the job is great, but the compensation needs to be adjusted. Keep in mind that many companies will rethink an offer if presented with logical data clearly supporting your position, and the new salary demand is reasonable (within prevailing rates). The worst they can do is decline your counter proposal. Most companies have some negotiating room, and if they are convinced you are ready to accept their offer pending adjustments, will move forward. This won't be the first time it happened to them. Because the numbers are lumped nationally, our advice is to use this data as a starting reference point -- along with your own research -- to develop an accurate salary picture relative to the area. Your best resource is to network with classmates and friends that are already employed (and, even better, company "insiders") to determine a fair and equitable salary that you can... and will... accept.
Carefully evaluate the local cost-of-living, including apartment rentals and state income tax, prior to making your decision. Make sure you can afford to live on the annual salary a potential employer is offering. Additionally, determine if the environment and lifestyle (in a new location) will be right for you.
Decline an offer that is outside of your ability to afford the location. People accept horrible offers every day, without adequate research, because they find something appealing about the company.
Don't hesitate to go back for more money, explaining that the job is great, but the compensation needs to be adjusted. Keep in mind that many companies will rethink an offer if presented with logical data clearly supporting your position, and the new salary demand is reasonable (within prevailing rates).
The worst they can do is decline your counter proposal. Most companies have some negotiating room, and if they are convinced you are ready to accept their offer pending adjustments, will move forward. This won't be the first time it happened to them.
Because the numbers are lumped nationally, our advice is to use this data as a starting reference point -- along with your own research -- to develop an accurate salary picture relative to the area. Your best resource is to network with classmates and friends that are already employed (and, even better, company "insiders") to determine a fair and equitable salary that you can... and will... accept.
Analyst $35,000-$46,500 Applications Engineer $36,000-$48,000 C/C++ Coding $29,000-$52,200 CAD Analysis $38,500 CAD Designer $37,500 CAD Detailer $31.200 Computer Support Technology $23,000-$29,700 Communications or RF Engineer $45,100-$59,900 Civil Engineering BS degree $36,500 Computer Engineering BS degree $46,700 Computer Science BS degree $44,200 Chemical Engineering BS degree $42,900 Electrical Engineering BS degree $48,700 Field Sales Support Engineer $41,500 Game Development (Software) $24,000-$39,200 Hardware Engineer BS degree $46,400 Industrial Engineer $40,300 IT Professional BS or BA degree $37,000-$42,000 Manufacturing Engineer $39,300 MBA (+ Engineering BS) $57,170 MBA (from a top 20 university) $71,550 Mechanical Engineer BS degree $46,200 Multimedia Developer $27,000-$33,000 Network Administrator $28,000-$36,400 Petroleum Engineer BS degree $30,800 Printed Circuit Designer $51,500 Semiconductor Engineering $47,800 Software Engineer BS degree $46,650 Web Developer $24,000-32,700 Jump Start Your Career with a New Degree Earn your degree online, find out more...
Jump Start Your Career with a New Degree Earn your degree online, find out more...
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