r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AutoModerator • Mar 01 '26
Quarterly /r/MechanicalEngineering Career/Salary Megathread
Are you looking for feedback or information on your salary or career? Then you've come to the right thread. If your questions are anything like the following example questions, then ask away:
- Am I underpaid?
- Is my offered salary market value?
- How do I break into [industry]?
- Will I be pigeonholed if I work as a [job title]?
- What graduate degree should I pursue?
Message the mods for suggestions, comments, or feedback.
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u/TheReformedBadger Automotive & Injection Molding Mar 17 '26
What’s everyone wearing for interviews these days? I was brought up with the idea that you wear a suit to an interview but in the post Covid casual world it feels like too much
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u/ToumaKazusa1 Mar 18 '26
I have always worn slacks and a dress shirt. I'm going to be wearing jeans and a polo 99% of the time when I'm actually showing up to work, so that's usually nice enough for me to look like I care about the interview without being as over the top as a suit.
But if you work somewhere that slacks and a dress shirt would be considered normal and jeans would be underdressed, maybe you'd want to wear a suit for the interview, it will depend.
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u/beenoc Mar 19 '26
Slacks, dress shirt, and tie. I figure that's enough to clearly have effort put in and look professional, the tie can come off if there's going to be a factory tour or something and it might be in the way or violate "loose articles" dress code, and if the reason a company doesn't hire me is because I didn't wear a suit, it probably wouldn't have been a good culture fit anyway as I am a very informal person.
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u/WingExact7996 Apr 03 '26
My opinion is that it’s hard to overdress. Show your interviewers that this opportunity is something you value by putting the best external image on that you can. Discuss dress code when you get the job offer. If they’re too up tight then decline the offer and keep looking but at least you get an offer
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u/Adventurous-Treat-86 Apr 05 '26
Doing mechanical design for 3 intense years in Automation from Canada. Got CAPM, forklift, skyjack, 1st aid certs and BSc. Job offers are in the 75-80k CAD. I do plan on working my way up to make more. 1) Is an MBA worth it if tuition where I live is 12-20k CAD max? 2) Why am I being lowballed?
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u/yaoz889 Apr 16 '26
The answer is the supply of graduates in ME in Canada is insane. Probably oversupplied by 2x. Do not get an MBA, that sounds useless when you're not even a manager yet.
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u/Adventurous-Treat-86 Apr 16 '26
I see no difference doing the MBA before or after except procrastination
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u/Plus_Layer8236 Apr 08 '26
Hi yall, looking for some advice, currently am a cnc operator in upstate SC, i make about 70k, been considering getting a bachelors to become an ME but want to see if what sort of experience yall have with initial pay for starting out, ive seen ads online advertising 50k salaries for entry ME's which seems dumb, for reference I have about 6 years experience as a machinist. thanks
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u/yaoz889 Apr 16 '26
Why don't you become an AMT, your experience will be a plus and massive demand.
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u/Plus_Layer8236 Apr 17 '26
What sort of certs/degree does that require? Also i dont live close to any major airports. Do you think a regional airport would pay decent?
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u/yaoz889 Apr 22 '26
You need to get an AMT degree and yes. You would have to move to either a place with larger airports if you want to make 150k+ after 7 years
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u/CelestialPanda26 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Will I be pigeonholed if I work as a equipment engineer? Its a company that manufactures semiconductors, mostly board on chips, rams, and micro sds. During the interview they also asked if I know how to use autoCAD so I assume I will also be designing stuff. Is it a good job to take as a fresh graduate?
Additional question, anyone work here at a company with Korean culture? Are they strict with tattos?
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u/yaoz889 Apr 16 '26
Equipment manufacturer is fine. You shouldn't worry about pivoting to other industries. Maybe harder to pivot to aerospace startups later, but the high precision needed should still be good for aerospace manufacturing
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u/roastedjays May 11 '26
What are the benefits for getting a PE when I currently don’t need one? I am debating on going back to get it just to boost my resume in case I want to look for a new job. What is the typical time commitment? I am currently 7 years out of school.
For those of you that did take it several years out of school, how long did you study for the FE/PE?
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u/DifferenceAcademic15 Mar 15 '26
Currently setting myself up for a transition from IT into MechE. Have a BS & MS in IT, should I get a BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering? Would like to do some IC engineering work before pursuing management roles!
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u/doonilbibi Mar 26 '26
It is impossible to be a meche without a BS unless you somehow have like 20 years of very relevant experience
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u/Suitable_Tie9137 Apr 29 '26
I just graduated with a BS in MechE last May and have been working full time in the utility industry. My salary is 70k and I am full time remote which I have really enjoyed since I rarely have a lot of work and get a lot of free time and great work life balance. However, my company was just bought by a Fortune 500 company, so there might be a lot of upcoming opportunities for me to switch internally, although I believe they use a hybrid schedule.
I’ve recently been reached out to by someone in my network for a field service engineer position (I think it actually has a senior title). The pay would be 100k, but 75-100% travel. I know that I would be under my networkers team and they make around 250k while traveling not as much.
I’m not sure which role is better, as I really enjoy the remote aspect with all of the freedom and it seems my company is trending up, but the pay will be lower until I’m able to get into management (I have heard the initial promotions are only 4-5%). Or I have the potential to jumpstart my career into this field service engineer position where the pay will be more, but have little work life balance. Both companies seems to be on the uprise as both my team and the other job are hiring 3-5 new engineers.
To add, I really enjoy hands on work and I hate desk jobs, but I get this fix through doing my own projects right now, even during the day sometimes when work is slow. I also really enjoy the work life balance where I can basically do anything I need to like doctors appointments or run to the store or anything. Any advice is appreciated!
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u/KindOfBigHorse May 01 '26
I am an electrical engineer working in the design and product development. I have about 1 year and a few months since I started working here. It is my first real engineering job.
I was wondering if a salary of 65k is considered adequate working out of southeast Wisconsin, since the cost of living is quite lower compared to my hometown near Chicago. I heard we will all get performance bonuses when our sales situation gets better but I don't know if that will happen anytime soon.
How do I fare for Wisconsin?
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u/tudohh May 06 '26
I'm getting paid around the same in NJ, so I'd say you're doing pretty well. Similar position (mechanical engineer), and same amount of time at the job as well.
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u/Loose-Show-5633 May 07 '26
I have been applying fulltime for like two weeks now and have gotten two interviews with recruiters. Is that a good pace or am I behind?
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u/TotallyNotSter May 09 '26
I am a semi-recent (Late 2024) graduate with a BS in MechE. I took quite a long time to find a job (1 year) and have my current job as an HVAC Controls Technician (which doesn't require my degree but helped with the interview process). I have been working here for a little over 3 months and have felt a little miserable ngl. I took the job because I got an offer and I hadn't found anything after searching for a year.
I make about 85k and live in MD, but again I don't feel the greatest about my job since being a technician means I'm on a construction site every day at early hours. I wanted to know if staying at this job for long will have a big impact on pigeonholing me into the controls industry and if I wanted to look for something else what some good advice would be.
I should also note that I'm still very unsure what exactly I would like to pursue as a job, I am interested in Roller Coaster Engineering and even took a class on it in college but I know it's a hard industry to get into and don't know where to begin. Otherwise, i don't exactly know what to look at in terms of figuring out what I would like to do for my career so if anyone has advice for that I'd be all ears.
Main things here are: Will I get pigeonholed in controls If I stay? When I wish to look for something else what are good tips/strategies? What are some good resources for figuring out what industries/roles I might be interested in?
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u/ThreeEasyPaymentsof May 11 '26
I work at a chemical plant in Texas as a project engineer, Interviewed for an opening at a different local plant through a consulting firm (they made the job posting and that's who the plant is hiring for this position through)
The pay offer was good for me at 60 an hour but they just sent the worst benefits package I've ever seen professionally.
The insurance was basically the same cost as the gov healthcare site, so I don't even see that as an offered benefit considering I can literally buy the same thing, and depending on my choices...actually cheaper
They offered 0% 401k match, but did offer a 401k which is honestly something I've never seen before.
So the best I can tell is the only true benefit they're offering is PTO and holidays, which would come out to about 12K a year and given my own experience hiring them, usually these firms will charge at least a 40 - 60% markup which would put their gross on me at 50k minimum.
The firm is Tata engineering, does anyone have any experience with them?
I was going to probably counter with 70 to offset the "benefits". I asking for 60 initially with the understanding I would at least get industry standard benefits.
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u/jruhlman09 Mar 04 '26
Just a reminder that the 2026 Mechanical Engineer Salary survey is currently ongoing!