adi.adindas

Thank you for the link.
It seems that the salary bracket of 150-300k is for a "principal engineer" and not for an engineer or a senior engineer.

Also it seems that this salary bracket for an engineer is only valid in a certain areas, and not what typical an engineer will earn ..

I could have imagine that an engineer in NASA in the US will also earn much more than other engineer, because they are in Demand. Similarly to a nuclear engineer, etc ....

Amazulu

Dude, that's what engineers earn in Perth, and there are more jobs than engineers

Time to get a real job..........

ROMFT_WO2RN

got any going

adi.adindas

I am quite confusing here, from what I have seen from career.au one of the largest job advertising agent:

http://mycareer.com.au/jobs/sydney/e...l-engineering/

It seems that the salary figures here do not support to what have been stated in this forum.

For instance, a PRICIPAL/LEAD ENGINEER HERE only earn 160K. Primary, secondary design engineer earn about 120K....

So probably the figures stated in the previous post only in particular industries such as O&G industry. I could imagine NASA engineer, or NUCLEAR engineer will also earn that much in the US or in the UK ....

jimbo_d

Depends where you are - you're looking at Sydney where there isn't a big engineering market, Perth and Brisbane are the hubs in Aus, Melbourne and Darwin secondary - these are where the big bucks are.

keel

A tradesman on a construction job in the Pilbara is on about A$150,000.

Not sure about Engineers but I would presume about A$200,000.

But for that your working about 60-70 Hours a week with 4 weeks on and 1 off.

Keel

KJCherokee

When looking at salaries in the mining or oil & gas sectors, it is important to differentiate between office jobs in the city and site based jobs. Yes, relatively inexperienced engineers can earn $200k out on site where they might only get $130k in the city - the extra is to compensate for the living and working conditions. Many if not most engineers working in the field are single or, if married, don't have children - family men prefer to come home every evening. Quite a lot of us worked in the bush (or overseas) for long enough to get a good stake, then came back to 'normal' life.

How much an engineer gets paid will also depend on the industry he is in. A Principal engineer in oil & gas can certainly earn $250k-$300k working normal office hours in the city.

Amazulu

Engineers working in Perth CBD, doing 45 hour a week and maybe making the occasional trip North, are earning that - and more.

KJCherokee

The way you worded that, it could be read on the basis that a graduate straight out of uni could earn $200k - which they can't! Someone with 10-15 years relevant experience might make that salary in the right industry.

When talking salaries, say what they refer to. A graduate in his first job might get $60k to $80k, a specialist principal with 25-30 years of experience should be in the $250k to $300k bracket - on the other hand he may be in an industry which only pays $150k to $200k for the same level of experience.

Perth is full of mining and oil & gas companies so the average salary levels are likely to be on the high side. But if you don't have the necessary skills and experience to work in that sector then even in Perth you won't necessarily get the big bucks.

Amazulu

I've re-read my post. It's worded just right.

KJCherokee

The consulting company I work for has chargeout bands (what the client is charged for the work) ranging from $130/hr to $275/hr. Assuming that the mark-up on actual salary is 100%, salaries will range from $125k to $270k, depending on experience.

adi.adindas

It is not only in Australia but everywhere. An engineer working in offshore Oil-Rig, Mining Site, will earn more than an engineer working in an office.
But they are working a long hour when they are on-site, high risk of explosion, far away from family. Not a work pattern that suit anyone though ...

If people are referring an On-site engineer working in Mining or O&G industries earn 200K,while other engineer such as design Engineer, Structural Engineer, Civil Engineer working in the cities earn about 120-150K then it is fair enough they deserve it.

Reaver

Okay slightly off topic, but seeing as we're talking about Engineering and wages.

What could you expect an Engineer with a degree in Mechatronics and Robotics with 2 years post graduate experience and roughly 10 years PRE-graduate engineering experience (Yes, thats pre-grad not post-grad) to earn. If they got a job in instrumentation, control systems or robotics, would you expect their payband to be closer to a graduates wage or something closer to an experienced engineers payband?

Not expecting exact answers, just rough ideas for various areas of the country......

Thanks.