Mechanical Engineering Salary

Recently I’ve engaged in some research about what mechanical engineers are paid. My son Charlie works as a Design Engineer in a German technical company and also as a technician at Aalen University (Aalen Technischehochschule). He has a Master degree in mechanical engineering from Edinburgh University The German term for this qualification is Diplommaschinenebauingenieur. At the time of this survey he had been working for three years in Aalen and Stutgart, Southern Germany. His annual salary review was coming up and he wanted to be well informed about what others with similar qualifications and experience are paid in his industry.

I was curious too, so I spent a few hours browsing the web. Here’s a summary of what I came across. Since there is a worldwide demand for engineers, my search looked at other of countries and disciplines within engineering.

Date of survey July 2015, some data is older.

Annual salary in thousands – USD, GBP  

Where blank, no data was specified.           

Notes

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013 Mechanical engineers earned a median salary of $82,100 Highest pay was $123,340, lowest less than $52,550.

Highest paying industries: oil and gas and computer-related. Highest paying locations; Alaska; Massachusetts; Silicon Valley, San Jose, California.

Most mechanical engineers work full time, Some work in excess of 60 hours a week. In the USA, the states with the most jobs for mechanical engineers are Michigan, California, and Texas. The number of jobs is increasing fastest in Texas.

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At https://www.payscale.com  if you input the data appropriate to your own circumstances, you obtain a comprehensive report on factors which have a bearing on salary. I made an educated guess about my son’s situation and below are items of the feedback thus generated.

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According to the next table, it doesn’t make much difference what level of degree you have.                                                    

Source:  https://www.payscale.com                   Currency Euros.

Nor does company size greatly affect your earnings

(Although I expect that larger companies offer a greater range of benefits – company restaurant, crèche, gym, opportunities to work in other locations, flexi-time, etc.)

I was surprised to see that consulting is less well paid than other areas of engineering.

Since Charlie works in Germany, it was interesting to see how pay varied by city in that country.

Having lived in several of these places myself, I would choose Munich or Hamburg for quality of life, both are expensive though.  Frankfurt and Stuttgart were not much to my liking. Both were heavily damaged in WW2 and rebuilt in a utilitarian style.

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Searching https://www.payscale.com/research/DE/

Job=Mechanical_Engineer/Salaryof Mechanical Engineer Salary (Germany)  finds this:

"The average pay for a Mechanical Engineer is €45,825 per year. Most people with this job move on to other positions after 20 years in this field. For the first five to ten years in this position, pay increases steeply, but any additional experience does not have a big effect on pay."

Further considerations:

Germany has the strongest economy in Europe and comprehensive social and welfare benefits.

Cost of living.

I have listed only countries in which there is substantial engineering employment.

Source: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp

Although a lot of people in Germany would be surprised to hear it, according to this source, Germany has relatively low living costs. Income tax is high though, but then again, social benefits are generous.

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The Carl Zeiss company is a good one to work in; financially stable, interesting projects. pleasant offices, working week may be chosen as short as 35 flexi-hours, plenty of holiday, (Contrast with the hours worked and vacation time in the USA.)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2014/09/01/a-40-hour-work-week-in-the-united-states-actually-lasts-47-hours/
Sep 1, 2014 - "While the 40 hour week is generally accepted as “normal,” adults employed full-time have reported working an average of 47 hours each week."

Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research

Furthermore, I came across this comment at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2730947/Americans-paid-vacation-time-world-countries-enjoy-FORTY-days-year.html

Walter, Stuttgart, Germany, 10 months ago

whereas the legal minimum of holidays here in Germany is 20 days, 90% of all companies and state enterprises give 30 days paid leave..furthermore depending on which state one lives there are a further 9 to 14 days paid compulsory leave on top of that ...which equates to between 7 and 8 weeks paid holidays a year! Even the unemployed are entitled to 21 days leave a year!

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Conclusion

Finally his boss awarded him a modest raise and considering the advantages listed above, Charlie was happy with that.

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