I’m an Engineer: This Is How Much I Made in My First Job
Engineering is one of the fields that often makes lists for careers paying more than $100,000 for workers with bachelor’s degrees, so it’s a good path for those who want to make a lot of money. Another positive aspect is that it offers a variety of fields in which to work.
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GOBankingRates talked to a group of accomplished engineers to learn about their careers, salaries and advice for others looking to advance in the engineering field.
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Solutions Engineer
Anthony McCloud, now a solutions engineer at DataBank, Ltd., started in the help desk world. His first engineering job was for an enterprise insurance firm, where he worked to keep the insurance IT system on and responded to ticket escalations and alarms.
In his first position, which was located in Kansas City, Missouri, he made $75,000 in 2014.
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His Career Path
McCloud transitioned to systems administration and then went into systems engineering. That was the same path he took when he joined DataBank, coming in initially as an operations manager. Now, he’s working in a sales-oriented role as a solutions engineer.
“I never had any sales experience, but I did have theater experience, and I knew that I was good at speaking and could talk to people, and combining that with engineering was a no-brainer for me,” he said.
Advice for New Engineers
McCloud said one of his top pieces of advice for new engineers is to advocate for yourself.
“If you sit back and wait for the company to give you something, they’re not going to do it,” he said. “Do the job you’re hired for and the job you want. Find your engineering flavor and use that flavor to fill a gap, if possible.”
According to McCloud, in his experience, salary increases have been directly correlated to industry certifications.
“Industry-based certifications tend to make the case for salary improvements, and I would expect companies to pay for that training, too, because that’s a tangible benefit,” he said. “That’s less money out of my pocket, and you’re contributing to my financial gain later on.
“From the employer’s immediate need perspective, I think vendor certifications can sometimes trump college degrees, though a college degree can only help.”
Industrial Engineer
After earning his masters in industrial engineering, Abhijeet Narvekar landed his first job in technical sales, where he made $75,000 and a 20% bonus. Today, he’s the CEO of The FerVID Group.
His Career Path
During his engineering career, Narvekar has held many titles: production engineer, pre-sales engineer, quality assurance engineer, quality assurance lead, project manager, development manager and VP product management. He then started his own company, which is now a multi-million dollar organization offering services around data management, geoscience engineering and executive recruiting.
Growing a Career
According to Narvekar, he has grown in his career through a series of strategic actions:
Made sure he knew his products in and out, and became a go-to resource for his immediate team, his customers and also international colleagues
Accepted roles that were a bit out of his comfort zone
Identified mentors who helped him during his career
Took a risk by moving into a different company with a new role, which doubled his salary to almost $200,000 earlier in his career
Took on management responsibilities
Identified a gap and started his own company.
Research and Development Engineer
“My role as a research and development engineer is unique, especially at a company like Rogers-O’Brien Construction,” said Dr. Hagen Fritz. “My primary responsibility is to help develop innovative solutions to problems we are facing. This process might involve testing off-the-shelf hardware or software, developing our own hardware/software prototypes, creating mobile/web applications, or preparing white papers on topics such as market trends.
“I get the privilege to work with all departments at my company — from the marketing team to the preconstruction folks — to develop solutions that make their working lives better.”
Finding a Niche
Dr. Fritz said one of the benefits of studying a broad discipline like civil engineering is that you’re exposed to a variety of topics. He said it’s easier to determine which subdisciplines are a good fit.
“For instance, I learned that topics in hydrology were not for me, but I enjoyed the chemistry-heavy nature of the environmental engineering topics that were under the civil engineering umbrella,” he said. “So, in my latter years of school, I focused my attention on the environmental aspects of civil engineering and ultimately pursued advanced degrees in that area.”
Beyond finding what you are passionate about, Dr. Fritz said studying any engineering discipline helps you become an adept and confident problem solver.
“This skill is something that cannot be overstated,” he said. “As a student and later as a teaching assistant, I would hear complaints from students working on a topic that they did not think was relevant for their careers. I would always tell them that it is not always the subject matter that is important, but the process of solving the problem. That is what the heart of engineering is.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’m an Engineer: This Is How Much I Made in My First Job