As Pink Floyd said "Get a good job with good pay and you’ll be okay. Money, it’s a gas"

Some of the latest figures which you can read in more detail below suggest that engineering graduates are likely to be earning up to £2,500 (approx. € 3,700) more than their peers not long after graduation. They are also more likely to find employment after graduation and in their preferred area of work in comparison to other graduates.

What am I likely to earn as a graduate engineer?

What are the immediate prospects for a graduate engineer, the answer is good. Their starting salaries tend to be above average, around £19,000 (€ 28,000) in 2003 with engineers earning 15% above the typical graduate salary of £16,500 (€ 24,500).

What am I likely to earn as a professional engineer?

New income and earnings data from the 2005 Survey of Registered Engineers, published by the Engineering and Technology Board, demonstrates that earnings of professional engineers continue to increase and reinforce engineering's position as a well-rewarded and secure profession.

"engineers' pay and prospects are in the premier league"

The average earnings of Chartered Engineers in 2005 are £53,100 (€ 79,000) compared with £40,100 (€ 60,000) in 1997 – an increase of 32.5%. Incorporated Engineers have seen the highest increase in average earnings, up from an average in 1997 of £29,900 (€ 44,400) to £40,500 (€ 60,100) in 2005, an increase of 35.5%. Engineering Technicians have seen an increase in average earnings, from £26,300 (€ 39,000) in 1997 to £33,800 (€ 50,200) in 2005 – a rise of 28.5%. 

The Sky is the limit?

Nor does the pay rise limit itself. As a high-flying Chartered Engineer you could earn well over £70,000 per annum; in 2005, 13% of Chartered Engineers earned over £70,000 (€ 104,000).

This is backed up by the Institute of Chemical Engineers' salary survey, which reveals that chemical engineering salaries were second only to those of doctors and solicitors. The salaries for senior managers are generally about £50,000 (€ 74,250) across the sectors, with the highest earners being those in contracting - £67,250 (€ 100,000) and oil - £77,000 (€ 114,300). Most managing directors or chief executives earned median salaries in the £60,000-£80,000 (€ 90,000 - € 120,000) range, with six-figure salaries going to those in chemicals and allied products - £106,750 (€ 158,500) and power - £151,000 (€ 224,000) 

There is, however, a quite widespread belief that engineers cannot break through the ‘glass ceiling’ into the boardroom and get to the top. This could not be further from the truth, according to the recent etb research in January 2004, of the one hundred FTSE 100 top executives, 12 proved to hold engineering qualifications, 12 were scientists, and 20 had accounting qualifications. Nor are the salaries within this sector low, according to the Labour Research Dept, 'Executive Excess', published in 2002 the top engineering CEOs earned anything up to and exceeding £3million (€ 4.45m) per annum.

Key Facts

Graduate

• The average starting salary of all graduates in 2003 was £16,500 (€ 24.5k).
• Engineering graduates earned an average of £19,000 (€ 28k) – well over the median starting salaries of all graduates at the end of 2003.

Economic trends

• The average earnings of Chartered Engineers in 2005 was £53,100 (€ 79k) compared with £49,100 (€ 73k) in 2003.
• The average earnings of Incorporated Engineers in 2005 was £40,500 (€ 60.1k) compared with £37,800 (€ 56k) in 2003.
• The average earnings of Engineering Technicians in 2005 was £33,800 (€ 50.2k) compared with £33,000 (€ 49k) in 2003.

All base figures are in Sterling (£) with the approximate equivalent in Euro (€) correct at time of publishing (August 2006).

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