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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Most "professional"  engineers i know are doing very well across the job market.  Some are running Fortune 500 companies...some like Rex Tillerson (civil engineer) have done well in business and now entering politics.  I think most do well because they are "trained" to assess and solve problems.  The skill serves them well in life.  It is an excellent ndergraduate degree to earn, even if you elect not to stay in the field.  [/quote]

Actually, very few engineers run the companies.  Most are doing well, but not CEO well. A typical engineer will start out at about 65K with a BS or 80K+ with an MS.  Same for some sciences.  My experience is the good performers will see salary increase by 50% adjusted for inflation every 10 years, assuming the. intellectual growth continues.   So, 65K at 23 would be 97.5 at 33,  and 146 at 43 and 220 at 53....

In my case, I started with a PhD in physics at 31 earning 50K, with is 80K in 2017 dollars.  Now, 20 years later, I earn 180K.[/quote]

From my experience, you quickly hit a ceiling unless you go management track.

But it's not bad money.

I made $50K working for the government in 2003. I left gov work to make more money and was making $95K in 2009.  In 2011, I was making $110K. And now I'm at $140K and managing a small team (5) on a project.  Unless I become a functional manager, I pretty much will only see cost of living raises unless I leave my company.  Even then, my raise won't be significant.[/quote]

There are ceilings.  If you don't bring in money, 140K is about the ceiling.  I bring in money -- a couple of mil a year, so my ceiling is somewhat higher. [/quote]

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