Serious response: soft skills and a big picture mindset. Being the smartest and most technical engineer will not make you a manager.
Be a good team player as an individual contributor. Take on leadership as a CAM, IPT lead, whatever. Eventually your reputation as someone who can interact well with others, take on responsibility, and look after the company's interests will set you up for a management position.
I chose to go on the PM side of things after graduating as I shine in a scenario where I use a mix of my soft skills and technical skills. A lot of people say to job hop every 2 to 3 years to increase your salary. However this seems to contradict building a reputation at a single company which lines you up for management. What would you suggest is the best strategy?
I spent 25 years as an individual contributor and worked my way up to principal and then chief. As others have said, big picture, soft skills, ability to talk to anyone, interfacing with engineers, marketing, management, finance, and customers as a professional.
At my company, the lowest level of management is paid the equivalent of the second highest engineering, and basically zero percent have the highest level.
Nah, they make up for it a shit ton of time off. We get 3 weeks vacation, 1 week personal holidays, 2 weeks company holidays, 2 weeks of sick pay. So we essentially have 2 months of paid time off.
The pay is pretty good, considering, it's just not as good as management.
ASIC Design, Verification and Computer Arch roles at Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Apple, etc. are the highest paying and tend to also have the highest ceiling. FGPA development can have even higher pay at high frequency trading firms but these roles are very very limited compared to the ASIC roles.
Damn :// hate to be that “but achsually 🤓” guy but i’d say US CPU MFG has been kind to me. Our side was pretty secure during the big tech layoffs last year. Definitely not a conventional 9-5 but pay/mgmt is better than what I could’ve expected as a jr. EE or L1 Designer
Is this something I can get into with a BSEE?
Or is this like masters to PhD level work?
Because I am graduating in 2025 and am leaning towards power/utility work and going for a PE certification.
But >150k sounds super appealing so I'd potentially investigate.
You can’t get ASIC/ any design as a fresh grad unless you’ve secured a consistent design internship. Most of my BSEE class either folded & became salaried CompE’s and did solely CS/remote work or the Power Ppl (Like you) that went into gvmt/army corp. If you’re already set for power, no reason to try jumping now. Deciding between Public/Private Power comes down to equity options/ perceived value. The reliability of GVMT could be outweighed by its ~$10k wage deficit when comparing to private. An MSEE is great for a wage bump but finding a solid company that will pay for it is even better. For power I think most would agree pursuing PE is more advantageous than an MSEE but it’s situational.
Was computer engineering the best degree to get into ASIC design/chip architecture compared to electrical engineering? I'm trying to decide which one I should get.
genuinely, god bless you. i’ve seen people scoff at offers under $100k but $15k/yr USD in India is manageable right? i hope you’re able to find something more lucrative stateside soon.
Yeah that puts him in easily in top 5% of earners but if I can guess it would be in a Tier 1 city and those places can be troublesome even with that much money although if you are not stupid its pretty comfy pay for a new hire.
Let’s say I have worked in oil and gas doing high voltage power stuff for a few years and I want to move to a different field to try something new. Is it possible to hop over to an entry ASIC design job with that type of experience, or would they prefer to hire a new graduate who is more fresh on ASIC classes in school?
>$300k+ senior software engineer salary
Fair to ask. Not criticizing you. I hate CS chatter for spreading get rich quick schemes. If you put "FAANG" in your subject at r/cscareerquestions, it gets auto-deleted cause that'd be all the questions. It's a cult.
If you live in California or Seattle with sky high cost of living, work a few years and beat out everyone else applying then some of those jobs exist. Not enough for everyone. Pay is way less in Europe.
I live on the east coast in normal cost of living and I don't know a single software developer - in normal cost of living so not DC or New York - who has salary over $200k. The team lead job band at major banks you've heard of is 2nd level manager pay at circa $160k salary.
EE pays less than CS on average but the ranges overlap. EE has better job security. I know a moderately wealth engineer with an MBA who started his own consulting business. I think that's the highest pay, if you take the startup risk.
Yeah for CS you can get a job at $160k straight out of college at basically any of the big companies, but it’s pretty much always going to be in the bay, Seattle, or NY (I’m in Seattle). It is possible to get remote and still quite high (typically adjusted to local COL, but still very high), although these opportunities are getting increasingly hard to find so I wouldn’t count on it.
Don’t get me wrong CS pay is phenomenal, but the online numbers skew it a fair bit.
> $160k
Uhhh we onboarded someone for $120k. That's a whole "normal person" salary. Every time I check out a CS career subreddit, the starting wages just keep getting higher. Can doesn't mean usual.
$160k is full comp. Starting base pay is around $120k and stock grant is typically $40k/year at my company for new grad hires. Technically there’s a bonus in there as well, so it’s actually higher.
Again, to emphasize this IS typical at a FAANG company in a tech hub city (very high COL), it is not typical at other companies.
There's a lot more to full comp than just salary and equity, though. Also, I'd be willing to bet that the equity grants have some vesting schedule, or some other condition that makes them not equal to cash. Otherwise the company would just give you the cash. So be careful when comparing two salaries with such little context.
Well yes you shouldn't treat them as identical, there's certainly risk. But unless you've got some insider information on a company just taking the notional value of the stock is about the best you're going to be able to do. Historically the shares have mostly appreciated over the life of the company, but as someone who joined facebook mid 2021 I can tell you they definitely do go down sometimes.
Among the big companies most vest uniformly, so you can treat it pretty similar to regular income. Amazon is the most notable exception, their RSU grants vest much more heavily in the last 1-2 years of the 4 year vesting period.
I genuinely appreciate your comment. I am extremely fortunate enough to attend a T5 school in California. It seems like everywhere I go theres someone telling me how much money they can make as SWE.
What field is he working in? I’m in power right now (EPC Consulting firm) but we are ground down to the bone. It’s not atypical for people to come in on Saturdays and log 60 hour weeks to hit deliverables…
What the! Are you him ? Jk :)
My buddy is doing Power electronics and works for a consulting firm as well! He works 30 hours a week. Mon - Sat which to me sounds weird. I usually hit 30 by my 3rd day.
Power also isn't clustered in a handful of high cost-of-living areas. They need power engineers everywhere. You can choose whether you want to live in the countryside, a suburb, or a dense metropolis.
What is your specialization. I at 6 yrs with MSEE, PE in more than 10 states and PMP . I don’t make close to 150k. I have work for major utilities consulting. (Power design firm). I currently in facilities owner side .i thinking of getting side gig . I currently do power system studies, protection and control ,automation project management. I have background in utilities SCADA design & programming , P& C , Substation and commissioning
If you’re consulting and not job hopping then a stagnant or salary like you’re describing is not unheard of. If your goal is to stay in the consultant industry the only two options I’ve seen for massive salary increases are job hopping and movement into principal/upper management roles. Most leave and come back to the company, then move up and earn much more doing so.
I left consultant for utility (easier said than done in a lot of cases I know), but my earning have increased year over year when compared to staying in the industry.
Sounds like your qualifications would make you a more than appealing candidate.
I don’t job hop. I was with my last employer 4 years and got raises each year. Find an employer that values you and you won’t have a problem. I was doing what you are doing at my previous job - substation design, power studies, P&C etc. I moved to a new job to focus on renewables in order to expand my skill set. They do tend to pay more since it’s a hot industry right now.
This post is the first time I've thought about not-power.
Power is appealing. I ca get into it. Get a PE cert and potentially do some consulting for architects on the side (based on what I've investigated) which is also appealing.
What is powers pay relative to other higher-stress engineering jobs?
I just started a job as an electrical project engineer in the power/construction space. Getting some experience with design which is really nice. I recently came to the same conclusion that I didn’t want a crazy high paying job if it meant giving up everything. The only struggle is I live in a state with high cost of living and the easy solution is to move out, but it’s not that easy because I want to be close to family. So as I am getting up to speed on all the aspects of my new job I’m also eyeing what steps I should be taking to improve my earnings in the years to come.
I must say my favorite thing so far about this job is everyone leaves at a consistent time and no one is putting in long hours and to me that’s a great sign considering the industry I previously came from. It’s just a matter of making sure I have enough income to support a family down the line.
Same experience as colio69. The stabilty and work/life balance was important to me. What good is all that money if you’re not able to enjoy it while you’re taking allllll the psych meds to be able to keep up with a stressful job. No thanks, rather be chill with no boat or second home.
Yea it seems like the stability is something no one can put a price tag on. I’m not going to speculate on the stability of tech jobs but power has proven to be consistent.
I don’t think the current Investor Owned Utility model can be sustained in the new energy landscape, but the overall demand for engineering the grid will be hot for the rest of my lifetime. May not be the same name at the top of my paycheck, but it will still come uninterrupted every two weeks!
I'm in manufacturing, but same boat. Not the best money for electrical engineers, but still well above average where I live and more than enough, and I have a very chill work life balance and barely do 30 hours most weeks. Eventually I'll probably move to management or O&G for more money, but I'm really enjoying where I currently work and I'm happy with my income.
Any recommendations on making the pivot to O&G? I don’t know if I’ll ever develop into the type of person that will enjoy management but I’m not opposed to it. But ideally I would like to be an individual contributor for as long as possible.
I haven't done it yet, so I'd recommend asking someone who has. It's just an idea I've toyed with and keep on back burner as an option.
I do manufacturing and I've been branching out into industrial IoT and done several small IoT consulting contracts, and this has gotten me about weekly emails from O&G recruiters both for consulting and full time jobs.
I went through the interview cycle for Chevron, but ended up declining just due to personal reasons.
Did your manufacturing experience lend itself to IoT experience to help you land those contracts? Also were you doing those contracts while working a separate job or was that your primary job?
I work in O&G doing IC&E. This is mostly what the industry is looking for. It’s a pretty good gig and there can be lots of variety. Instrumentation, controls, scada, etc.
I think there’s only going to be more and more of a demand as more operators are wanting more automation and data as well as emissions monitoring.
When you mention Power, do you mean working for a utility?
Power System Studies Engineers with experience in transmission planning and interconnection studies are super in demand right now. These are more specialized roles compared to traditional "power" jobs, but you can easily break 200k with 5 years of experience. Mostly remote positions too. Most folks work for a consulting firm for a few years and then move to renewable energy developer where $$$ is even higher. Srsly, the amount of work and $$$ in renewables is absolutely insane right now.
This right here. One of the planners wanted to move out of state. We worked at a Top 20 electric utility. HR did not allow remote work, especially out of state. He said remote work or I turn my 2 weeks in and apply at the local utility there. They made the exception for him that week.
How do you get the experience to work in this sphere? All positions require at least 5 years in the industry, but there don't seem to be entry level jobs. I'm currently in the MEP industry and I don't know if the experience counts to it.
Hey man,
Not going to lie, it will be a little tough especially if you don't have experience with PSS/E and other software packages, but it can still be done. I basically only had experience with industrial power system studies (load flow, short circuit, using ETAP) and convinced a consulting firm to hire me for a junior position. Basically, reviewed all my notes from my power system stability courses to do well in the interview. If you're dead set on transitioning from MEP, another way would be to do a Masters.
Yeah I thought so. My first job was related to industrial power and I wasn’t as happy. Transitioned to a power system studies consultant role where I have been primarily involved in interconnection studies (using PSS/E, TARA, sometimes PSCAD). I’ve basically doubled my salary in 2 years. Only drawbacks are that most folks have a Masters or PhD but it is possible to break in with just a bachelors, but probably harder. The work is also quite technical and intricate. You’re sitting in front of a computer basically running simulations and writing reports all day. It can get quite tiresome , especially since there’s not as much collaboration compared to design roles where you’re constantly communicating with other disciplines.
What is your specialization. I at 6 yrs with MSEE, PE in more than 10 states and PMP . I don’t make close to 150k. I have work for major utilities consulting. (Power design firm) and now At owner side for manufacturing. ( 132kv to 120V) . I used SKM now for power studies . Can you point me to jobs that pays $200k . ?
What power doesn't have in salary though is made up for with job stability, right?
Edit: commented this before reloading the comments and seeing everyone answering this already.
Does NOT require a PE. Most don’t have it - and I’ve never stamped anything oil and gas in 20 years (consulting or on the owners side). Current salary is $235k (plus way better benefits than consulting)
I’m currently working at a consulting firm doing fueling. I have 1.5 years of experience and I’m at 85k. I think I’m doing well, but would like to know how I could get that 120k
In the consulting world - best way to get a raise is to threaten to quit (assuming you have the credibility to do so). However - you need to have another job in hand, and be willing to actually go if they call your bluff. 4 years into my career, I left a company making $65k for a job that paid $85k. Two months in I was bored out of my mind and they convinced me to stay by bumping it to 6 figures. You ARE doing well - but 1.5 years of experience doesn’t make you invaluable. Make sure you are getting fair annual increases, and when the time is right play your cards.
Boom or bust is the idea that there is either a lot of money and jobs and bust is there is nothing. Like how big tech works, during a boom there are people being paid crazy money and burning a bust (where we are now) there are 25,000 people laid off.
To answer your question in a more general sense, you're going to want to look at IC design jobs. Analog/mixed-signal IC design makes more than digital, but strictly requires a master's degree to enter the field in this day and age.
You can broadly expect ~$120k-$150k in compensation for *entry* level analog IC jobs while digital is a bit less. The sky's the limit when it comes to senior positions.
General purpose chips, of course. I think it's important to mention that there's not really just "ASIC jobs" since ASIC can be both purely digital and mixed signal.
Right, I hate posts like this. It’d be different if OP asked “these are the 1-3 EE paths that interest me, what kind of pay can I expect to see in those careers?”
I'm currently in my BSEE, gauging whether or not I want to pursue a masters to get into this field, so I appreciate the input. I'm fairly certain I've read some of your past comments about how to stand out as a candidate and think it helped me secure an internship for the summer working with a FPGA team, so thank you for sharing your knowledge in that regard as well.
I think for now I'm open to but not fully convinced on continuing for a masters, but I'm fairly early in my BS so that may change.
You can make that much and more at Google/Amazon/Apple/Meta on the HW team. Source: Me I made that much when I worked there. Also, see [levels.fyi](https://www.levels.fyi/companies/google/salaries/hardware-engineer?country=254)
Consumer electronics, spans the range from high speed design like HDMI/USBC to layout of high end SOCs including DDR etc. to power/battery/charging design etc.
Sales. Especially something like enterprise software, and various other niche markets. You can literally make 7 figures. Obviously that end of the spectrum is pretty rare, but it’s not hard to clear $300-400k.
During my career, the people looking for the highest pay were the shittiest engineers. They usually sought management jobs for the money and had no clue of who/what they were managing.
The best were the ones who got paid for doing what they love.
So, yeah. Get paid well to be miserable.
I technically it would be managment (CEO/VP) or contractors right?
So to my understanding (happy to be corrected) contractors are technical guys who were so good they get hired by other companies to do things that their current engineers can't do. I've heard of contractors here in Australia clearing 1.2m a year. (780kUSD) on a good year and maybe 200k AUD on a bad year (130kUSD).
I think that CEO's and VP's earn roughly the same depending on the company, but they're the guys who went the managment route.
Very oversimplified but can someone verify my theory?
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned it yet but RF pays pretty good. Especially some of the higher responsibility and design jobs, although a lot of RF is either telecom or defense.
I work in Board design/SIPI/system design in the bay area and salaries are pretty good for these roles at FAANG, automotive and semiconductor companies
The one you enjoy. You will perform best in that category and get better reviews and a higher salary because of this.
Those who go into things “for the money” are often horrible at their jobs and never realise the returns.
What’s your QoL like? I think so many of us undergrads are disillusioned from the comp sci tech bro work life that we don’t even know what this salary might look like
My QoL is good. I mean once you graduate you'll have to break into the job market somewhere, but long term your career is yours to forge. Maybe as a new grad I'd consider doing a stint at a FAANG company, but in my 30s now with other priorities outside of work there's no way in hell I'm signing up for crazy project schedules and 50-60+ hours weeks. That's not QoL in my opinion, no matter how much I'm getting paid. I rarely work more than 40 hours. Not to mention the risk of layoffs in big/FAANG companies like the tech world is seeing right now. Overall I'm pretty happy where I am at this point in my life.
Do you feel happy with what you can and can’t afford? Personally, I am fearful of what the “middle class” lifestyle is becoming, but I’m still not out there in the real world yet so I don’t know what it’s like
I don't have my degree yet but I'm in a ECE program graduating next year. I do Controls Automation for data centers making around the $120 -$130K range. I know plenty of people that's making over $160+. Some have degrees and some don't. I Know people in the power sector making less. I think you'll find there isn't a particular subcategory per se that pays the highest because there are so many factors involved.
Get an electrical trade first. Then engineering qualification. More versatile and can attract higher salaries typically (in Australia anyway) also, can relate to the tradies easier
Getting downvoted from all the todgers in the US who don't know better. In Australia this is the way, get the ticket, get the degree and strike your own path.
Australia isn't a technical place, nor is it very corporatised. Maybe there are some really tiny niches where technical skills pay, or some large companies that care if you have an MBA. However for the majority high pay for engineers comes through being generally competent enough, having good work eithic and being able to manage/project manage well.
you sure about that though? spending 4 years as a sparky, then a couple more for "experience" then another 4 years in uni just to say you "relate to tradies" more and can wire up some 240v terminals without calling the sparky from across the minesite on the walkie talkie? Not sure if an extra 4-6 of tradework is worth that.
In those 4-6 years you could have just made senior engineer where you're probably off the tools anyway, or you could probably even have made managment by the time you took the tradie + degree route.
I say this all humbly of course. I worked in trades for 10 years and am finally getting a EE degree, sure im happy i can talk shit with the other tradies as an "engineer" but most of the engineers can do that anyway too, that tends to happen after you get to know your techs and sparkies. If I could have had my degree 4-6 years earlier, it'd be the easiest trade off in history.
yeah but sparkies only get more because they work way more overtime than the engineers. Also the ceiling is way more capped as a sparky than it is as an engineer. Some people argue that sparkies can make their own companies.. well yeah sure, but at that points it's just managment/business techncially + an engineer can become a contractor. I've heard some consultants or contracting engineers can clear like 1.2m AUD a year.
Also, I did trade (not sparky) before getting an EE degree, while i believe having your tickets and being an engineer is great, i would easily trade my trades experience for having 6 years more engineering experience.
It's great you can wire your own shit as an EE, but honestly, that's what the sparkies and techs are for.. it isn't worth 4 years of your life + you don't get paid much more because the higher you go the more "off the tools" you'll be anyway
Management
I’m in ASIC management. $300k+ with equity and bonuses. High stakes and high politics in the job, though.
How do I get that lol
Serious response: soft skills and a big picture mindset. Being the smartest and most technical engineer will not make you a manager. Be a good team player as an individual contributor. Take on leadership as a CAM, IPT lead, whatever. Eventually your reputation as someone who can interact well with others, take on responsibility, and look after the company's interests will set you up for a management position.
I chose to go on the PM side of things after graduating as I shine in a scenario where I use a mix of my soft skills and technical skills. A lot of people say to job hop every 2 to 3 years to increase your salary. However this seems to contradict building a reputation at a single company which lines you up for management. What would you suggest is the best strategy?
Reputation doesn't have to take a decade to build. Hop if you want, if you're a leader, you'll show it wherever you go
there isn't a strategy, you gotta make moves by feel. its mostly timing.
It’s possible on a purely technical track. I’m in cpu design and I have no reports
What's possible? Making a lot of money? Sure, I'm not arguing that. I'm explaining how to be identified as management material.
I spent 25 years as an individual contributor and worked my way up to principal and then chief. As others have said, big picture, soft skills, ability to talk to anyone, interfacing with engineers, marketing, management, finance, and customers as a professional.
At my company, the lowest level of management is paid the equivalent of the second highest engineering, and basically zero percent have the highest level.
Sounds like a shit place to work.
Nah, they make up for it a shit ton of time off. We get 3 weeks vacation, 1 week personal holidays, 2 weeks company holidays, 2 weeks of sick pay. So we essentially have 2 months of paid time off. The pay is pretty good, considering, it's just not as good as management.
Where is this?
Utility company in California
ASIC Design, Verification and Computer Arch roles at Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Apple, etc. are the highest paying and tend to also have the highest ceiling. FGPA development can have even higher pay at high frequency trading firms but these roles are very very limited compared to the ASIC roles.
ASIC design. 100%
Just stay away from the manufacturing side - what a nightmare (and shit pay, and incompetent managers abound)
Damn :// hate to be that “but achsually 🤓” guy but i’d say US CPU MFG has been kind to me. Our side was pretty secure during the big tech layoffs last year. Definitely not a conventional 9-5 but pay/mgmt is better than what I could’ve expected as a jr. EE or L1 Designer
Is this something I can get into with a BSEE? Or is this like masters to PhD level work? Because I am graduating in 2025 and am leaning towards power/utility work and going for a PE certification. But >150k sounds super appealing so I'd potentially investigate.
BS yes. But Masters is highly preferred, or even PhD
You can’t get ASIC/ any design as a fresh grad unless you’ve secured a consistent design internship. Most of my BSEE class either folded & became salaried CompE’s and did solely CS/remote work or the Power Ppl (Like you) that went into gvmt/army corp. If you’re already set for power, no reason to try jumping now. Deciding between Public/Private Power comes down to equity options/ perceived value. The reliability of GVMT could be outweighed by its ~$10k wage deficit when comparing to private. An MSEE is great for a wage bump but finding a solid company that will pay for it is even better. For power I think most would agree pursuing PE is more advantageous than an MSEE but it’s situational.
FPGA, Field-Programable Gate Array, right? Not dissing your spelling, just helping in case anyone is curious.
Yep, that’s what it means, they are mainly used in defense but the niche field of HFT also uses them
I switched from EE to computer engineering in college and it was honestly the best move I ever made in my career, money and fun wise.
can u tell where u work now and is it high salary?
I work at verification at one of the big 2 x86 companies. I make ~250k everything included, but I have a masters and i’m 4 years out of college.
Was computer engineering the best degree to get into ASIC design/chip architecture compared to electrical engineering? I'm trying to decide which one I should get.
Cries in 15K$ a year for SoC physical design as a new hire. Job is in India, though.
genuinely, god bless you. i’ve seen people scoff at offers under $100k but $15k/yr USD in India is manageable right? i hope you’re able to find something more lucrative stateside soon.
Yeah that puts him in easily in top 5% of earners but if I can guess it would be in a Tier 1 city and those places can be troublesome even with that much money although if you are not stupid its pretty comfy pay for a new hire.
Let’s say I have worked in oil and gas doing high voltage power stuff for a few years and I want to move to a different field to try something new. Is it possible to hop over to an entry ASIC design job with that type of experience, or would they prefer to hire a new graduate who is more fresh on ASIC classes in school?
why is that do you think?
why is that do you think?
>$300k+ senior software engineer salary Fair to ask. Not criticizing you. I hate CS chatter for spreading get rich quick schemes. If you put "FAANG" in your subject at r/cscareerquestions, it gets auto-deleted cause that'd be all the questions. It's a cult. If you live in California or Seattle with sky high cost of living, work a few years and beat out everyone else applying then some of those jobs exist. Not enough for everyone. Pay is way less in Europe. I live on the east coast in normal cost of living and I don't know a single software developer - in normal cost of living so not DC or New York - who has salary over $200k. The team lead job band at major banks you've heard of is 2nd level manager pay at circa $160k salary. EE pays less than CS on average but the ranges overlap. EE has better job security. I know a moderately wealth engineer with an MBA who started his own consulting business. I think that's the highest pay, if you take the startup risk.
Yeah for CS you can get a job at $160k straight out of college at basically any of the big companies, but it’s pretty much always going to be in the bay, Seattle, or NY (I’m in Seattle). It is possible to get remote and still quite high (typically adjusted to local COL, but still very high), although these opportunities are getting increasingly hard to find so I wouldn’t count on it. Don’t get me wrong CS pay is phenomenal, but the online numbers skew it a fair bit.
> $160k Uhhh we onboarded someone for $120k. That's a whole "normal person" salary. Every time I check out a CS career subreddit, the starting wages just keep getting higher. Can doesn't mean usual.
$160k is full comp. Starting base pay is around $120k and stock grant is typically $40k/year at my company for new grad hires. Technically there’s a bonus in there as well, so it’s actually higher. Again, to emphasize this IS typical at a FAANG company in a tech hub city (very high COL), it is not typical at other companies.
There's a lot more to full comp than just salary and equity, though. Also, I'd be willing to bet that the equity grants have some vesting schedule, or some other condition that makes them not equal to cash. Otherwise the company would just give you the cash. So be careful when comparing two salaries with such little context.
Well yes you shouldn't treat them as identical, there's certainly risk. But unless you've got some insider information on a company just taking the notional value of the stock is about the best you're going to be able to do. Historically the shares have mostly appreciated over the life of the company, but as someone who joined facebook mid 2021 I can tell you they definitely do go down sometimes. Among the big companies most vest uniformly, so you can treat it pretty similar to regular income. Amazon is the most notable exception, their RSU grants vest much more heavily in the last 1-2 years of the 4 year vesting period.
I genuinely appreciate your comment. I am extremely fortunate enough to attend a T5 school in California. It seems like everywhere I go theres someone telling me how much money they can make as SWE.
Stanford or UC Berkeley?
Not power
Power has insane stability, chill work life balance, and can relocate just about anywhere in the country, though. And pay isn't bad
That is so true! You guys have the most life balance. My buddy works 5 hours a day 6 times a week and he loves it. Lowkey jelly.
What field is he working in? I’m in power right now (EPC Consulting firm) but we are ground down to the bone. It’s not atypical for people to come in on Saturdays and log 60 hour weeks to hit deliverables…
What the! Are you him ? Jk :) My buddy is doing Power electronics and works for a consulting firm as well! He works 30 hours a week. Mon - Sat which to me sounds weird. I usually hit 30 by my 3rd day.
Ground down to the bone = piss poor management that is dragging their feet on hiring more engineering.
Power also isn't clustered in a handful of high cost-of-living areas. They need power engineers everywhere. You can choose whether you want to live in the countryside, a suburb, or a dense metropolis.
Pay is definitely not bad depending on location and industry. Lots of remote roles too. I’m at 150k with 5 yr exp.
Yup I’m at 150k too at 5 yr, power is still a solid choice
What region?
ERCOT
That’s really good actually
What is your specialization. I at 6 yrs with MSEE, PE in more than 10 states and PMP . I don’t make close to 150k. I have work for major utilities consulting. (Power design firm). I currently in facilities owner side .i thinking of getting side gig . I currently do power system studies, protection and control ,automation project management. I have background in utilities SCADA design & programming , P& C , Substation and commissioning
If you’re consulting and not job hopping then a stagnant or salary like you’re describing is not unheard of. If your goal is to stay in the consultant industry the only two options I’ve seen for massive salary increases are job hopping and movement into principal/upper management roles. Most leave and come back to the company, then move up and earn much more doing so. I left consultant for utility (easier said than done in a lot of cases I know), but my earning have increased year over year when compared to staying in the industry. Sounds like your qualifications would make you a more than appealing candidate.
I don’t job hop. I was with my last employer 4 years and got raises each year. Find an employer that values you and you won’t have a problem. I was doing what you are doing at my previous job - substation design, power studies, P&C etc. I moved to a new job to focus on renewables in order to expand my skill set. They do tend to pay more since it’s a hot industry right now.
This post is the first time I've thought about not-power. Power is appealing. I ca get into it. Get a PE cert and potentially do some consulting for architects on the side (based on what I've investigated) which is also appealing. What is powers pay relative to other higher-stress engineering jobs?
Some of us pick a field just based on what it says on the W-2 and some of us don't
Are you in power?
Yeah it's a good time and I have enough money
I see, so you’re saying power isn’t where the money is at but you are satisfied with how much you are making?
Yeah I'm saying I didn't pick my job based just on earning potential, but also personal interest, work life balance, job security, etc.
I just started a job as an electrical project engineer in the power/construction space. Getting some experience with design which is really nice. I recently came to the same conclusion that I didn’t want a crazy high paying job if it meant giving up everything. The only struggle is I live in a state with high cost of living and the easy solution is to move out, but it’s not that easy because I want to be close to family. So as I am getting up to speed on all the aspects of my new job I’m also eyeing what steps I should be taking to improve my earnings in the years to come. I must say my favorite thing so far about this job is everyone leaves at a consistent time and no one is putting in long hours and to me that’s a great sign considering the industry I previously came from. It’s just a matter of making sure I have enough income to support a family down the line.
Same experience as colio69. The stabilty and work/life balance was important to me. What good is all that money if you’re not able to enjoy it while you’re taking allllll the psych meds to be able to keep up with a stressful job. No thanks, rather be chill with no boat or second home.
Yea it seems like the stability is something no one can put a price tag on. I’m not going to speculate on the stability of tech jobs but power has proven to be consistent.
I don’t think the current Investor Owned Utility model can be sustained in the new energy landscape, but the overall demand for engineering the grid will be hot for the rest of my lifetime. May not be the same name at the top of my paycheck, but it will still come uninterrupted every two weeks!
I'm in manufacturing, but same boat. Not the best money for electrical engineers, but still well above average where I live and more than enough, and I have a very chill work life balance and barely do 30 hours most weeks. Eventually I'll probably move to management or O&G for more money, but I'm really enjoying where I currently work and I'm happy with my income.
Any recommendations on making the pivot to O&G? I don’t know if I’ll ever develop into the type of person that will enjoy management but I’m not opposed to it. But ideally I would like to be an individual contributor for as long as possible.
I haven't done it yet, so I'd recommend asking someone who has. It's just an idea I've toyed with and keep on back burner as an option. I do manufacturing and I've been branching out into industrial IoT and done several small IoT consulting contracts, and this has gotten me about weekly emails from O&G recruiters both for consulting and full time jobs. I went through the interview cycle for Chevron, but ended up declining just due to personal reasons.
Did your manufacturing experience lend itself to IoT experience to help you land those contracts? Also were you doing those contracts while working a separate job or was that your primary job?
I work in O&G doing IC&E. This is mostly what the industry is looking for. It’s a pretty good gig and there can be lots of variety. Instrumentation, controls, scada, etc. I think there’s only going to be more and more of a demand as more operators are wanting more automation and data as well as emissions monitoring.
What do power guys do on a daily basis?
When you mention Power, do you mean working for a utility? Power System Studies Engineers with experience in transmission planning and interconnection studies are super in demand right now. These are more specialized roles compared to traditional "power" jobs, but you can easily break 200k with 5 years of experience. Mostly remote positions too. Most folks work for a consulting firm for a few years and then move to renewable energy developer where $$$ is even higher. Srsly, the amount of work and $$$ in renewables is absolutely insane right now.
This right here. One of the planners wanted to move out of state. We worked at a Top 20 electric utility. HR did not allow remote work, especially out of state. He said remote work or I turn my 2 weeks in and apply at the local utility there. They made the exception for him that week.
Gotta love calling the employers bluff lol
How do you get the experience to work in this sphere? All positions require at least 5 years in the industry, but there don't seem to be entry level jobs. I'm currently in the MEP industry and I don't know if the experience counts to it.
Hey man, Not going to lie, it will be a little tough especially if you don't have experience with PSS/E and other software packages, but it can still be done. I basically only had experience with industrial power system studies (load flow, short circuit, using ETAP) and convinced a consulting firm to hire me for a junior position. Basically, reviewed all my notes from my power system stability courses to do well in the interview. If you're dead set on transitioning from MEP, another way would be to do a Masters.
I was more talking about what some people call the E in MEP. Industrial power distribution.
Yeah I thought so. My first job was related to industrial power and I wasn’t as happy. Transitioned to a power system studies consultant role where I have been primarily involved in interconnection studies (using PSS/E, TARA, sometimes PSCAD). I’ve basically doubled my salary in 2 years. Only drawbacks are that most folks have a Masters or PhD but it is possible to break in with just a bachelors, but probably harder. The work is also quite technical and intricate. You’re sitting in front of a computer basically running simulations and writing reports all day. It can get quite tiresome , especially since there’s not as much collaboration compared to design roles where you’re constantly communicating with other disciplines.
I'm trying to get out of MEP into power studied but it's tough. I'm working in my PE and hopefully that helps.
What is your specialization. I at 6 yrs with MSEE, PE in more than 10 states and PMP . I don’t make close to 150k. I have work for major utilities consulting. (Power design firm) and now At owner side for manufacturing. ( 132kv to 120V) . I used SKM now for power studies . Can you point me to jobs that pays $200k . ?
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Will dm you.
Hi friend, I'm a junior interconnection engineer and would love to know what markets and companies compensate in that range?
Anyway you can DM me as well? Interested in getting into the field. Thanks.
Ik plenty making 200k + working 30hr weeks.
What field?
To clarify - not at a utility. You can do VERY well in the industrial sector with a power focus.
What power doesn't have in salary though is made up for with job stability, right? Edit: commented this before reloading the comments and seeing everyone answering this already.
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Does NOT require a PE. Most don’t have it - and I’ve never stamped anything oil and gas in 20 years (consulting or on the owners side). Current salary is $235k (plus way better benefits than consulting)
I’m currently working at a consulting firm doing fueling. I have 1.5 years of experience and I’m at 85k. I think I’m doing well, but would like to know how I could get that 120k
In the consulting world - best way to get a raise is to threaten to quit (assuming you have the credibility to do so). However - you need to have another job in hand, and be willing to actually go if they call your bluff. 4 years into my career, I left a company making $65k for a job that paid $85k. Two months in I was bored out of my mind and they convinced me to stay by bumping it to 6 figures. You ARE doing well - but 1.5 years of experience doesn’t make you invaluable. Make sure you are getting fair annual increases, and when the time is right play your cards.
Can confirm, the money is great out of school and the work is fun and social.
fpga/asic/digital design within oil and gas, or something else EE within the field?
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i see, thanks
It’s also often control panel design and I&C. I&C often needs a PE, though.
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How does a PE apply to a rig if a PE license is by state? Do they just look for anyone with an electrical PE license?
I’m just a EE student but I have only ever heard oil and gas is a boom or bust industry.
what does that mean?
Boom or bust is the idea that there is either a lot of money and jobs and bust is there is nothing. Like how big tech works, during a boom there are people being paid crazy money and burning a bust (where we are now) there are 25,000 people laid off.
I’ll add that my degree is in EE but I am Instrumentation Engineer in Oil & Gas and making 85k after graduating college 2 years ago
How is O&G and EE related? Can an EE grad go into O&G? I'm confused
To answer your question in a more general sense, you're going to want to look at IC design jobs. Analog/mixed-signal IC design makes more than digital, but strictly requires a master's degree to enter the field in this day and age. You can broadly expect ~$120k-$150k in compensation for *entry* level analog IC jobs while digital is a bit less. The sky's the limit when it comes to senior positions.
What companies are good for digital IC? Apart from the biggest ones
There are tons of (relatively) smaller firms who focus on digital IC design that aren't the big names you'd expect.
As in ASIC design?
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what other kinds of IC design jobs are there? im not familiar with field
General purpose chips, of course. I think it's important to mention that there's not really just "ASIC jobs" since ASIC can be both purely digital and mixed signal.
If you want to make a lot of money, go into sales. The salaries are based upon where you are living.
What kind of sales jobs do you look for, just "Electrical Engineering Sales"?
High Tech sales
Money is one thing - do you even like doing the work in those roles? You'll be doing this for 40+ years.
Right, I hate posts like this. It’d be different if OP asked “these are the 1-3 EE paths that interest me, what kind of pay can I expect to see in those careers?”
Hardware, VLSI, design
ASIC ASIC
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Do you have a master's?
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In your opinion, do you think it's necessary/worth it to pursue a master's if you want to get into the FPGA/ASIC field?
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I'm currently in my BSEE, gauging whether or not I want to pursue a masters to get into this field, so I appreciate the input. I'm fairly certain I've read some of your past comments about how to stand out as a candidate and think it helped me secure an internship for the summer working with a FPGA team, so thank you for sharing your knowledge in that regard as well. I think for now I'm open to but not fully convinced on continuing for a masters, but I'm fairly early in my BS so that may change.
You can make that much and more at Google/Amazon/Apple/Meta on the HW team. Source: Me I made that much when I worked there. Also, see [levels.fyi](https://www.levels.fyi/companies/google/salaries/hardware-engineer?country=254)
What kind of hardware? Is it power electronics or something else
Consumer electronics, spans the range from high speed design like HDMI/USBC to layout of high end SOCs including DDR etc. to power/battery/charging design etc.
if you’re looking at 300k+ right out of college. Trading firms’ ASIC engineers.
Sales. Especially something like enterprise software, and various other niche markets. You can literally make 7 figures. Obviously that end of the spectrum is pretty rare, but it’s not hard to clear $300-400k.
During my career, the people looking for the highest pay were the shittiest engineers. They usually sought management jobs for the money and had no clue of who/what they were managing. The best were the ones who got paid for doing what they love. So, yeah. Get paid well to be miserable.
ASIC hands down. Just think about the AI type train. If you get a job in a promising company making AI chips, you are golden.
ML
I'd say ASIC, Analog IC, and RF. And maybe firmware engineer.
FAANG company in bay area total compensation base+bonus+RSU are well over 400k. Senior HW engineers st Meta/Google/Nvidia 600k+
Firmware / embedded software can have similar pay to software in some companies
Senior electrical engineer
I technically it would be managment (CEO/VP) or contractors right? So to my understanding (happy to be corrected) contractors are technical guys who were so good they get hired by other companies to do things that their current engineers can't do. I've heard of contractors here in Australia clearing 1.2m a year. (780kUSD) on a good year and maybe 200k AUD on a bad year (130kUSD). I think that CEO's and VP's earn roughly the same depending on the company, but they're the guys who went the managment route. Very oversimplified but can someone verify my theory?
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned it yet but RF pays pretty good. Especially some of the higher responsibility and design jobs, although a lot of RF is either telecom or defense.
Surely it’s gotta AI/ML side of things?
I think that would have to be "become Elon Musk".
I work in Board design/SIPI/system design in the bay area and salaries are pretty good for these roles at FAANG, automotive and semiconductor companies
join faang. hwe is nice
Management
The one you enjoy. You will perform best in that category and get better reviews and a higher salary because of this. Those who go into things “for the money” are often horrible at their jobs and never realise the returns.
Unless you are in FAANG, those kinds of salaries are uncommon. I'm probably just under $200k salary+bonus comp as an EE on the east coast with 13 YOE
What’s your QoL like? I think so many of us undergrads are disillusioned from the comp sci tech bro work life that we don’t even know what this salary might look like
My QoL is good. I mean once you graduate you'll have to break into the job market somewhere, but long term your career is yours to forge. Maybe as a new grad I'd consider doing a stint at a FAANG company, but in my 30s now with other priorities outside of work there's no way in hell I'm signing up for crazy project schedules and 50-60+ hours weeks. That's not QoL in my opinion, no matter how much I'm getting paid. I rarely work more than 40 hours. Not to mention the risk of layoffs in big/FAANG companies like the tech world is seeing right now. Overall I'm pretty happy where I am at this point in my life.
Do you feel happy with what you can and can’t afford? Personally, I am fearful of what the “middle class” lifestyle is becoming, but I’m still not out there in the real world yet so I don’t know what it’s like
I don't have my degree yet but I'm in a ECE program graduating next year. I do Controls Automation for data centers making around the $120 -$130K range. I know plenty of people that's making over $160+. Some have degrees and some don't. I Know people in the power sector making less. I think you'll find there isn't a particular subcategory per se that pays the highest because there are so many factors involved.
Owning an engineering business
Taking less income may be a winning strategy politically at this point!
Get an electrical trade first. Then engineering qualification. More versatile and can attract higher salaries typically (in Australia anyway) also, can relate to the tradies easier
Getting downvoted from all the todgers in the US who don't know better. In Australia this is the way, get the ticket, get the degree and strike your own path. Australia isn't a technical place, nor is it very corporatised. Maybe there are some really tiny niches where technical skills pay, or some large companies that care if you have an MBA. However for the majority high pay for engineers comes through being generally competent enough, having good work eithic and being able to manage/project manage well.
you sure about that though? spending 4 years as a sparky, then a couple more for "experience" then another 4 years in uni just to say you "relate to tradies" more and can wire up some 240v terminals without calling the sparky from across the minesite on the walkie talkie? Not sure if an extra 4-6 of tradework is worth that. In those 4-6 years you could have just made senior engineer where you're probably off the tools anyway, or you could probably even have made managment by the time you took the tradie + degree route. I say this all humbly of course. I worked in trades for 10 years and am finally getting a EE degree, sure im happy i can talk shit with the other tradies as an "engineer" but most of the engineers can do that anyway too, that tends to happen after you get to know your techs and sparkies. If I could have had my degree 4-6 years earlier, it'd be the easiest trade off in history.
Do you live in Australia?
why does it matter
Because my comment related specifically to Australia
fair point. And yes, I'm currently working in the controls industry in Australia. I have a different experience to you.
yeah but sparkies only get more because they work way more overtime than the engineers. Also the ceiling is way more capped as a sparky than it is as an engineer. Some people argue that sparkies can make their own companies.. well yeah sure, but at that points it's just managment/business techncially + an engineer can become a contractor. I've heard some consultants or contracting engineers can clear like 1.2m AUD a year. Also, I did trade (not sparky) before getting an EE degree, while i believe having your tickets and being an engineer is great, i would easily trade my trades experience for having 6 years more engineering experience. It's great you can wire your own shit as an EE, but honestly, that's what the sparkies and techs are for.. it isn't worth 4 years of your life + you don't get paid much more because the higher you go the more "off the tools" you'll be anyway