Highest Paid Engineers

Engineer2000 · 05-26-2006, 01:42 PM

According to this press release, it's not what you might expect, but rather Fire Protection Engineers.

Quote:

According to a survey conducted by the Bethesda, MD – based Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), the median income for an entry-level fire protection engineer (0-2 years of experience) is $55,500 per year. That figure jumps to $65,000 when a person with that level of experience has a master’s degree.

The median income for a mid-level fire protection engineer (6-8 years of experience) is $72,500 per year, but it can approach $100,000 per year if he or she has a master’s degree. It is common for senior-level fire protection engineers to make over $120,000 per year.

There's also a link to this site: http://www.careersinfireprotectionengineering.com/ - they list undergrad programs and scholarships there. Kind of interesting - not a field you hear a lot about.

caa5042 · 05-26-2006, 01:55 PM

what is fire protection engineering?i didnt even know that existed.

sakky · 05-26-2006, 03:41 PM

I think it's quite clear that right now (and probably for the next decade) the highest paid engineering discipline, at the bachelor's degree level, will be petroleum engineering.

http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#earnings

However, keep in mind that the PetE lifestyle is pretty rough. PetE's are the guys who get sent out to work on offshore platforms and drilling rigs, often times working in harsh conditions and away from their families. If you're working offshore, where you get paid the best, you are also submitting to a low quality of life. In a regular job, you can leave the office after work and kick back at a local bar for a beer or do whatever you want. But when you're offshore, then even when your shift is over, you're still stuck on the platform with no place to go and not much to do except maybe watch TV in the common room or read a book. In some sense, it's almost like being in jail. Hence, it should not be surprising that those guys get paid so well.

aibarr · 05-26-2006, 07:29 PM

Fire protection engineering typically falls under a specific discipline of civil engineering...

And actually, if you wanna get all technical about it, there were a couple of jobs I was quite qualified for with even just a bachelors degree in structural eng where my starting salary would have been 80K+... doing consulting work in Iraq... This was around the time when all those engineers were getting kidnapped and killed, so I passed on that opportunity. Any higher risk job is going to yield higher pay, and rig jobs and wartime jobs are considered higher risk. I think that still makes fire protection engineering one of the higher-paying, lower-risk jobs...

And be careful, because it's folks like me that design those rigs you rest so precariously upon, sakky!

rocketDA · 05-28-2006, 03:38 AM

large engineering fields with big bucks:
chemical engineering
petrol engineering

(but i say if you just want to make a lot of money, i'll be sure to roll on over you with my passion for engineering.)

sakky · 05-28-2006, 04:12 AM

Quote:

And actually, if you wanna get all technical about it, there were a couple of jobs I was quite qualified for with even just a bachelors degree in structural eng where my starting salary would have been 80K+... doing consulting work in Iraq... This was around the time when all those engineers were getting kidnapped and killed, so I passed on that opportunity. Any higher risk job is going to yield higher pay, and rig jobs and wartime jobs are considered higher risk. I think that still makes fire protection engineering one of the higher-paying, lower-risk jobs...

And be careful, because it's folks like me that design those rigs you rest so precariously upon, sakky

I think you would have been vastly underpaid at just 80k to go to Iraq. For example, I know that Saudi Aramco (the Saudi national oil company) is routinely paying well over 100k for American petroleum engineers with not much experience. In fact, I know that highly experienced petroleum engineers can make well over 250k at Aramco - and with no taxes (Saudi Arabia has no income tax), and the company pays for living costs too. Essentially, almost every dollar you would make, you would bank. Sure, Saudi Arabia ain't exactly Las Vegas, but it also is far far less dangerous than Iraq is.

Nevertheless, obviously the question is, do you really want to live in Saudi Arabia for years at a time? Some people really want the money and don't mind. For others, that's a non-starter.

aibarr · 05-28-2006, 11:06 AM

Yeah, that's what that "plus" was for in the 80K+. 80K was the lowest offer. Anyhow, I went to school with a lot of gals whose parents worked for Aramco, so I'm familiar with the gig.

chenuine · 05-28-2006, 08:39 PM

first post ever on this forum. great site.

anyways, they have fire protection at university of maryland. it has been dubbed the #1 fire protection school, i cant remember if this was ever confirmed. also heard by word of mouth was that the fp engineers here have a 100% hiring rate (unconfirmed).

Andrassy · 05-28-2006, 11:35 PM

how difficult is it to make over 100k as a chemical engineer with a masters degree from a top school? Hoe long would you have to be in the field and how rare si it

caa5042 · 05-28-2006, 11:44 PM

i wanna know too

sakky · 05-29-2006, 12:30 AM

It depends strongly on what industry you are in, what job you will be holding, and so forth.

Like I said before, if you are willing to take some extreme jobs, like working in Iraq, or working in international offshore oil fields, then making 100k is pretty easy. You probably don't need much experience at all. For example, I know that the oil-field services company Schlumberger is hiring international field engineers and is paying them extremely well now.

eazy_mas · 05-29-2006, 10:43 AM

an oil servicing company is a killer job compared to oil company.

they have 24 hr shifts in oil and some much pressure but oil company is more laid back.

as far as holidays oil company have go hoilday package and bad you could work for one month and one month break or 2 weeks and 1 week it depends on situation. but it could come in a special holiday like christmas or Eid or any other special holidays. but overall its good.

I am studying petroleum eng. it pretty intersting and good subject. need a lot of development in it.

I could help you in some of the question about petroleum eng or the petroleum industry

caa5042 · 05-29-2006, 01:47 PM

how much are you expecting in pay for your first job?which company do you want to work for?

rocketDA · 05-29-2006, 04:16 PM

general engineering with the hookups: ~80k/year starting. this is not the typical case, however. ~60-70k is a good estimate for average starting salary.

sakky · 05-29-2006, 04:59 PM

Quote:

general engineering with the hookups: ~80k/year starting. this is not the typical case, however. ~60-70k is a good estimate for average starting salary.

Nah, that's too high. Engineering is good, but it ain't THAT good.

About 45-55k is about right.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/13/pf/c...ries/index.htm