What to do

Cooter69
Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:47:25 +0000

Hello all, I am going to graduate in the spring with a masters in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and a bachelor degree in architecture as well. It has been a rough five years of school and life, yet I am pround in myself to have less then $10k in college debt and obtaining three degrees!

I know it seems like a lot of degrees, yet majority of people I ask say that their are only four main cores in engineering. Civil, mechanical, chemical, and electrical. I figured cover at least half the list and I should be able to find a career!

Some background, I currently work at an enviromental engineering firm as a special inspector for five years while attending college. The owner offered me to stay, yet as an engineer with a $50k salary. Hence the reasoning behind this post! From a early child I wanted to be an engineer and open up my own firm, yet in the mean time I am working towards obtaining my PE license and gaining possibly more experience so I have to work for someone else in the mean time. Now from asking around that salary is low as quite a few people I know and talked to get salaries right out of college for $60k a year. That is with little to no experience as well I might add. I know paid time off and other things influence your salary, yet to me $50k seems like a low blow! So I am wirting this and maybe someone can help me out with a counter offer or should I look some where else?

I think I answered my own questions as to me enviromental engineering stinks, they do not do much besides write the report and calculate a few things out based on the testing results. I was aming for a sturctual engineer, yet the salaries their even seem low as well with some people making $35k-50k a year starting out. I was hoping and sort of planing on making $65-70k a year right out of college with the hopes of breaking the six figure mark or close to it once I get my PE, I know it may seem high, yet I have five years of experience in the construction field, fluent in autocad, dabble in real estate(have my realators license), and I feel quite a bit of experience as a engineer. I do some side work for engineers currently to help get my foot in the door. Doing small add ons, tenant improvements, desiging/building homes, roadways, and some sewer work as well. They over look everything and tell me were I can improve on or what to do differently. I am grateful towards those individuals that do this for me. As it really benefits me over a person with no experience at all I feel.

With my background and experience am I asking to much for a graduate? I am just at a lost currently and feel like I just got hit my a train with the current salary results. Two to three years ago it seemed like everyone was making $60k right out of college. I know the construction market was hit hard, that is why I got as many degrees as possible to be so diverse. I am thinking of going back and obtaining my bachelor chemical engineering degree or working towards my doctorate degree in anesthesiologist, what is another three years? LOL.

PS, I currently live in southern Nevada and looking to stay here or move to southern California once I graduate. I know demogeographic arears play a role in salaries and such.

Thank you for the help, advice, comments, and such!