Mechanical Engineer Salary:
What can I expect?
February 20, 2020
By: Lisandro Vazquez, PE
The median primary compensation range for Mechanical Engineers in the US is between $73,000 and $144,000 based on experience level, geographic location, and specific field of practice among other factors1. Not only have salaries been rising between 3.5-5% over the past few years1, but the overall job outlook as forecast by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is ~4% growth between 2018 and 2028.
But before you make judgement on what these numbers mean for you, there are some important caveats you should be aware of. Not only does salary data vary widely from source to source, but the terms with which the data are presented differ as well.
Consider the two following examples:
- # 1: The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) states on its website that, “the median total primary compensation for mechanical engineers in 2016 is $124,000.”
- #2: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics cites a 2018 median Mechanical Engineer salary of $87,370.
What?!?! How can these numbers vary by a whopping $36,630? The ASME median salary, which represents data from two years prior to the BLS data, is almost 42% higher than the latter’s median wage. Both of these organizations are reputable, with years of statistics to cite, and surely both have people on staff who have cracked open a statistics textbook on a few occasions.
Ask yourself: What is the form of compensation being presented to you? For example, the ASME data relates to primary compensation. If primary compensation is just base salary, then what constitutes total compensation?
1. Form of Compensation: Of course, the items above are not tricky or non-definable phrases, but I just want to point out that you should be cognizant on the context of the data being presented so that you do not walk away with an unrealistic or inaccurate view. Be sure to read the “fine print” on each salary data statistic (graphs, charts etc.) to confirm what forms of compensation of being counted. And keep in mind that base salary alone isn’t the only measuring stick (but it’s the biggest). Bonuses, health & dental benefits, 401k plans etc. can differ significantly between engineering firms within the same discipline, state, city or even neighborhood.
Total Compensation:
- Paid Time Off (PTO) – Vacation & Sick Time
- Bonuses
- Commissions
- Retirement Plans (401k)
- Health & Dental Plans
- Cafeteria Plans
- Profit-Sharing
- Club Memberships
- Tuition Assistance
- Wellness Programs
- Disability Insurance
WORD OF CAUTION: If you’re already working as a mechanical engineer, it’s possible that you may be leaving hard-earned money on the table right NOW. Please check out my post “Salary, the full story—how you could be missing out on your full earnings” to avoid making costly mistakes.
2. Benefits: The vast majority of architecture & engineering (A&E) firms offer comprehensive benefits packages to include health & dental benefits, 401k, life & disability insurance, tuition assistance etc. Since there is great variance in offerings it is crucial to inquire on the specifics for each firm as you are comparing job offers. Comparing salary offers from one company to another is a piece of cake, but comparing benefits can be quite a bit more involved as factors such a family circumstances, taxes, and intent for retirement makes quick comparisons unrealistic unless you are a super financially savvy individual.
Compare
$ TOTAL COMPENSATION $
rather than just
BASE SALARY
Take your time. Consider hidden opportunity costs affected by pre/post tax considerations, insurance co-pays, and paid-time off (vacation & sick days). It all adds up. The higher salary offer may end up being significantly lower “pay” than a lower dollar salary from a competing firm due to benefits.
Almost ALL A&E firms offer group medical/dental plans and the vast majority offer 401k plans (>80%).4 Of those offering 401k plans, ~80% offer some form of employer contribution4 with an average industry employer match of 4.7% as of 2019 according to Fidelity.5 Short & long term disability and vision insurance plans may be offered by ~70% of A&E companies,4 but beyond these main benefits the variations between firms begins to grow and the averages drop.
3. Overtime: If you are comparing competing job offers or considering accepting an offer but are hesitant on the salary amount, don’t forget to keep in mind that a flat salary figure does equal an hourly rate.
For example, if your salary pays for 40 hours/week nominally, but the actual de facto expectation is that you work 45-50 hours per week without overtime pay, how much are you truly being compensated for your time on an hourly rate?
How many hours will you be expected to work for your base salary?
Some companies do offer overtime pay to exempt employees. This held true for ~30% of respondents to ASME’s 2012 Engineering Income and Salary Survey, but it’s important to note that this doesn’t necessarily represent 30% of all firms. If you have offers from two companies that are pretty evenly matched, ask if overtime pay is available to exempt salary employees. This might end up being the deciding factor. Besides, if management has to consider additional costs relating to payroll due to increased employee hours, they may be more prudent with requests for labor in excess of your nominal hours.
Ask yourself: What are you hoping to glean from your salary data search? Are you considering overall career paths? Are you comparing two job offers? Are you wondering if your current employer is paying you what you’re worth?
- If you’re looking at overall career planning (or considering an engineering career), then maybe the broad median salaries mentioned at the top of this article will suffice. They represent of good range of wages from entry-level to experienced engineer which you can use to map out a rough expectation for pay in the Mechanical Engineering field.
- If it’s your senior year in college, then these same general statistics should again be fine. For your first job you might expect to be offered between ~$60,000-$80,000 depending on your specific field of mechanical engineering and the location of your work. Remember, cost of living can affect your “real” disposable income by thousands of dollars, so don’t let super high or super low offers spurn you to make an impulsive decision without further consideration.
Take the following example of median home prices and rent in four US cities. (Remember, this is just housing… you still have to consider food, taxes, gas etc. which all factor in to what determines how much cash you end up putting in your pocket).
City | Median Home Price | Median Rent |
Seattle, WA | $ 713,100 | $ 2,800 |
San Diego, CA | $ 592,300 | $ 2,722 |
Houston, TX | $ 189,500 | $ 1,650 |
Jacksonville, FL | $ 179,300 | $ 1,450 |
Source: zillow.com (Oct 2019) | ||
Will you realistically get paid ~100-300% more in Seattle, WA than in Jacksonville, FL? Maybe… but probably not.
Though as we have seen earlier in this article, it can sometimes be a bit difficult to accurately interpret absolute salary figures, the information contained in these surveys can still be useful especially if applied in a slightly different manner than seeking just an absolute salary number.
For example, if we continue the discussion on geographic disparities in cost of living and how that relates to your true disposable income, charts such as the one below from BLS can be a gold mine of information. If you aren’t tied down to any one particular location, comparing housing costs and differences in median salary by region could net you thousands of dollars of extra disposable income.
Consider the map below and then revisit the previous example on housing costs. How would your disposable income change if you were to move from Jacksonville, FL to Houston, TX or from Seattle to Houston?
- If you don’t fall into the first two categories above, then you’re likely already practicing mechanical engineering. This is where it gets tricky, because these broad salary figures do not show you compensation based on brackets of experience level, educational attainment, managerial experience, specific field of practice, geographic disparities, status of licensure etc.
If you want to get detailed salary information which considers these factors as a means to help you to:
- negotiate for better pay or benefits,
- decide between competing job offers,
- determine what a competitive offer should be for a potential hire,
- consider your future potential compensation growth;
Then I HIGHLY recommend using ASME’s salary data for reference.
If you want to get detailed salary information which considers these factors as a means to help you to:
- negotiate for better pay or benefits,
- decide between competing job offers,
- determine what a competitive offer should be for a potential hire,
- consider your future potential compensation growth;
Then I HIGHLY recommend using ASME’s salary data for reference.
On its website ASME offers some free information (limited) showing salary ranges bracketed by experience as well as data based on status of licensure and role (click here: https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/salaries-up-for-mechanical-engineers). But, to get the really detailed stuff you will likely have to pay.
In 2017, ASME conducted a nationwide salary survey which yielded some very interesting and useful results. If you are looking just for a few specific data points that are applicable only to your personal circumstances, you may want to consider purchasing access to ASME’s Regression Salary Calculator (limited number of searches). However, if you are looking for wider ranging information based on all the main factors listed above then you should really consider purchasing the Salary Services Bundle which gives you access to the full salary survey report (click here: https://www.asme.org/membership/membership-benefits/career-and-professional-resources/salary-services). This is the most detailed and comprehensive salary information relating to Mechanical Engineering that I have come across. If you know of something better please, please, please, let me know so that I can share it with the community.
Though the 2017 Engineering Income and Salary Survey from ASME will give you the most up-to-date and detailed data, the stats below should give you some rough ideas on what to expect, especially if you are just looking for a quick affirmation or test of your current assumptions:
2017 ASME Survey results (pay vs. years of experience – Mechanical Engineering only):
- 6-11 years median: ~$100k-$115k
- 11-16 years median: ~$115-$125k
- 16-21 year median: ~$125k-$135k
License vs. No License: According to ASME “Mechanical engineers holding a Professional Engineer’s (PE) license earn nearly $16,000 more than mechanical engineers without licensure.1”
What if I’m considering going back to school? Is it worth it?
The chart below shows typical increases in median salary as you raise your level of education from the starting point in the leftmost column to the new levels in each of the subsequent columns as you move to the right (based on median salary ranges across all levels of experience, field, and geographic region-US only).
On its website ASME offers some free information (limited) showing salary ranges bracketed by experience as well as data based on status of licensure and role (click here: https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/salaries-up-for-mechanical-engineers). But, to get the really detailed stuff you will likely have to pay.
In 2017, ASME conducted a nationwide salary survey which yielded some very interesting and useful results. If you are looking just for a few specific data points that are applicable only to your personal circumstances, you may want to consider purchasing access to ASME’s Regression Salary Calculator (limited number of searches). However, if you are looking for wider ranging information based on all the main factors listed above then you should really consider purchasing the Salary Services Bundle which gives you access to the full salary survey report (click here: https://www.asme.org/membership/membership-benefits/career-and-professional-resources/salary-services). This is the most detailed and comprehensive salary information relating to Mechanical Engineering that I have come across. If you know of something better please, please, please, let me know so that I can share it with the community.
Though the 2017 Engineering Income and Salary Survey from ASME will give you the most up-to-date and detailed data, the stats below should give you some rough ideas on what to expect, especially if you are just looking for a quick affirmation or test of your current assumptions:
2017 ASME Survey results (pay vs. years of experience – Mechanical Engineering only):
- 6-11 years median: ~$100k-$115k
- 11-16 years median: ~$115-$125k
- 16-21 year median: ~$125k-$135k
License vs. No License: According to ASME “Mechanical engineers holding a Professional Engineer’s (PE) license earn nearly $16,000 more than mechanical engineers without licensure.1”
What if I’m considering going back to school? Is it worth it?
The chart below shows typical increases in median salary as you raise your level of education from the starting point in the leftmost column to the new levels in each of the subsequent columns as you move to the right (based on median salary ranges across all levels of experience, field, and geographic region-US only).
Ultimately, the answer to the question of “How much money will I earn as a Mechanical Engineer” likely won’t cover all facets to the deeper questions which relate to quality of life, work-life balance, and enablement of your desired lifestyle. But hopefully the resources here and those linked to this article will get you closer to finding a well-rounded—meaningful—answer.
From your friends at Engineer Q&A, have a wonderful day and TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CAREER!
Source 1: https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/salaries-up-for-mechanical-engineers
Source 2: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm#tab-6
Source 3: Zillow.com (Oct 2019)
Source 4: The Engineering Income and Salary Survey (2012) ASME/ASCE
Source 5: “FIDELITY Q1 2019 RETIREMENT ANALYSIS: ACCOUNT BALANCES REBOUND FROM DIP IN Q4, WHILE SAVINGS RATES HIT RECORD LEVELS” https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/press-release/quarterly-retirement-trends-050919.pdf