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Why are engineering salaries so poor in the UK? Or, why does the US pay so well?

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a59d1:

--- Quote from: ChunkyPastaSauce on May 28, 2018, 09:22:49 am ---
--- Quote from: a59d1 on May 28, 2018, 08:58:55 am ---A driven, excellent EE with an MS from a reputable school in the US has a good chance of making above 50 k$ right out if they apply to a growing company.

--- End quote ---
It's a lot higher I think, I checked the three 'reputable' public schools in my state and for MSEE median is 70k-90k starting, 100k if taking job out west.

--- End quote ---

For sure, but there are only so many jobs at Google and Facebook. There are a few people I know whose starting salaries at FAANG were close to 200 k$. It isn't realistic for everyone to get one of those jobs.

coppice:

--- Quote from: gildasd on May 28, 2018, 10:52:20 am ---I have a few secondary school friends who are engineers in the UK and earn enough to own a residence in London. So they must be doing quite well.
One works for an online retailer, another for a Defence contractor and the last one has a private practice (civil engineering if I recall correctly - we tend to talk girls, resulting kids and subsequent boring cars, not work, when we meet).
That said, I do recall the harrowing stories of their University bedsits that made "the Young Ones" seem rather posh.

--- End quote ---
Online retailer probably means a software job.
Defence contractors don't generally pay well, except for software jobs.
Civil engineering has tended to pay fairly well in the UK, although I believe the spread is quite wide.

In the UK a mediocre person in software has tended to earn more than the smartest electronics people since the earliest days of software.

rhb:
The Plano/Richardson area of DFW is a good location.  Lots of work and housing prices are quite modest.   I bought an older  2500 sq ft house in Plano for $125K in 1993 or so and sold it in 1999 for about the same price just before the dot com bust. According to the papers there were about 80,000 unemployed EEs in the area after the bust.

There was a piece in the paper about a guy who had been making $80k/yr,  had a wife, 2-3 kids, jet skis, fancy cars and a $300-400k house.  After the bust his wife had left him and moved with the kids to her parents and he was living in a homeless shelter.  Everything else was gone.

I also lived there the summer there were 43 days over 100.  About the start of the 2nd week into this, a friend who had come from California said over lunch, "What's the big deal?  We have air conditioning."   To which I responded, "After a few weeks, you get the distinct impression mother nature is trying to kill you."  He ran a tape measure 3 ft straight down  into the cracks in his yard.  It was still over 100 at 10 pm.

coppice:

--- Quote from: rhb on May 29, 2018, 02:30:58 am ---The Plano/Richardson area of DFW is a good location.  Lots of work and housing prices are quite modest.   I bought an older  2500 sq ft house in Plano for $125K in 1993 or so and sold it in 1999 for about the same price just before the dot com bust. According to the papers there were about 80,000 unemployed EEs in the area after the bust.

There was a piece in the paper about a guy who had been making $80k/yr,  had a wife, 2-3 kids, jet skis, fancy cars and a $300-400k house.  After the bust his wife had left him and moved with the kids to her parents and he was living in a homeless shelter.  Everything else was gone.

I also lived there the summer there were 43 days over 100.  About the start of the 2nd week into this, a friend who had come from California said over lunch, "What's the big deal?  We have air conditioning."   To which I responded, "After a few weeks, you get the distinct impression mother nature is trying to kill you."  He ran a tape measure 3 ft straight down  into the cracks in his yard.  It was still over 100 at 10 pm.

--- End quote ---
People in Texas generally think of their house prices as long term stable, because there is little pressure from land shortage. However, prices in Plano are rising now, due to two factors. A lot of Asian engineers have migrated to Dallas, and go for homes in Plano where the better schools are. A number of high profile companies are relocating operations from California to Dallas, and the employees have lots fo cash after selling their Californian homes.

rhb:
I visited a friend last year for his 60th birthday and was stunned at the development that has taken place north of Plano  in the last 20 years.  I'm sure it has affected home prices as will the next bust.  But relative to California they are much cheaper.

The prices that fluctuate the most are the McMansions.  People buy more house than they can afford for too much money, then there's a bust and the McMansion values collapse. It would appear that buying a McMansion during a bust would be a good deal, but it's not.  They typically are very expensive to heat and cool because of the 30 ft ceilings in much of the first floor area.

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