General > General Technical Chat
Why are engineering salaries so poor in the UK? Or, why does the US pay so well?
EPAIII:
Boy you can say that again about some locations being very expensive to live in. I turned down jobs in California twice because of that. The salary offers were about 25% greater than what I was making at the times, but after my wife and I looked at some local houses in the area, we figured we would just go broke in less than a year. Accepted one offer on Saturday afternoon and called them back on Sunday to reverse that.
California is probably the worse, but there are other areas where a fabulous salary is just a quick path to bankruptcy.
--- Quote from: ajb on May 21, 2018, 06:48:38 pm ---Salaries in the US also vary quite widely between regions and between specific disciplines. Averages are also dragged up quite a bit by places that pay absurd salaries, particularly in the software market--but many of those salaries lose a bit of their luster when you look at the cost of living you have to deal with to get them.
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GreyWoolfe:
--- Quote from: tooki on April 01, 2024, 07:24:38 pm ---
--- Quote from: Zero999 on April 01, 2024, 04:26:21 pm ---
--- Quote from: TK on May 21, 2018, 05:49:47 pm ---I think they are equivalent (or even favorable to UK) after you discount the cost of health care, education, paid vacation days, etc.
There is a good documentary called Where to Invade Next, by Michael Moore.
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Not really, when the fact that the cost of buying or renting a place in the UK is much higher than the US.
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Is it though? The cost of housing in USA, especially renting, has skyrocketed the past few years. (Cost of living there in general has.)
I mean… I pay less to rent my apartment in Switzerland’s biggest city, in a desirable downtown area, than an equivalent unit would rent for in Baltimore, where I used to live, which is a decidedly third-rate city on a good day. Never mind a major city like NY, LA, SF, or Miami, where my Zurich rent would pay to sublet a bedroom — at best.
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I live on the east coast of Florida. Rents for 1 bedroom apartments top $1,000 a month. Even renting rooms in houses can break $800 depending on location. 3 bedroom house rents can break $2500. AND, I live in a small town, ~20,000 people a little over an hour away from the Orlando area, not Orlando itself. When we bought our 3/2 house, 1590 square foot, in 2004, we paid $122,900. 2 years ago we had to have the house appraised again to change homeowner's insurance companies and it was valued at $325,000 :palm: No major improvements but a newer roof and AC system and solar panels added. % wise, my son and daughter-in-laws house has appreciated even more because where they live is an up and coming place to move to, but they still can't buy a larger house because everything in their area has appreciated the same.
TimNJ:
--- Quote from: ChunkyPastaSauce on May 28, 2018, 09:22:49 am ---
--- Quote from: a59d1 on May 28, 2018, 08:58:55 am ---A driven, excellent EE with an MS from a reputable school in the US has a good chance of making above 50 k$ right out if they apply to a growing company.
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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.
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Yes, $50K would be a total insult for an MSEE in the year 2024. In fact, $50K is very close to an insult for a BSEE newgrad in 202. Granted, where I live, it’s very expensive, so I have a skewed perspective.
I remember back 15-20 years ago when my brother was looking at colleges, I remember the number “$60K” floated around as a typical engineering salary. I guess that was a median salary at the time. At any rate, go take a look at an inflation calculator and even go back 5-10years and you’ll see the purchasing power of 50K is probably a lot less than you’re thinking, if your brain is calibrated back a few years.
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