It is amazing how well versed in energy and transmission technologies that she is. She like so many young people in the past has been hoping to change the world.
Good for her! Adding the PE will move her to the top end of the salary range quicker and now’s the time, while she’s still in student mode.
I would be careful on recommending engineering to a young person.
I have had a great career, but in any down turn the wages are the first to be frozen, and the first let go.
Then there is the H1B issue. Stay away from computers or programming.
Be willing to live in places most don’t want to, like the mountain west or rural midwest, and you will be employed.
But I know many that have burned out.
Pleasantly surprised that these weren’t on the list:
Racial engineering
Social engineering
Gender engineering
Election engineering
My oldest daughter’s strong suit math. As a Civil Engineer myself, I’m hoping to steer her in that direction. It’s a very solid and high demand and good paying field that doesn’t look to be going away any time soon.
Software Engineers are worth their weight in Gold right now - All of the Management Systems - WMS -TMS-etc are desperate for engineers.
—not surprising that mining engineering is on the list as the number of grads is in the tens, rather than a higher number-—
1. Mechanical Engineer
Average starting salary: $82,000
Average mid-level salary: $92,000
Average late career salary: $127,000
2. Data Science & Machine Learning
Average starting salary: $89,000
Average mid-level salary: $107,000
Average late career salary: $120,000
3. Mining Engineer
Average starting salary: $68,000
Average mid-level Salary: $89,000
Average late career salary: $109,000
4. Project Engineer
Average starting salary: $71,000
Average mid-level salary: $89,000
Average late career salary: $100,000
5. Automation & Robotics Engineer
Average starting salary: $77,000
Average mid-level salary: $92,000
Average late career salary: $99,000
6. Civil Engineer
Average starting salary: $59,000
Average mid-level salary: $72,000
Average late career salary: $96,000
7. Electrical Engineer
Average starting salary: $67,000
Average mid-level salary: $82,000
Average late career salary: $96,000
8. Alternative Energy Engineer
Average starting salary: $65,000
Average mid-level salary: $82,000
Average late career salary: $91,000
Like "clean energy" stay away from this and learn a real engineering discipline.
“…It is amazing how well versed in energy and transmission technologies that she is. She like so many young people in the past has been hoping to change the world.”
*********************************************
She obviously neglected her Social Justice Warrior and Critical Race Theory studies! 😄
My son experienced the same when he got his PhD in physics. It took me a while to figure out why it was mostly American defense contractors pursuing him.
Mostly foreigners are getting American PhD's in this country, not Americans. My son was/is a red-blooded American with a sought after degree that could pass all 'top-secret' requirements.(foreigners can't)
That was 21 years ago. He is still working for that large defense contractor in the LA area today.
Problem is that the supply and demand curves are shifted by four years. .Basically the best paying specialties today will have ample supply of engineers when todays HS graduates finish colleges. So if you want to do engineering, do what you like the best, not what is the best paying right now.
Anyway, engineering surfers from H1B problems. Basically catch 22. Since there are not enough engineers, government imports a lot of foreigners, who then depress the wages and so create shortages of young people going to engineering schools.
But, still, engineering is good way to earn money!
The area that I see as providing the greatest potential for future engineering students is biomedical engineering. There are amazing new treatments that are emerging such as Novacure’s Tumor Treating Fields that will transform the practice of medicine.
Most fascinating is the research that Michael Levin is doing at Tufts University to understand and eventually program the electrical patterns of the body that determine how cells communicate in biochemical “networks” to collectively organize themselves to fight cancer and other diseases.
He is working on developing the equivalent of a source code compiler for the body that will design the specific electroceudicals to influnce how the body regenerates damaged parts the same way lower animals like gekkos do. Advances like this could extend human lifespans enormously. They will need engineers that don’t exist today to develop this industry.
Pet peeve of my veterinarian wife who went through all the advanced schooling to see people with no education make more and retire after 30 years
Example posted: Late life wages for engineers 95-100k
Underground coal miners with no education in my area are making $125-130k with minimal overtime and coal demand is actually increasing and they are looking to hire miners right now
The coward cop from Broward was making $110,000 year in retirement what was he making before he retired with full pension at age 50, meanwile the engineer is still having to work.
It’s fuarked up.
Tell that story to the many engineers who lost their jobs when Biden decided that we should become energy dependent again.
Engineering has become a profession of the past since the jobs moved overseas. There was a bright light for engineers during the MAGA years but things have changed since then. Ask the people at Bechtel,Fluor and Kellogg what their job prospects are. Then talk to the engineers who were recently terminated from Chevron,Shell and other energy companies. Graduated in 1967. Those were heady days then but they won’t come back. Perhaps Hunter Biden has a need for engineers now that he is a big pipeline guru. So glad I am not looking for a job.
8 of the Most In-Demand Engineering Jobs for 2021
This will be most helpful for engineers from India.
If I were starting over I’d look for a job with the Feds.
With so many paid holidays, no competition like private sector companies, not having to perform, it would be a no brainer.
Although, being a white male, the chances of landing a Fed position would be near impossible.
I am not familiar with this particular news site but that may or may not be relevant since I have been retired for several years now.
My background…. I have two BS degrees in chemical engineering and microbiology and have worked professionally in both. I guess though that in the terms of the current fad, I self identify as an engineer. My particular niche is not in their list of hot engineering fields. Not sure if I should be sad or not. LOL.
The site's top list appears based on some combination of starting salary and number of job offers. That's fine, that was important to me as well when I graduated with the second degree ChE.
Salary…. I did a quick calculation on my starting salary vs. ending salary at retirement. My salary at retirement was 7.65X the starting salary. This is skewed though in that at starting, it was essentially at a probationary level and after 18 months my salary was about 2.5X the starting after transitioning from probation to professional. Comparing the first professional level to the final at retirement, this is about a 3X increase over my career. My SWAG is that that beats the level of inflation significantly.
Looking at the article's starting salary at the experienced salary level, I have some opinions.. I don't disagree with their numbers as I have no information to confirm or refute. This is face value, end stop.
It appears that the market demand is skewing to starting salaries to eliminate the difference between the the value of experienced vs. rookie, still green engineers. On the flip side, it is likely giving an incentive for experienced engineers to flip from one employer. When flipping, it is typical to get a very pleasant step increase in salary $$$$.
My particular engineering niche was not mentioned in their tops list. Oh my Gawd! Going into another corner of the website, it very reasonably mentioned demand in chemical, refining, food, water treatment (industrial I assume), food, alternative energy and mining. No argument with that list at all although I would add steel and metals in general to the list to account for ores processing.
I may wonder into rambling if I go further so let's stop here! Lol…. BTW, if you have not already come this idea, yes, I am a geek
Where is the Engineer of Color?
Key to your niece’s job opportunities is that she is a she in engineering. It was like that 25 years ago when I was a graduate. A mediocre girl will get more job offers than a high performance boy will get interviews simply because HR departments are desperate to hire women in underrepresented roles like engineering. The undergrad advisor posted the demographics of salary offers to the new graduates one year: the lowest female grad offer was several thousand higher than the top male.
It has been like that my entire career. Women are given first shot at jobs, and promotions. Companies regularly sponsor women leadership and mentoring luncheons and even day long events. If they don’t, the ambitious ones quickly jump to other companies that do those things. And they still lecture us about how sexist men underpay women and keep them from leadership positions.
Data Centers. Find a niche and learn all you can.
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