Because all of them keep saying they make 4X their mom's pay, and that their mom is a teacher.

If that's the case I'm just going to go back and get the engineering coursework I need instead of law school.

Maybe not well above 200k, but certainly in the mid-100's... with some years of experience, of course.

I think the average starting salary, right out of college, for the typical entry level engineer is between 50k-70k (depending on field of study). Within 5 years, it is highly likely to be in the 80k-100k range. After 5 years, and depending on increased roles/responsibilities, I think it's typical to have salaries in the 100k-150k range throughout a career.

Just my observations from various people I associate with.

A lot of ChemEs make over 70K starting.

civils dont make typically 80-100 after 5 yrs.

You also are assuming teachers make $50K

Try $30-$35K in most cases.

Several young teachers I know are making 40 to 45 thousand.

Well, if you aren't an idiot, and you are a teacher, you will have some kind of graudate degree, which helps boost pay, and perhaps you will do adjunct work for a juco or something, since you only work about half the time of a regular person. So, I'm thinking at leat 50k.

A petroleum engineer with good grades and an average internship can pull 80K his first day out of school.
Then, if they work for a decent size oil company, thier bonuses are anywhere from 10-25 percent of thier annual salary.

[This message has been edited by geogaggie (edited 1/30/2008 3:12p).]

Why do people put in all the hard work to only get about $150,000 per year?

Edit: When I posted this, the intention was that, if the cap on earnings was $150,000. That much right out of school without graduate work is awesome.

[This message has been edited by Thermometer (edited 1/30/2008 2:02p).]

quote:

---

all of them keep saying

---

I'm an ME with close to 2 years experience, and I never said I make 4 times what my Mom does.... She makes over half of what I do....

You can't just assume all engineers are making that kind of money.

For example, given the same amount of experience for each, a civil engineer working for TxDot will make considerably less than a petroleum engineer working for Anadarko.

However, the petroleum engineer does have to be concerned with market volatility/layoffs/etc.

It's just like anything else. You can't make a generalization. I will say this, if you are going to be a lawyer just to make money your life will be a living hell. You'd better make sure you really like lawyering, because 100+ hours a week will get old if you hate it, no matter what they are paying.

quote:

---

A petroleum engineer with good grades and an average internship can pull 150K his first day out of school. Same with a geologic engineer. 125K without breaking a sweat.

---

Yea, i don't think this is entirely true.

I don't think adjunct work at a juco pays more than about 3000/class but I could be very wrong.

[This message has been edited by geogaggie (edited 1/30/2008 3:13p).]

you are correct mrs.

adjunct is about 3000 per class

but is he happy?

I'm not doing the lawyer thing for money.
I think, for the longest time, I didn't go to law school, because everyone told me I would hate it.

I think so. works 4-10 hour shifts a week and maybe a half day in between. travels about 30 percent of the time. Not too bad of a job really.

cool

nm. i think that was irrelevant.

[This message has been edited by itgoes211 (edited 1/30/2008 2:08p).]

I was one that said I make about 4 times what my mom makes. She also only makes about 30K a year if I remember correct. I also busted my ass in school and also got my MS to better myself and career. Paid off big time.

Hmm... methinks I should just go to the petro engineering.

How much math do you need? I've gone through difEq1, and did the calculus series, linear algebra, and a couple of senior stat and prop courses. What other math? Other than that just 30 hours right?

There is a reason they only graduate a handful of them a year. It is very difficult. I was not one, but know of those who survived and they definelty earn every penny. I think that it is something like less than one-fourth that enter the program, actually graduate.

I would assume you would have to start from scratch with a few exceptions of the classes you took. If I remember right, thier curriculum is very structured for the degree.

what exactly do PE's do?

[This message has been edited by mhc06 (edited 1/30/2008 2:18p).]

while were on the topic will someone care to evaluate my financial outlook:

BS in Engineering Technology from A&M 3.4 gpa, taking a year for extra courses here before going into a Chemical Engineering masters at UC Irvine (already accepted), zero internships/related work experience and have no desire to do so before I graduate, worked with kids throughout college (tutoring, afterschool program, summer day camps etc)
how easy/hard will it be for me to find a job with my masters and what kind of position/salary should I expect?

I am a petroleum engineer, I will try to help with a VERY BASIC explanation of what a PETE does.

There are 3 basic sub-disciplines to petroleum engineering. Drilling, production engineering, reservoir engineering.

In undergrad you learn about all of these to a certain extent but TAMU leans toward reservoir engineering a bit.

Drilling is just that, how to drill. Horizontally, vertically, directionally, through different types of rocks, pressure regimes, etc.

Production engineering takes over when the well hits bottom. These guys design the completion, any stimulation that needs to be done to the well, and ensure that the well is brought on line. They also monitor the wells' performance and intervene if there is a problem.

Reservoir engineers manage the reservoir from a larger perspective, which may have one well or a thousand wells in it. They study fluid flow through the rock, look at how to better manage production from the reservoir as a whole, etc.

Now, there are many other sub-disciplines in these categories. And there is an awful lot of paper-chasing just like in any other job.

The salaries are high because the average age of the workforce is over 50, and in a few years there will be a dire shortage of engineers. Also, companies are sniping talent from one another, so they are paying more and more to retain their people rather than watch them go to the highest bidder.

what do PE's do?

they rule the world.

next question?

I'm sitting at 50k+, but I just hit the end of my first year. I know some that were making 80k out of college, though.

200k? maybe in pesos...

Recent information suggests that Engineering students are currently the highest paid graduates finishing a four year curriculum.

Geog...petroleum engineers do not make 150k out of school. The average starting salary last year was 80k. Nobody in my graduating class at A&M got offered anything anywhere near that amount. Graduate students don't get that much. I wish they did.

Also...not to pick on you..but the attrition rate in petroleum engineering versus others is probably at the very bottom. It is a pretty easy major compared to mechanical, chemical etc.

I would really like to know exactly what your brother does because I graduated last year with above a 3.5 and none of the offers I got were anywhere near 150k. The reality of it is you are a new graduate and you know nothing besides how to use excell and powerpoint really well. I am very skeptical.

aggie oil, did you ever have dr piper? he was the undergrad advisor during my time but i think they have switched to that big bald guy (cant remember his name). dr piper scared the crap out of me.

Do PE's do logging? I've always wondered about that field, seems awesome. I'm an actuary currently, and I probably shouldn't have been so lazy in school, but I took the five year track, then went to grad school, and finally decided to take an exam my first year at work, passed it pretty easily, but I just can't get motivated to study outside of school. In school is great, because I get really competitive you know?

Anyway... maybe the law is better for me.

i had piper for a class. he's a nice guy.