r/ChemicalEngineering • u/EzioDragonBorn • Jul 29 '24

Salary Salary question

Is $28-30 an hour starting pay for a new ChemE grad that has a bachelors degree considered to be good? Location is Midwest and the work place is very laid back and has great work culture; I just want to hear more opinions before I make a decision.

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '24

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19

u/ThatOneGeoFan Jul 29 '24

US salaries are insane 😭😭. I'm from Ontario, Canada, about to start studying ChE and starting here is like 65k

13

u/picklerick_98 Jul 29 '24

I started my career a little over 3 years ago now. You’ll start between 65-75 most times but the promotions within your first two years will be nuts.

Started at 57, by the end of my second year was at 90 after bonus. You’ll get there!

Edit: In Canada as well btw!

3

u/EzioDragonBorn Jul 29 '24

That is what I’ve heard as well. Someone from the company said they got raises in the first couple of years that were really good. So that is a factor to consider

3

u/shimizu32 Process Control Jul 30 '24

In my experience as a younger engineer with 3-5 yr exp, every year you will see some raises but its the percentage increase that really matters. Did your colleague say anything about how big the increases were? If they're just like 3-5% increases per year I'd say that's not really worth it unless you're planning on dipping after you get your 2-3 years experience in.

4

u/EzioDragonBorn Jul 30 '24

One of my coworkers mentioned 14% increase

2

u/TheRealAlosha Jul 31 '24

That’s less than inflation…

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u/ThatOneGeoFan Jul 29 '24

That's reassuring lol

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u/Inevitable-Goal-4995 Jul 30 '24

I’m from Ontario as well (Toronto). If you’re going to stay in Canada and want to make decent money I’d recommend moving to Alberta. Otherwise try your best to get out of Ontario. The market for engineers is oversaturated so employers don’t have to pay much since they know someone will eventually accept the bare minimum.

I’m in oil and gas/chemicals industry. I worked in Alberta for 4 years, made 80k + 30k bonus my first year out of school (large retention bonus because of the area). Granted I lived in the middle of nowhere, I used those 4 years to gain experience and now I live in Houston.

4

u/ThatOneGeoFan Jul 30 '24

I was thinking to maybe go to Sarnia or somewhere like that if I wanted to stay in Ontario, but Alberta is definitely a consideration. I just don't want to leave Canada

3

u/Inevitable-Goal-4995 Jul 30 '24

My sister worked in Sarnia and loved it there. Salary is slightly lower than Alberta but way better than Toronto/GTA. Good luck with everything!!

2

u/TheRealAlosha Jul 31 '24

That’s ridiculous for an engineer barely livable that’s like what school teachers make in the us

6

u/Zetavu Jul 30 '24

That is an incredibly short sighted response. $30/hr is actually over $60k a year which is the low end of starting salary for an engineer, but that all depends on the job, the location, and other benefits. Do you get health insurance, 401k, pension? Is there a bonus plan involved (you may have to get promoted to get in it)? What is the average salary after 5 years? We hire most people at lower starting salaries and give raises early and often to get them to stay. We also do this to be able to get rid of nonproductive people early. We also hire a lot of positions through temp agencies just to try candidates out and not have to worry about firing them if they don't work out, just let the contract expire. I empathize with you new graduates, you are going into a tough environment, and most of the high paying jobs require relocation to not so nice places.

That brings us to location. Midwest means a lot of things. This is low for Chicago but pretty good for a small town in Iowa. You could not consider this in New Jersey, etc. And then there is the work. If it is very laid back, gives you hybrid or remote work, and very low stress then pay will be lower. You want upper end pay you need to hustle and will compete with top talent and probably travel constantly or live in a hot, nasty mill.

I'll throw another curve ball out there, timing. In 2022, we were paying ridiculous starting salaries because there were literally no candidates, $100k for BS and $120k for pHd. Now there is an over abundance of candidates so not only have prices dropped down to 2016 levels, but a lot of the people hired at $100k+ have had their positions eliminated (laid off, not fired). Sometimes being expensive is a bad thing.

3

u/WhuddaWhat Jul 30 '24

"Do you get health insurance, 401k, pension?"

Precisely where I stopped reading... Exactly when did benefits become non-standard for salaried employees?!

Is your home wired and plumbed? Do you need to say as much in a home listing?