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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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.

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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?