Why are engineers in America so underpaid if the demand for them is so high?

Question

I'm a Tulane student who's double-majoring in History and Physics, and my parents suggested I study an Engineering field because that's where the demand is the highest...

And they're right, Engineering demand IS really high! Especially where I grew up (Houston) because of all the chemical and petroleum companies...

Yet when I look at the starting salaries, they're only about $50K...if the demand for engineers is so desperate, why such comparatively low pay?

I might as well get an MBA and make three times as much for a lot less effort and better work conditions...

Answer 1

Having been an engineer for about 10 years now I would say it mostly has to do with priorities. People are not willing to spend money on things that they don't think about every day. For example I work mainly with sewer planning and design. Most people don't think much about the importance of sewers but if they didn't have them it would make a big difference in their lives. This lack of caring gets translated into where people and governments are willing to put their money. If people are not interested in investing in infrastructure then the salaries for engineers who do that kind of work will not be very high.

That being said I started in the business about 10 years ago making a little more than 40k and now I make twice that so their is opportunity to increase your salary. The starting salary also has a lot to do with where you live.  I live in a fairly inexpensive city so 40k is reasonable. If you are in a big city (NY, LA) it would not be sufficient.

It is the same as with teachers (probably one of the most important professions) they are chronically underpaid.

Answer 2

It's more like $55k for someone with a bachelor's degree, and around $65k for someone with a master's degree, though it varies for different fields of engineering.

I'm not enough of an economist to tell you why business administrators make more money than engineers, but I think it's more important to do something you like than it is to be paid excessive amounts of money.

Answer 3

Most engineering students go into engineering because they like the work, not because they think they're going to get rich.  (This is the same with Physicists and all of the other technology majors).

If you want to make money, go for the MBA (coupled with an undergraduate degree in Accounting it's a killer combination).  Or go to Law School ☺

BTW....  As short a time as 30 years ago, $50K was what a really top engineer could expect to see after 5 to 10 years.  Starting salaries were more like 30K -35K out of school.

Doug

Answer 4

Cost of living in the area your from might have something to do with it. I live near Washington DC our entry level pays more cause everything just cost more. Like I know the cost of living in TX is cheaper than where I live. If you lived in California or NYC you'd get paid more. There's your base pay and then there's your locality pay which is adjusted to where ever your working at.

Technically everybody makes the same, but your regions are different.