Careers

Is this a good salary?

  • Last Updated:
  • Oct 4th, 2010 12:22 am
Tags:
None
Deal Guru
Dec 31, 2005
13306 posts
750 upvotes
replicator wrote:
I think it may set your trajectory a bit too low for your future career path. The first real job out of school is critical, it is worth waiting a few weeks or months to get the job you want.

No it is not. Not in the slightest. It is merely a starting point.

It is how you perform once in your job that is critical....and no career paths are not straight lines up, they go up, down, sideways.
Banned
User avatar
Feb 15, 2008
26318 posts
3242 upvotes
Calgary
nalababe wrote: It is how you perform once in your job that is critical....and no career paths are not straight lines up, they go up, down, sideways.

Maybe try asking a low-balling employer for stock options, or incentive-based compensation, if they are in a position where they want to retain the services of an Electrical Engineer, but are obviously unable to come up with an appropriate amount of cash to pay for one.

If they don't oblige, then one needs to ask themselves if the job really requires the skillset you bring to the table, and how happy you will be.

Sadness is waking up 20 years from now and realizing that your life amounted to nothing because employers walked all over you and you never had the inkling to stand up and say "no".

I think that people who volunteer with organizations like Engineers Without Borders, and do overseas assignments free of charge, are much more honourable than a EE grad who works for $40k/year and causes a senior engineer to lose his career.
Jr. Member
Dec 10, 2005
119 posts
11 upvotes
40k is very low.

I can't tell if you're interested in the job or not, but figure out at what point you would take the job (ex. 50k?), and call them up and politely tell them that 40k is below what you were expecting, and that you can't seriously consider the job unless it pays AT LEAST 50k. If they say they can't do it, then move on. With your qualifications, they will know that 40k is very low, they're just low-balling you because they figure you're hard up for work. If you're going to keep on looking at 40k, then this is the way to do it.

This is not 'rude' and they shouldn't take offense to this. Frankly, if I were had your qualifications and received an offer that low, I'd be insulted.
Deal Addict
Jan 22, 2003
4797 posts
239 upvotes
Austin/Markham
jonawesome wrote: 40k is very low.

I can't tell if you're interested in the job or not, but figure out at what point you would take the job (ex. 50k?), and call them up and politely tell them that 40k is below what you were expecting, and that you can't seriously consider the job unless it pays AT LEAST 50k. If they say they can't do it, then move on. With your qualifications, they will know that 40k is very low, they're just low-balling you because they figure you're hard up for work. If you're going to keep on looking at 40k, then this is the way to do it.

This is not 'rude' and they shouldn't take offense to this. Frankly, if I were had your qualifications and received an offer that low, I'd be insulted.

I think that's the wrong attitude, and is why some employer's reject resumes because they think the individual is overqualified and will want an unreasonable salary. For an IT position, why would U be insulted for getting an offer like that?

Some of my friends have engineering AND law degrees from very prestigious universities, do they ask for $150K salaries when they apply for programming jobs? Obviously not...

The pay should fit the job title and work related job experience. This is a tough economy, and has been since 2002 for EE grads when the tech boom crashed. The first 4 yrs of an EE out of skule are tough...
__
demandez-lui si elle dormira avec vous pour un LED keychain
Deal Addict
Jan 20, 2004
1396 posts
357 upvotes
GTA
camzie wrote: keep looking, a $40k/yr job will be a distraction to your job hunting. besides, who the hell can live off $40k???

Exactly! Because everyone in here makes 100k and only has an undergrad! boooyaaaah.

keep looking.
Newbie
Jan 19, 2009
18 posts
12 upvotes
Toronto
Millwright(licence), 5 years experience, unionaized company(Toronto), 58K no overtime, 90-100K lots of overtime...
Deal Addict
User avatar
Apr 1, 2006
3370 posts
346 upvotes
Brisbane
Mark77 wrote: One of my grad student TA's working on his PhD had a mid-6 figure offer from Lucent one year ($350k/annum + relocation to New Jersey).

Turned it down because he wanted to finish the thesis.

The next year, he was unemployed, nobody would answer the phone, and he had to survive off of the income of his wife, the owner of a hairdressing business.

Stuff happens.

Government workers for decades slaved away at salaries that were far below that of the private sector. Today, government workers earn salaries that are twice that of what people earn in the private sector.

Trends reverse themselves. Your best assets are your health and your sanity.

Very true. Engineering is cyclical like so many other professions. It will be in high demand for 10 years and then saturated for 5. Just a fact of our career choice.
Deal Fanatic
Sep 23, 2007
5654 posts
2168 upvotes
jeong wrote: I was offered a $40k on the entry-level position w/ this company. I have 2 years of industry experience and graduated w/ Master's from U of T in EE. I feel this is rather low as I made more during my co-op 3 years ago. I was offered $50k for the same position from a different company 2 years ago which I turned down since I was going to do post grad studies. I think the reason for this lowballing is b/c this field is something I don't have experience w/ (IT position which I had not much extensive exposure to during my studies) so I think that's why I was offered a low starting point. Any opinions? Would you take it or spend more time looking for a better job?

The answer to any "Is this a good salary" questions is: Do you have a better offer? Have you been hunting forever? If you feel you can't do any better, then take it as it is your best option. Economics taught me not to wait too long for the optimal outcome. Take the best you can get. The months to years it'd take to find a better job you could probably compensate the lost income by simply taking this job. Of course, you can work here, and continue to find something better. Since you lack experience, you're not in a position to bargain. Get this experience under your belt first.

From what I gather from engineering grads, 40k is a bit low. But then again, the market is not hot. Salaries could easily have been depressed since the last year or so. You'll get a lot of "old advice" about making $50k-60k, much like how it used to be easier to get into Big 4 for accounting. But not since everyone jumped on the band wagon.
Member
Apr 21, 2010
291 posts
145 upvotes
Toronto
jeong wrote: I'm not under any kind of financial pressure or anything so like someone pointed out, maybe taking my time to look for a better, more EE oriented job could be worthwhile. But as Mark pointed out, EE jobs are not easy to come by and particularly so if it requires the very specific technical knowledge that I studied exclusively during my M's. I've been lookin' for < 3 weeks and have had 4 in-person (out of which one of 'em led to this unsatisfying offer), 1 phone, and 1 email interviews so far. Besides I need to write my PPE soon so while working + looking for a better job + studying for PPE could be = oh man. I had interviews w/ OPG 2 years back so I know I can get better interviews/jobs if I look harder.

@ someone who said don't get too arrogant about my degree, I never was and never will. M's was something I wanted to do due to my personal interest. Simply put undergrad learning experiences weren't challenging enough and were oversimplified compared to real-life practical problems. I never upheld the thought that I was above anyone else who is not an engineer or anything similar to that extent.

Umm... OPG and Hydro One is harder to get into than most people realize. And the market condition was different 2-3 years ago. They weren't sure what was happening so they would still mildly hire, but now most companies have really limited their job posting. I mean it's much better than a year ago and people are starting to hire again.. but the mentality still seems, don't hire unless you have to. I say keep looking but know where you stand in terms of experience and job expectancy. It'll help for job hunting, all the best. :)
Banned
Jan 11, 2004
19816 posts
572 upvotes
Mark77 wrote: There are serious ethical problems with entering a profession, at a wage level that is severely below average for even entry-level, and undercutting the ability of others in the profession to earn a living.

The teamsters/steelworkers have a word for this, it is 'scab'. If a professional is entering a valuable profession at a salary that is less than is required to live and feed a family, than that professional really has to question if the field is at all valuable. No point stressing yourself out and destroying your health and your youth, just for a salary that is barely above the poverty line.

Engineering school teaches solid skills that are directly applicable to business and the workplace. An engineering degree doesn't lose its value 5 years down the road.

Don't rag on the dude because his degree is out of favour. As stories like these continue to arise and be commonplace, word gets out, and students stop studying in the field. Banks stop making loans to study, and university programs shut down. Over the long term, these problems are self-correcting. A couple years from now when growth returns and infrastructure and industry has to be rebuilt, engineers of all types will be in severe demand, and the events of the past few years or decade will be but mere speedbumps.

I have lots of friends with Masters in either Mechanical/Civil Engineering who start off in the low 40's and they considered themselves very lucky
Deal Expert
User avatar
Mar 18, 2005
23686 posts
5125 upvotes
Niagara Falls
camzie wrote: keep looking, a $40k/yr job will be a distraction to your job hunting. besides, who the hell can live off $40k???

Depending on where and how you live it is very achievachievable.
Not the greatest living but leave the major urban centers and it becomes mucmuch easir.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Oct 7, 2007
7282 posts
1820 upvotes
Mississauga, ON
In retrospect it might have been better to get some job experience (especially since OP was offered one) before doing the masters. I find lots of masters graduates is caught between being under-qualified for advanced positions (no experience), and over qualified for entry-level.

At least OP has coop experience which should help, and it's a waste of a master degree to go into entry-level IT though. The salary is indeed low. I guess this is because OP doesn't really have any relevant experience in the field.

Whether OP should take it though is hard to say. Is it the only job that he is offered? How long has the job search been? If there's indeed nothing out there then OP has not choice.
There's a sucker born every minute.
Deal Addict
User avatar
May 17, 2007
3639 posts
755 upvotes
Burnaby
OracerO wrote: Exactly! Because everyone in here makes 100k and only has an undergrad! boooyaaaah.

keep looking.
LOL. I make more than $40k, and I work in Retail. I have a Tech diploma from SAIT, which I've never used. If I had followed that path, I'd be making less after 15 years, than I make now. A lot of it is luck, skill and drive. Unless you are dead-set on getting into a particular field, most people I've met have fallen into their careers by chance.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Apr 13, 2006
1116 posts
10 upvotes
Way too low man, EE entry levels at the TTC start at 70 and managers make over 100. Set your sights higher, EE is one of the hardest and most competitive engineering sectors but it also pays the most. I would keep looking, but then again you're not me. I was making over 40k during undergrad.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Jul 27, 2006
10963 posts
791 upvotes
Scarborough
people need to look at this thread more carefully.

Yes he is an EE grad with a Masters but he is NOT an IT guy as the job relates to that field.

He even said that he has very little experience related to the position. That is why they are offering him 40K.

Clearly, he's having some struggles finding a position in his own world.

If your just out for the money and not absolutely interested in the position don't take the job. Making what you consider yourself to be less than you deserve added to the fact that you may not like the position, then you will hate your life.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)