Entry Level Computer Engineering Salary

Search this thread

Last Updated:
Apr 11th, 2015 1:38 pm

Tags:

None

SCORE

Reply to ThreadReply

Search this thread

Feb 17th, 2015 8:37 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 17th, 2015 8:37 pm

Entry Level Computer Engineering Salary

Hey,

I am looking for some advise.

I have :
1) Bachelor of Engineering in Computer engineering
2) Advance Diploma Computer Engineering Technology (3 year program)
3) Worked full time for 4 months (2014) and part-time for the last 6 months on a research project where I designed embedded system from scratch by my self. I am still working part-time on the same job.
4) I also worked in a company for 4 month summer job doing PCB design and embedded C. Writing driver code.

I had an interview today for hardware design engineering(FPGAs) and I was asked how much I expect to make, I told the HR representative around $70,000. After the interview ended she advised me that if I get picked for a second round of interviews I should say something lower.

Could someone advise me in the field what I should expect to make?

Also if anyone works in the current industry could you please let me know.

Thanks

85 replies

Feb 17th, 2015 8:48 pm

coolspot: Deal Expert; Oct 6, 2005; 16730 posts; 2408 upvotes

Feb 17th, 2015 8:48 pm

comEng wrote: ↑ I had an interview today for hardware design engineering(FPGAs) and I was asked how much I expect to make, I told the HR representative around $70,000. After the interview ended she advised me that if I get picked for a second round of interviews I should say something lower.

Could someone advise me in the field what I should expect to make?

Probably around 55 - 60K, maybe less since you're a technologist and not an engineer.

Feb 17th, 2015 8:49 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 17th, 2015 8:49 pm

I think you are miss understanding.

I hold a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Guelph and I hold a computer engineering technology advance diploma

+2

Feb 17th, 2015 8:49 pm

flafson: Deal Addict; Oct 29, 2010; 4323 posts; 671 upvotes

Feb 17th, 2015 8:49 pm

Computer Science with little to no experience is 40-50k, most ads that i see for CS also say they would accept you with engineering. Usually takes ~3 years to get to 70k in CS.
My point is, even if you claim that Computer Engineering should be higher, i doubt it's 20-30k higher. If you want to take her advice, ask for something like 60k and hope for the best.

Feb 17th, 2015 8:56 pm

Kalimoor: Member; Nov 12, 2010; 280 posts; 64 upvotes; Downtown Toronto

Feb 17th, 2015 8:56 pm

comEng wrote: ↑Hey,

I am looking for some advise. I am new gradate from Computer Engineering and I am trying to figure out how much I should be working for.
I also have a 3 year advance diploma in computer engineering technology and I've been working on a research project with my University for almost a year now for which I was the mean leader for design and building of the current system. I also had summer jobs before I got this job.

I had an interview today for hardware design engineering(FPGAs) and I was asked how much I expect to make, I told the HR representative around $70,000. After the interview ended she advised me that if I get picked for a second round of interviews I should say something lower.

Could someone advise me in the field what I should expect to make?

Thanks

I would say it is a little bit too high considering you possess little job experience. Low $60,000 would be a great salary range to start. Well, if your skills fit the job description perfectly and the employer likes you, then you could say $70,000 is the salary you desire.

OP, in a few hours or days, the Warlords of RFD (new-university-grad-salary-negotiation- ... st21389545) will come here and start telling you the stories that do not make sense, such as aiming highly-unrealistic salary. Try not to listen to them because some of them are high on acid (Please refer to the provided link for detail).

[IMG]http://strategy-game-guides.com/wp-cont ... ematic.png[/IMG]

From left to right: Ironbrah, DrXenon, Anonymouse, Euphoric and unknown

Note: The Warlords of RFD are a group of engineers living on RFD who resent the society because they consider themselves underpaid. For that, they formed a Warlords of RFD and recruit many "disillusioned" engineers just to whine on RFD. The current leader is Warchief Anonymouse, who is the apprentice of Professor Mark77 (Please see my signature below).

Software Engineer

+7

Feb 17th, 2015 8:56 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 17th, 2015 8:56 pm

flafson wrote: ↑Computer Science with little to no experience is 40-50k, most ads that i see for CS also say they would accept you with engineering. Usually takes ~3 years to get to 70k in CS.
My point is, even if you claim that Computer Engineering should be higher, i doubt it's 20-30k higher. If you want to take her advice, ask for something like 60k and hope for the best.

How low should I go? From other friends who have worked with the company I have heard they pay very little and expect you to work non-stop

Feb 17th, 2015 9:00 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 17th, 2015 9:00 pm

Hi,

My original job posting did not properly describe what I have under my belt. I rephrased it above. Also just wondering if you're currently in a similar field?

Feb 17th, 2015 9:00 pm

spike1128: Deal Guru; Oct 7, 2010; 12105 posts; 3317 upvotes

Feb 17th, 2015 9:00 pm

60k if HR is telling OP this. Com and EE is not hot like it used to be. So don't expect to get high because you have research experience. If you don't want the job, someone else will be happy to take the job. Especially TFWs.

+1

Feb 17th, 2015 9:06 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 17th, 2015 9:06 pm

spike1128 wrote: ↑60k if HR is telling OP this. Com and EE is not hot like it used to be. So don't expect to get high because you have research experience. If you don't want the job, someone else will be happy to take the job. Especially TFWs.

Hi,

Thanks for the advise, it's not that I don't want the job I do. It's just that I expect more around the range I asked for, and I was little worried since I hard the company usually pays very little. So I am not sure. Does anyone know what software engineers make?

Feb 17th, 2015 9:33 pm

drey: Deal Addict; Sep 13, 2003; 1300 posts; 139 upvotes

Feb 17th, 2015 9:33 pm

flafson wrote: ↑Computer Science with little to no experience is 40-50k, most ads that i see for CS also say they would accept you with engineering. Usually takes ~3 years to get to 70k in CS.
My point is, even if you claim that Computer Engineering should be higher, i doubt it's 20-30k higher. If you want to take her advice, ask for something like 60k and hope for the best.

Typo? You stated that on average an income in CS usually goes from 40k to 70k in just 3 years. That's almost a 20% raise each year.
Software companies I may understand their raises might be a little higher than average, but I think most companies are giving around inflation - 2-3% each year in any. Some of us aren't even getting any increases, it's a tight economy.

+1

Feb 17th, 2015 10:12 pm

flafson: Deal Addict; Oct 29, 2010; 4323 posts; 671 upvotes

Feb 17th, 2015 10:12 pm

drey wrote: ↑Typo? You stated that on average an income in CS usually goes from 40k to 70k in just 3 years. That's almost a 20% raise each year.
Software companies I may understand their raises might be a little higher than average, but I think most companies are giving around inflation - 2-3% each year in any. Some of us aren't even getting any increases, it's a tight economy.

If you stay in the same place and same job for 3 years, it's hard to expect to go from 40k to 70k. However, if you get to 3 years and you then shop around, you should be able to find 70k without too much hassle.

OP, as a first job, you shouldn't care about salary at all, all you should care about is the experience and space to learn and grow. Once you get 6-12 month experience you will be in a much better position to switch jobs if you choose to.

Feb 18th, 2015 12:31 am

boyohboy: Deal Fanatic; Dec 6, 2006; 5408 posts; 1657 upvotes; Toronto

Feb 18th, 2015 12:31 am

First job is the most important that's for sure so don't let salary be a big factor if it's at least reasonable.

Having said that, did you ask your friends in that company what their starting salary was? Does the company has any salary info on Glassdoor?
And is that an "engineering" level job or just a technologist? Big difference in salary if it's a big company that have levels of salary structure.

Feb 18th, 2015 8:17 am

coolspot: Deal Expert; Oct 6, 2005; 16730 posts; 2408 upvotes

Feb 18th, 2015 8:17 am

comEng wrote: ↑I think you are miss understanding.

I hold a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Guelph and I hold a computer engineering technology advance diploma

Ah, re-read your post, considering your degrees and experience, I think 65K - 70K is reasonable.

Feb 18th, 2015 10:30 am

Euphoric: Deal Addict; Jan 10, 2007; 1859 posts; 341 upvotes; Woodbridge

Feb 18th, 2015 10:30 am

50-60k is more realistic.

Feb 18th, 2015 10:32 am

ptownplayer: Member; Jan 24, 2007; 335 posts; 22 upvotes

Feb 18th, 2015 10:32 am

You have very little work experience. Most Waterloo grads end up with almost 2 years work experience by the time they are finished school.

Feb 18th, 2015 10:34 am

Euphoric: Deal Addict; Jan 10, 2007; 1859 posts; 341 upvotes; Woodbridge

Feb 18th, 2015 10:34 am

^ I agree. The lack of work experience will hurt. And no one will care about your CS diploma if you have your degree.

Feb 18th, 2015 12:52 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 18th, 2015 12:52 pm

boyohboy wrote: ↑First job is the most important that's for sure so don't let salary be a big factor if it's at least reasonable.

Having said that, did you ask your friends in that company what their starting salary was? Does the company has any salary info on Glassdoor?
And is that an "engineering" level job or just a technologist? Big difference in salary if it's a big company that have levels of salary structure.

Hi boyohboy,

Yes, I asked a friend he said the company usually pays very low for new graduates around 45k - 55k max. The job I am applying for is an Engineering job that requires a Bachelor of Engineering.
Glass door has the job rated at 72,000.

The HR also asked me how much I used to work for but I told her that I didn't want to say.

The company on a whole has really bad review and I know two people that worked there and they both hated it, but they worked in a different department that I am applying for. But the company does some amazing work, and it is some cutting edge stuff too.

Feb 18th, 2015 12:53 pm

comEng [OP]: Newbie; Feb 16, 2015; 15 posts; 2 upvotes; Guelph, ON

Feb 18th, 2015 12:53 pm

Euphoric wrote: ↑50-60k is more realistic.

Ok thanks for the advise.

Feb 18th, 2015 1:32 pm

boyohboy: Deal Fanatic; Dec 6, 2006; 5408 posts; 1657 upvotes; Toronto

Feb 18th, 2015 1:32 pm

Glasssdoor has 72k for that pos for the same company?

Sounds like ur friends are more referring to new grad who are tech whilst 72k is the eng level pos.

What's the range on glass door? Aim for the lower end of that range. Probably 60k...

For my first real job, I basically answered 'glassdoor average is 72k, so.. yeah that's me expectation.' YMMV obviously.

+1

Feb 18th, 2015 1:48 pm

censored: Sr. Member; Jun 15, 2009; 744 posts; 200 upvotes

Feb 18th, 2015 1:48 pm

comEng wrote: ↑Hi,

Thanks for the advise, it's not that I don't want the job I do. It's just that I expect more around the range I asked for, and I was little worried since I hard the company usually pays very little. So I am not sure. Does anyone know what software engineers make?

You need to manage your expectation better. Average starting salary for a Computer/Software Engineer new grad doing programming is $50k. If you go the hardware route there are slightly fewer candidates so you can ask for a tiny bit more, probably average of $55k (50k-60k range as someone already said here). Your past experience will not boost your salary by much because those were summer jobs. What it will do is get you hired over another new grad without that same experience.

$70k is insanely high for a new grad. I would expect that once you reach intermediate level (3-5 years relevant experience).

Reply to Thread

Top

Thread Information

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