Quote: (05-21-2013 11:29 AM)Genghis Khan Wrote:
Quote: (05-20-2013 09:12 PM)Ensam Wrote:
On average the chemical and petroleum engineers I know make the most money but the top paid guys are very good EEs, 200-300k/year after bonuses.
Ensam, which fields do these EEs go into? Also, is that 200-300k/year with a Masters or PhD? I'm just curious, since that sounds like a really interesting job opportunity.
High speed digital system design, it's a mix of masters and Ph.Ds. The official job title is usually something along the lines of Principal Engineer. They're all in their mid 30s to mid 40s. It took about 10 years to get there from a starting salary somewhere in the mid 60s-70s. The base salary is similar to other mid-career engineers, somewhere in the low to mid 100k range, but the bonus package is insane-usually somewhere between 80-120% of their base pay in good years. Having that kind of career is hard to plan on and companies can go from being very generous with their bonus packages to stingy overnight so it's hard to count on the income year over year.
Consultants can pull down similar salaries but it's difficult to know exactly how much they take home because their tax structure is different and they can write off a lot of expenses. Legal consulting in either IP or liability cases is a great way to go if you can get your foot in the door.