Calling all 'codaholics': Automakers vie for tech talent
"The competition has already pushed up starting salaries for software engineers and forced recruiters to redouble their hiring efforts. There are five
software and electrical engineering jobs for every college graduate in these fields, said Garth Motschenbacher, director of employer relations at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Five years ago, auto engineers were willing to accept starting salaries between $50,000 and $45,000, said Matt LePage, lead technical recruiter for GTA Staffing, a Dearborn, Michigan-based firm focused on the auto industry.
Now,
starting annual salaries can be two-thirds higher, ranging from
between $65,000 and $75,000 or even higher, according to LePage and others including staffing firms and university officials.
"We do recognize that the cost of living is very different here than in the West Coast," said Felicia Fields, Ford's vice president of human resources. "So we're not trying to match that. We're paying competitively for this area, and that's where the vast majority of these jobs are."
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