Typical Starting Pay for EE's

[darthsidious]

I' plan to graduate with a Master's Degree (specializing in analog/mixed signal design) in about a year. I was just trying to get a sense of what was considered a 'good' salary in the Austin area for this specialty. People from other regions/specialties feel free to chime in.

Also, does added qualifications/what school you went to help in starting pay?

Edit: After reading the responses below, maybe I should add that the MS is from a good school, and I have a couple of relevant summer internships (And I'll be working on an industry-based thesis for 7 more months).

 

[nissan720]

Well, I just looked it up for a BS in EE. The national average starting pay for a BS degree last year was 53-54k.

 

[erub]

From my friends, graduating from Texas A&M and Georgia Tech with BS, I'm hearing offers from 52K-62K, depending on company and region. I would think M.S. would push that range up by 10K-15K. Let me know how it goes for you, are you at UT now? I'm also doing my M.S. in analog and RF, and will graduate next December..might be looking for a job in Austin too.

 

[darthsidious]

Nope, I don't go to UT. I go to MIT, but I've been interning with a company in austin for the past two summers. I like the area, so I figured I might end up working there.

 

[CanOWorms]

Of course what school and added qualifications helps you in pay. An MS from MIT in analog/mixed signal design with intern experience should command a pretty hefty salary. I graduated from Boston Univ. with my MS and no relevant experience and started with a base salary of $80k in California. Don't pay too much attention to average salaries on websites because the semiconductor industry is higher paying than other EE fields.

 

[darthsidious]

So what do you think would be a 'reasonable' salary for my position?

The reason I ask is becasue the place I'm interning for wants to interview me soon, for a bunch of complex reasons. So I won't really be able to compare offers, and I;m trying to make sure I don't get lowballed.

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
Of course what school and added qualifications helps you in pay. An MS from MIT in analog/mixed signal design with intern experience should command a pretty hefty salary. I graduated from Boston Univ. with my MS and no relevant experience and started with a base salary of $80k in California. Don't pay too much attention to average salaries on websites because the semiconductor industry is higher paying than other EE fields.

 

[mercanucaribe]

100k

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: darthsidious
So what do you think would be a 'reasonable' salary for my position?

The reason I ask is becasue the place I'm interning for wants to interview me soon, for a bunch of complex reasons. So I won't really be able to compare offers, and I;m trying to make sure I don't get lowballed.

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
Of course what school and added qualifications helps you in pay. An MS from MIT in analog/mixed signal design with intern experience should command a pretty hefty salary. I graduated from Boston Univ. with my MS and no relevant experience and started with a base salary of $80k in California. Don't pay too much attention to average salaries on websites because the semiconductor industry is higher paying than other EE fields.

I have no idea about exact pay in Austin, but I would ask for senior engineer title and pay. You have an MS from one of the top schools in the country in a high-paying field (analog/mixed-signal design) within a high-paying industry and relevant intern experience.

There are other factors too though such as needing sponsorship if you're not a citizen/resident.

 

[erub]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: darthsidious
So what do you think would be a 'reasonable' salary for my position?

The reason I ask is becasue the place I'm interning for wants to interview me soon, for a bunch of complex reasons. So I won't really be able to compare offers, and I;m trying to make sure I don't get lowballed.

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
Of course what school and added qualifications helps you in pay. An MS from MIT in analog/mixed signal design with intern experience should command a pretty hefty salary. I graduated from Boston Univ. with my MS and no relevant experience and started with a base salary of $80k in California. Don't pay too much attention to average salaries on websites because the semiconductor industry is higher paying than other EE fields.

I have no idea about exact pay in Austin, but I would ask for senior engineer title and pay. You have an MS from one of the top schools in the country in a high-paying field (analog/mixed-signal design) within a high-paying industry and relevant intern experience.

There are other factors too though such as needing sponsorship if you're not a citizen/resident.

asking for senior engineer as a title seems a bit much. Then again, I guess I'll see what types of offers I get with my MS from Georgia Tech in analog design, with intern experience as well. Luckily for me I'm also US Citizen so no worries there. As for the OP, I think 75-85K is not too far out of line, which will be quite a good amount of money for a single guy in Austin..you'll be able to buy for everybody on 6th!

 

[darthsidious]

That was kind of the range I was thinking of. BTW, when are you going to be job hunting? Any ideas what companies you're applying to?

I'm not a US citizen though. Does that really impact your salary significantly? I hope not....

Originally posted by: erub


asking for senior engineer as a title seems a bit much. Then again, I guess I'll see what types of offers I get with my MS from Georgia Tech in analog design, with intern experience as well. Luckily for me I'm also US Citizen so no worries there. As for the OP, I think 75-85K is not too far out of line, which will be quite a good amount of money for a single guy in Austin..you'll be able to buy for everybody on 6th!

 

[Nocturnal]

Wow, MIT. That's awesome!!!

 

[mercanucaribe]

Master's from MIT != typical starting pay

 

[chambersc]

Where are people "looking it up." By it I mean typical statting pay for EE's.

 

[ed21x]

i was going to put 60k but that would've only been for a bachelor's degree. With a Masters and work experience (re: non-entry level), i would go for 75k, seeing as how Austin isn't too expensive an area. In California, i wouldn't work for less than 85k with those qualifications.

 

[darthsidious]

Probably somewhere like salary.com

Originally posted by: chambersc
Where are people "looking it up." By it I mean typical statting pay for EE's.

 

[Acanthus]

http://www.engineersalary.com

You can select field, focus, relevant work experience, etc.

Its not dead on, but its alright.

You can command a higher salary with an MS from MIT, thats for sure.

MIT is the #1 engineering school in the country, and quite possibly the world.

 

[monk3y]

I know 2 friends that are EE masters graduates... They initially looked for 60K - 90K, fully dependent on where you live.

 

[Gibson486]

I can tell you now.... that specialization is hot right now. You are looking atleast 70K if they do not low ball you.

 

[91TTZ]

Your salary will be severely limited by the fact that EE is especially easy to outsource to China/India, and they have plentiful amounts of graduates with degrees in that field.

This is the type of job position that often gets outsourced. A company in the US will send their requirement to a firm overseas who will then design the part to specification. They'll then send the finished parts back.

Design work such as that is tough work, but easy to outsource. Send specs out, get finished result back, it's the global economy at work.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Master's from MIT != typical starting pay

 

[darthsidious]

bump for the evening crowd

 

[PoPPeR]

i think when you attend the upper echelon of schools, when asking these types of questions it might be better to ask your career center or ask them to put you in touch with someone in a relevant position that might be able to help you out.

Like someone else said, when you graduate from MIT in engineering I don't think "typical" is what you should be looking for

 

[erub]

Originally posted by: darthsidious
That was kind of the range I was thinking of. BTW, when are you going to be job hunting? Any ideas what companies you're applying to?

I'm not a US citizen though. Does that really impact your salary significantly? I hope not....

Originally posted by: erub


asking for senior engineer as a title seems a bit much. Then again, I guess I'll see what types of offers I get with my MS from Georgia Tech in analog design, with intern experience as well. Luckily for me I'm also US Citizen so no worries there. As for the OP, I think 75-85K is not too far out of line, which will be quite a good amount of money for a single guy in Austin..you'll be able to buy for everybody on 6th!

I'm going to start looking for jobs during the summer I think. Right now I'm more worried about finding a good summer internship. Plenty of time to look for a fulltime job later. I'd like to do something in the wireless industry.

As far as being a US citizen, if you are not, it makes it much harder for them to higher you. With a BS only its really hard for my international friends to get jobs..the employer has to prove to the government that there is no US citizen that can do the job, and many won't even try for a BS-level position. With an MS from MIT, there are many fewer who have that level of qualifications..so you are probably ok. Nevertheless, it will cost them a few thousands to sponsor you, and they know that there won't be as much of a bidding war..also, without being a US citizen, they might worry that you would work for a few years and then return once they trained you as well. It could cost you 5-10K over a comparable US citizen.

 

[jonnyGURU]

One MILLION dollars.