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Old 05-27-2008, 12:17 PM
 
7 posts, read 20,549 times
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I am looking into moving to Houston area from metro Detroit, Michigan area. I am an electrical engineer for General Motors currently with a base salary around $80,000 (I have a Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering and 3 years experience), are there pleny of jobs that I can qualify for and will my compensation be equivalent to what I make now? Any suggestions on companys to submit my resume to? Thanks
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Old 05-27-2008, 12:19 PM
 
Location: ✶✶✶✶
15,216 posts, read 30,558,979 times
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I'd probably go to a job search site. And Google.
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Old 05-27-2008, 02:33 PM
cla
 
898 posts, read 3,308,241 times
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careerbuilder.com is one of the few that actually shows salary range of some jobs. I think you will make at least $80k.
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Old 05-27-2008, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Clear Lake, Houston TX
8,376 posts, read 30,702,433 times
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Hmm, BS + 3 years experience? Salary.com is saying that's 75th percentile for the area. Being 'in the know,' I thought it sounded a tad bit high, esp if you're aspiring to be a designer in front of a computer, and in a cube for 40 hrs a week. Expect about $70k for that. Throw in a little OT every week and you'll hit $80k.

Relocate to a field assignment where there's construction being done and you could potentially blow that out of the water if you get good allowances, per diems, etc.
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Old 05-27-2008, 04:05 PM
cla
 
898 posts, read 3,308,241 times
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Well, I don't know much of the industry outside of oil & gas, so I don't know if rates are higher than elsewhere, but i looked at salary.com and my actual base income is almost double the 90th percentile shown on that site
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Old 05-27-2008, 04:26 PM
 
25 posts, read 99,606 times
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You get very good pay.
For me, graduating from Top school with Ph.D., I can not even get a job in my field (because I need H1b sponsorship??) After one and a half years' postdoctoral training, I have to change my field to become a research geophysicist to get a job, even that my base salary is less than yours.


Quote:
Originally Posted by str8tshootr2003 View Post
I am looking into moving to Houston area from metro Detroit, Michigan area. I am an electrical engineer for General Motors currently with a base salary around $80,000 (I have a Bachelors of Science in electrical engineering and 3 years experience), are there pleny of jobs that I can qualify for and will my compensation be equivalent to what I make now? Any suggestions on companys to submit my resume to? Thanks
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Old 05-27-2008, 04:29 PM
cla
 
898 posts, read 3,308,241 times
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Here is a small excerpt written a year or two ago...

Don't believe the majority of engineering "salary surveys" online -- IMO they are lagging behind reality. Good engineers for utilities, petrochemical firms, and industrial/commercial engineering consulting firms are getting much harder to find. There is absolutely no doubt that this is a candidate driven market and recruiters must treat it as such in order to succeed. Some suggestions: Treat top candidates like they are, well, top candidates, provide fast response during the recruit process, provide care-free relocation assistance, address counter offers up front/during/and after interviews, employers need to improve and continuously refine onboarding and retention plans, and utilize outside recruit ers.

Examples: The market for Structural Engineers is just insane right now. Base salary for Sr. Structural Engineers (III) full time with relo and benefits is now going over 100k (as high as 160K base) in some locations. I have run into structural contractors being billed out to companies at upwards of 150/hr (full cost) with senior individuals asking over $85+ per hour not including per diem or benefits. Example: Houston Texas which appears to be one of the highest demand areas, some non-degreed Sr. Pipe Designers are getting up to 150K annual base salary -- piping design contractors salaries up to $85/hr (175k/yr). One Pipe Designer jokingly told me this week that a major engineering company located in the SE US is paying $55/hr to anyone who can spell the word "pipe" and can indicate with a level of certainty that the hole is on the inside and runs the full length. I'm seriously thinking about going back to piping, and quitting recruiting!

Bottom line: Almost any licensed engineer with as BS or MS and over 7 years experience will be asking for six figures before the end of the year.

Here is some of the higher range of salaries currently being offered in U.S. (Does NOT include bonus, benefits, or per diem for hourly rates)

Sr. Risk Analyst - Energy Trading 200/yr
Plant managers Power- 120K/yr
Maintenance managers Power - 100k /yr
Application Engineer - Power 120/yr
Performance Engineer Utility 100/yr
Chemical Process Engineer - 130/yr
Controls Engineer - Refinery 130/yr
Structural Engineer - Power 120K/yr
Electrical Engineers - Power 125/yr
Mechanical Engineers -power or refinery 120K /yr
Pipe Designers - Process refinery 145K /yr
Electrical / Pipe / Steel Drafters - non degreed 70/yr
Piping Stress Engineer - Power 115/yr
HVAC Mechanical Industrial - 105/yr
Project Manager - Power 140/yr
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Old 05-27-2008, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Clear Lake, Houston TX
8,376 posts, read 30,702,433 times
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Remember when we talk about great income regarding pipers, it's due to massive overtime. The best pipers are designing machines who won't take the job if there isn't guaranteed OT. Like 20 hrs/wk OT.

And as with any field, to stay on top of the salary game you've gotta make some moves, company-wise. While those numbers are definitely real, they assume P.E., and are "some of the higher range of salaries currently being offered" as quoted, and you cannot expect to make that only 3 years out of college.

Just ask for $80k and see what happens.

Hopefully all of us will still be working here in this field 5 years from now.

Last edited by tstone; 05-27-2008 at 06:42 PM..
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Old 05-27-2008, 06:38 PM
 
1,343 posts, read 2,671,622 times
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What is your specialty as a electrical engineer?

I have an EE degree and started working at Fluor as a Control System Engineers. Good pay, straight out of college.

Try Fluor or any other engineering firms in Houston Texas
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Old 05-27-2008, 07:24 PM
 
7 posts, read 20,549 times
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My specialty is in controls. I currently work in the body shop of a truck plant in charge of 40 UAW skilled trades (mostly electricians but also pipe fitters, millwrights, toolmakers, and machine repair) maintaining the robots and other equipment while designing cost effective ways of manufacturing our product. That entails looking at controls or creating new ladder logic programming to designing and/or implementing new technological advances and supervising the trades installing them.
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