Mechanical Engineer starting salary

niallofthenine

Hi folks, im a recently graduated honours student in mechanical engineering, just wondering your thoughts on what i should expect as my starting salary?

I have recently been offered 20,250, basically 10 euro an hour, i was told i will have to work overtime some evenings and some sundays, of which i will not recieve overtime./any form of pay! thats 390 a week,? also, how much tax will i expect to pay out of this?

muboop1

Hmm... Your unfortunately entering a market that is quite saturated.. You could expect anything from what you are earning up to 30K depending on the company etc...

It's not bad that I would refuse, It's not so good that I wouldn't keep on looking for alternatives.

Plus, once hired, its oddly easy comparatively to find another job! It's like you've been approved by one company, so your more attractive to another, Also you will be gaining experience!

C.D.

As with all graduate positions, there is a lot variance, most of it based on sector (e.g. medical devices, light industry etc.).

First of all, congratulations. Most of my class did not get jobs straight away and many are still doing additional postgrads or still searching. Salaries from my class for engineering positions varied from unpaid to paid positions starting at 18,000. Average was probably mid twenties. I was lucky and landed a highly sought after position with a MNC on a package of 34,000 with overtime depending on what office/site I did the overtime in.

You are not limited to engineering jobs. Guys from my class went into accountacy (22,000-24,000) to the much published graduate program with Aldi (60,000). One guy went into banking and I'd imagine he is doing quite well.

The previous poster is right, getting experience is what is really needed, once you have that you will have more options.

CardBordWindow

Experience is worth a lot, especially as a graduate. Spending a year on a poor-ish salary will make it easier to get a better paying job in the future. It's rare these days for companies to even hire engineers without experience. (from what I've seen advertised)