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Starting salaries for engineers in USA

study abroad salary and expense

The most lucrative thing about studying in USA is the high salaries that engineers can get when they start working in USA. If you study from a Top 50 school, you have a pretty good chance of landing a job. But many aspirants wonder how much would they earn? And if it justifies the higher cost of study.

So, lets look at this data this data on average starting salaries for engineers in USA taken from Michigan Tech College of Engineering –

IndustryBLS StatsMean Entry-Level Salary1Mean Annual Salary2Top 10 Percent3
Biomedical EngineeringNational Labor Stats$60,958$95,090$144,350
Chemical EngineeringNational Labor Stats$65,618$114,470$169,770
Civil EngineeringNational Labor Stats$56,152$93,720$142,560
Computer EngineeringComputer Hardware Engineers

Software Developers, Systems Software
$71,007


$68,436
$117,840


$114,000
$172,630


$166,960
Construction ManagementNational Labor Stats$55,795$103,110$161,510
Electrical EngineeringNational Labor Stats$64,936$101,600$153,240
Environmental EngineeringNational Labor Stats$55,884$92,640$137,090
Electrical Engineering Technology / MechatronicsRecruiter $86,6904$133,2804
Geological and Mining Engineering and SciencesNational Labor Stats$61,977$98,420$151,030
Geospatial Science and TechnologyNational Labor Stats$49,571$68,340$101,400
Materials Science and EngineeringNational Labor Stats$65,806$96,930$148,110
Mechanical EngineeringNational Labor Stats$61,538$92,800$136,550
Mechanical Engineering TechnologyNational Labor Stats $99,310$154,720
Surveying EngineeringNational Labor Stats$48,360$66,440$102,220

As per this: “Year after year, engineering tops the list of majors with the highest average starting salary. The bottom line:  It is well worth the time and effort it takes to become an engineer.

What’s more? I talked to some professionals who recruit engineers for their companies and when I asked hows the recruitment scenario, I got a unanimous reply – a resounding ‘it is a good time for engineers as lot of career opportunities are floating around and we have more positions than qualified candidates’.

So, if you are on fence about whether to join a graduate school in US or not, this is your answer. Look at how much it costs to do an MS in USA, possibilities of finding funding, take into consideration these salaries and calculate your ROI. The market is back in shape (at least for engineers) and it was never more lucrative to earn in dollars.


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1 Comment

  1. Thanks for the information. This article clarified doubt’s on salaries after MS. It will be difficult to pay back the loans and save money at the same time.
    And I read somewhere that to buy an iphone after graduation in Usa, say $500, it takes about 2-3 days. But in India it takes an entire months salary or even that won’t be enough.


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