FSAE Graduate salaries

[Tinke]

I'm starting my final year of my BEng degree in automotive engineering. Since my area of interest is in engines there are not too many jobs available in Finland. Not to mention the low salaries (25-35k€) and high taxes (25-30%).

I've been looking for different possibilites around the world and would like to hear some average starting salaries and taxing for recent FSAE graduates. Would be nice to get some idea about what to ask in an interview.

Possible countries include the UK, Germany, Austria, USA, Australia...

[Tinke]

I'm starting my final year of my BEng degree in automotive engineering. Since my area of interest is in engines there are not too many jobs available in Finland. Not to mention the low salaries (25-35k€) and high taxes (25-30%).

I've been looking for different possibilites around the world and would like to hear some average starting salaries and taxing for recent FSAE graduates. Would be nice to get some idea about what to ask in an interview.

Possible countries include the UK, Germany, Austria, USA, Australia...

[D J Yates]

I was looking for £18k-22k for my first graduate job. I ended up being offered slightly more than £22k. I don't think that my FSAE experience made much differnce to my salary nor getting the job in the first place, just stronger degree and performance on the day.

Obviously, sallaries vary quite a bit depending on the area and associated living costs. In the UK you should expect more the closer you get to London. I got my £22k+ in the North West, which is one of the poorest regions (in terms of house pricing at least).

Aside from just your salaries, its worth asking about bonuses and benefits. Will the company pay for membership to a proffesional body (eg. IMechE, SAE)? Will they pay for your proffesional development? Healthcare? Insurance? Pension contributions? The total value of these benefits can add up quite a bit, might be worth 6 or 7k (£ again).

Good luck.

[flavorPacket]

In the midwest US, you can look for something around $60-65k starting for top talent, and mid 50s otherwise.

[exFSAE]

Really depends where you're at.. job I took out of college and fsae with BSME got me $58k.. back where I went to school the equivalent salary with cost of living would be about $104k, and in say San Clemente CA would be $143k according to

http://www.bestplaces.net/col/

Man.. guess that means I live in a dump http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Superfast Matt McCoy]

Those salary calculators are bogus, that one says an equivalent salary for me back home in Oklahoma would be 28k. My standard of living is far above what it would be if I were making 28k in Oklahoma. Most of my monthly expenditures (car payment, school loan payments, insurance) are the same as they would be anywhere else, and the others like gas and food are only about 10% more. Rent is much more for a comparable apartment but that's the only major increase.

I'm just saying that if 50k is the average salary for graduates in your midwestern state, don't expect 100k if you get a job in LA. You don't need it and you won't get it.

[exFSAE]

Aww, no mo' dollaz http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[PSUAlum06]

Matt,
I think you underestimate just how cheap places like Akron, Ohio really are.

[Biggy72]

I think alot depends on how much you're going to like the job. I could have had a job back at home in a little town on the coast. They offered me a ton of money, a signing bonus, and moving expenses. I would have been moved into management immediately. I really didn't want to be stuck in a mill though, and I was afraid that's where I would end up for quite awhile, so I took another job making wayyyyyy less. The cost of living where I'm at is quite a bit higher as well. I need to quit thinking about the money I could have been making and more about how cool my job will be once I'm done writing maintenance manuals....

[Professor Gas Can]

If working for one of the big 3, expect to see a salary of 60K. FSAE doesn't add anything to the salary, but it sure helps you get the job.

[JR @ CFS]

Timo, are you interested at all in becoming a contractor/consultant? What area of Engines are you interested in? How many languages do you speak? Are you willing to spend time in China/India?

[Superfast Matt McCoy]

My point was similar to Derek's; if you've got the choice between designing air conditioners in Hillbillyville for 60k, or racecars in LA for 55k, you're not being fair to yourself when you say, "well according to this calculator, 55k in LA is less than half." It's really not. If you take the average price of a pair of pants in Santa Monica, it's going to be $100 because every other store is Gucci or Neiman Marcus. But the Wal-Mart pants you're actually going to buy are $20. So the cost of living calculator says pants are 500% when they're actually maybe 120%. Same with food and, to a lesser extent, housing.

Live where you want to live and work in the industry you want to work in. If you're being paid anywhere near what you're worth with an engineering degree, you can be comfortable just about anywhere. Pay is important, but for me it comes in behind location and job functions.

[Mike Cook]

I make far less than 50k/year. The plus side is I'm tire testing right now. I spend most my life working anyways, so it has always been more important to like what I'm doing rather than worry about how much I make. I don't really have time to spend it all anyways.

Also my employer is very flexible and I get every other Friday off which makes it very convenient to go racing.

[Parker]

The FSAE and Mini Baja experience didn't help increase my salary any, but it definitely opens the door to an interview and possibly employment. I'm going to clear $55k this year as an entry level engineer with my company. I moved from south Georgia to central Illinois and while not a fan of the Midwest, this company is the most fun employer I have ever worked for in my life. The money just means I can have more expensive toys, which is nice too http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/7846/img1822yq7.jpg

[inamo]

Graduate Salaries for my company Jaguar Land Rover in the UK start at £25k, more dependent on your qualifications. The maximum tax you'll pay on that money is 22% but that's only on a proportion of your money.

Work is interesting and we only work half a day on Fridays which is a nice bonus. For more info check out our careers website www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com (http://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com) we're still recruiting for engineers to join us in September....

Cost of living is increasing, fuel prices are going through the roof at the moment. If you don't mind our slightly odd weather it's not a bad place to live. Lots of race teams and circuits within an hour or so of where we're based too.

Good luck with the job hunt

[PSUAlum06]

Matt,
I'm not downplaying the importance of liking what you do but I think it's important to note that liking your job and living in a cheap area aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. I mean, I get to work with people all over the world, work on cool vehicle related projects, get paid fairly well, and live in a town where my dollar goes pretty far.

You obviously have to take job function, etc. into account, but if everything else is equal, give me the place with the lower cost of living.

[Tinke]

Thanks for your replies but please don't turn this into a debate about whats important and whats not.

Quite a few replies from the states but how about Germany, Austria or Australia? Those are the ones that intrest me the most. Germany in special as a country. No offence but I'm not such a big fan of the USA and UK as a country so the job would have to be really interesting with some good pay.

[smb96]

n Germany you can get between 40k and 50k €, sometimes more. It depends on how big the company is. The big companies pay more. Than there are ca. 40%-45% taxes and insurance. This is if you have a "Diplom" or a Master degree. If you have a Bachelor, than i think its better to do the master before working in Germany. The bachelor is very new in Germany and the salary is not good, but i dont know how much.

[Tinke]

Are the taxes really that high in Germany? I thought that we had hi taxing in Finland but with 50k€ you pay about 30% in tax. How about the health insurance, how expensive are they?

[JR @ CFS]

Timo, might be an idea to look up an accountancy firm and just give them a casual call and ask them a few quick questions. I think the tax and social security differs between areas of Germany and then you have to figure in health insurance as well.

A company I have used in the past is called www.mrl-technology.com (http://www.mrl-technology.com) and the gent I advise you to speak to is called David Heath. Get yourself a call card to take advantage of cheap call rates and he will have quite a lengthy chat to get to know you, your skills and what you are looking for. He is well aware of what Formula Student/SAE is through dealing with myself and provides a very personalised service unlike a lot of companies out there that are only interested in putting bums on seats! Get a good CV together and forward one to him before calling. I don't work for the company, he has helped out a few times in the past.

I know the Finnish company Wartsila is based in Switzerland, which could be a possible company to contact. What about KTM in Austria, they are looking for people on their X-Bow project? Don't be afraid to cold call some of these companies, or submit a CV into them. You'd be suprised how often it works.

JR