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View Full Version : Typical pay for a professional engineer in Oz


Okavango
19th May 2010, 19:34
Slightly off topic but what is a typical salary for a professional engineer (say Mechanical Engineer involved in development of process plant) in Australia. A colleague who's worked out your way reckons $120000 AUS, though that's way more than in the UK even if the exchange rate comes back so just wondering what's realistic as may need to rely on my day job to support any flying with you guys. Cheers.

djpil
19th May 2010, 21:10
The report of the 2009 engineers salary survey costs $50 here (http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/search/?searcher=&query=salary+survey).

PA39
19th May 2010, 22:14
There is no such animal !

john_tullamarine
19th May 2010, 23:05
120k would be a reasonably typical package for a reasonably experienced engineer. Old Pharte engineers like djpil and me are probably looking at something moderately in excess of that - although he tends to spend his time playing hands on with aeroplanes these days - lucky devil.

The report data to which djpil refers indicates quite a range across the various subdisciplines, experience, etc., and is researched and published regularly.

Old Akro
20th May 2010, 00:33
If process plant = mining plant then engineers top out at over twice that on a fly in fly out roster.

FOCX
20th May 2010, 01:07
If you go into project management of a mining construction project, and I don't mean overall PM of the total job, you will be looking at 180-220K pa

Andy_RR
20th May 2010, 02:18
$120k is not unrealistic, although in another sense it is completely unrealistic!

The mining industry here has distorted the crap out of the rest of the engineering industry, which is withering on the vine. Once it disappears entirely, we will all be digging holes for a living and Australia will appear what it really is - a resource economy no different to Saudi Arabia or Venezuela.

By the time Krudd has finished with it, it'll look more like the latter than the former!

UnderneathTheRadar
20th May 2010, 08:17
It depends on the field you're in and as Akro says, where you're prepared to work. I run an engineering business in a very specialised, very in demand industry.

Grads are on $80k+, 5-10 years $125k and once you get useful, about $150-160k. Thats based in a capital city. Elsewhere we'd be paying more, if we could convince anyone to go.

PS Andy - why is it unrealistic? These are people who, in a similar vein to pilots:

- studied for many years
- are of above average intelligence
- make decisions on a daily basis that affect peoples safety
- in our case, work in all weather, at night, on weekends etc
- create actual things/provide actual services that make a physical difference

it's just that they, unlike pilots, don't have the perceived glamour and so the supply isn't there.

If you want unrealistic, look at the unskilled wages paid in the mining section and the skilled wages paid to lawyers, accountants and those who just push paper around and look to make money off the backs of others! [/rant].

SuperF
20th May 2010, 09:37
Our heli engineers are paid from $52K NZ young fresh LAME, to $160k NZ for CE with 40yrs exp.

engineers don't have the glamour, but then less of them die on the job as well...