Edit: Contest Mode has been enabled, which randomly sorts all comments with scores hidden.

Welcome to /r/AskEngineers quarterly salary survey! This is intended to give a resource for those curious as to what salary engineers typically make, as well as what salary a person should ask for.

How to participate

A template is provided for you which includes standard fields related to compensation. You don't have to answer every question, and how detailed your answers are is up to you. If you are uncomfortable posting salary details from your main Reddit account, feel free to make a temporary (i.e. “throwaway”) account for this post.

1. Copy the template in the gray codebox below.

2. Look in the comments section for the engineering discipline that your job/industry falls under, and reply to the top-level AutoModerator comment.

   • Do your best to categorize your work under one of the disciplines already listed.
   • If in doubt, post under the category of whatever your highest engineering degree is in.
   • This is to avoid having too many disciplines listed, as there are dozens if not hundreds of sub-specializations within engineering, often in multiple industries.

3. Paste the template in your reply and type away! Some definitions:

   • Industry: The specific industry you work in.
   • Specialization: Your career focus or subject-matter expertise.
   • Total Experience: Number of years of experience across your entire career so far.
   • Cost of Living: The comparative cost of goods, housing, and services for the area of the world you work in.

How to calculate Cost of Living

If you are in the United States:

Follow the instructions below and list the name of your Metropolitan Statistical Area and its corresponding RPP.

1. Go here: https://apps.bea.gov/itable/iTable.cfm?ReqID=70&step=1

2. Click on "REAL PERSONAL INCOME AND REGIONAL PRICE PARITIES BY STATE AND METROPOLITAN AREA" to expand the dropdown

3. Click on "Regional Price Parities (RPP)"

4. Click the "MARPP - Regional Price Parities by MSA" radio button, then click "Next Step"

5. Select the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) you live in, then click "Next Step" until you reach the end

6. Copy/paste the name of the MSA and the number called "RPPs: All items" to your comment

If you are NOT in the United States: The nearest large metropolitan area to you, usually a city name. For example, this could be London, Berlin, Tokyo, Beijing, etc.

NOTE: All replies must be made to one of the top-level Automoderator comments.

• Failing to follow these instructions will result in your comment being removed. This is to keep everything organized and easy to search.

• Questions and discussion are welcome, but make sure you're replying to someone else's contribution.

Copy/Paste Template

NOTE: use Markdown Mode for this to work correctly!

**Job Title:** Design Engineer

**Industry:** Medical devices

**Approximate Company Size:** (optional, e.g. 51-200 employees, < 1,000 employees, etc.)

**Specialization:** (optional)

**Total Experience:** 5 years

**Highest Degree:** BS MechE

**Country:** USA

**Cost of Living:** Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (Metropolitan Statistical Area), 117.1

**Base Salary (Annually):** $50,000

**Additional Bonus (Annually):** $5,000

**One Time Bonus (Signing/Relocation/Stock Options/Etc.):** 10,000 RSUs, Vested over 6 years

**401k/Retirement Plan Match:** 100% match for first 3% contributed, 50% for next 3%