- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
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- Model of Z
- Z3M Imola and Z4 (e89)
People this thread is 6 years old!
Next career move?
- Thread starter Lee
- Start date
A lot has changed since I first started this thread. I did a good stint offshore, then after a career break over Covid went back into the Nuclear sector. Plus starting a family 4 years ago really change family dynamics.
What was interesting was once your name and face is known previous company's you've worked for do stay in touch and often see what you're future plans are. The nuclear sector in the UK is quite small so sort of makes sense.
What was interesting was once your name and face is known previous company's you've worked for do stay in touch and often see what you're future plans are. The nuclear sector in the UK is quite small so sort of makes sense.
That's what I don't understand about the UK. I am an IT "Architect", which is not even a recognised profession, but I make way more than the 60/70 K a proper engineer makes? That's just ridiculous.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Points
- 231
- Model of Z
- Z3M Imola and Z4 (e89)
I din't notice this tread was so old. My comment is not relevant, as I don't know what a mechanical engineer's salary is now. Sorry!
Massively depends on experience. In my early 20’s it was 35k base plus bonuses. 10 years on you can double that figure plus benefits.
The line of work I’m in is almost the same as F1. We work at the same technical level and you often find our components are being made in the same places the F1 company’s use. Yeah the workshop is slowing building its equipment for more and more specialist kit. All in good time
Being made in the same place Thats super coolThe line of work I’m in is almost the same as F1. We work at the same technical level and you often find our components are being made in the same places the F1 company’s use. Yeah the workshop is slowing building its equipment for more and more specialist kit. All in good time
Fancy doing a supercharger service on a mini R53
Waste of your time travelling all that way for me to do it.Being made in the same place Thats super cool
Fancy doing a supercharger service on a mini R53
Still doesn't make sense. If an experienced engineer makes ~£70K and someone like myself something like £120K (no engineering background, just IT) then it's all wrong. I would expect salaries to be at the same level, if not higher for an engineer… Having said that, I expect industries like oil or F1 (racing) to provide better salaries.
You’re missing quite a few variables. I’m only 35 for a start, these levels and titles are quite low down in the ranks, if I were to be a career chasing type I could move into ‘Engineering Asset Manger’ or ‘Engineering Operations manager’ etc these are what we call D grades that then go up in to the 100+ also the benifiet available to us are private health care, company cars that sort of thing. Other options for big pay jumps are things like chartership status within the IET or other bodies. Lots of ways to go.
I still have over 30 years of my working career to go. I would consider myself very much at the bottom of my ladder and with plenty of engineering experience to gain
Yeah, it doesn't make sense to compare base salaries across industries. It's just that my industry allows people with no "proper" engineering background to not only call themselves engineers, but to also be paid salaries way above average...
This is true. You would expect a Nurse to paid a lot more than they do, or any front line worker job role for that matter
We’re lucky our jobs are very niche that offer us varying salary’s depending on path etc. me training as an engineer is no different to training in what you do, some pay more some don’t.
At the end of the day I won’t do a job I don’t enjoy. If it’s boring I leave and move onto something else. If the salary is not enough move on.
A lot of proper engineers are not very well paid all over the world. I think there are many reasons for this. In some cases, like construction, the profit margins are just not big enough to allow high salaries like you see in banking and IT. The other issue is that when you’re working in a safety critical environment, it can take many years to develop and be able to demonstrate competence to be able to command higher salaries. Having said that, there are plenty of proper engineers on more than 120k, but I doubt many of those are still doing anything technical.
Just to say: I left school at 16. Worked in a garage on YTS, y then mechanical engineering apprenticeship at RRBristol. Trained as a Youth Wirger with YMCA, then NHS for a short time. By which time has two degrees. Now withk for an EAP as an advisor doing employment , housing and other advice like Citizens advice, who I trained with years ago. Now 60 have other qualifications . Been with current company for 12 years. Now thinking of Masters or training to be a solicitor. Age might be against me. Basically any advice I would good is to do what you feel makes you happy. If you can take a hobby and make it your work thenyou have a chance of being happy , working for yourself and making some money. The book I recommend is at the beginning of this text. I recommend it to any of my clients who are looking at changing careers as it will take you though a process looking at skills and all sorts of other useful stuff. The other place to go is the National CareersService. They have descriptions of loads of jobs and careers and how to enter them. Finally, if you ever watch Wheeler dealers , yes I know
, some of the ‘ experts ‘ and specialists started out with just doing what they are doing now as a hobby or side huddle. Good for thought….
I trained as a mechanical engineer, gained a masters degree, worked off shore earning 120k plus. Got sick of the politics and the BS from the company I worked for and thankfully got made redundant. Had no idea what to do next so I started my own company up doing property renovations for other people and 8 years later I am still loving it. I do the project management side, plumbing, tiling, electrical, bathrooms & kitchens 6 subbies working for me and just completed a 300k extension/renovation. I was 41 when I started my own company so there is never a time to think you are past it!
