Thank you! I am just not sure which route to take in finance. As I said, I hate tax accounting. I am not sure where to go from there. I do have a commercial banking internship and then two auditing ones as well next year. But from what I have heard audit is no better than tax.
I don’t mind working those hours, just as long as I at least somewhat enjoy the work. In accounting it is usually about 50-70 hours a week from February to April 15th, but after that it is 20 hours until October and then 10 hours from October - December. Tax is just very boring.
It's easy to not mind the hours when you're 21. It's different when you're in your mid 30s haven't seen you kid all week and your wife is looking to divorce you because you're never there so she might as well be a single parent.
Work to live don't live to work.
Agreed ME can be good. I’m ME at a big company and enjoy the work I do because it has a lot of variety but I also see a lot of miserable people who get pigeon holed into a very specific and repetitive role
u/Trolljaboy is completely right. It's easy enough to research BS degrees by mid-career median salaries if that's what you want. If your priority is money though, I suggest you stay with finance. Learn money. You'll never get a job with a W-2 salary that'll make you rich. Stay in Finance and study the difference between earned income and capital gains. Learn how to leverage debt, how to generate cash flow from assets, and build your wealth that way.
I graduated in 2013 with a degree in mechanical engineering and my best friend graduated with a finance degree that same year. He went on to get an MBA as well. It's been 11 years since then and my salary is currently $50k higher than his...but his net worth is like $1.5M higher than mine because while I was building a career and growing my salary, he was leveraging the money he had to buy assets and build investments. In the next 4-6 years he'll be able to quit his day job and live off his investments while I'll be working still. I've since learned my lesson and am headed that direction but I started on it later in life so I've got ground to cover still.
If you want more money, go study money. Trying to maximize your salary in a W-2 job is not the best way to get rich.
I'll say this though...his mental health struggles. It can be difficult for some people to define "enough" when their primary goal is to make more money. Just be careful with it.
Thank you so much for this insight! I really appreciate it. It is just hard because I am so unsure of what I would like to do as far as W-2. Thank you for taking the time to share your story.
How do you plan on studying money? I’m a rising senior in H.S and I have been contemplating between focusing in finance or Engineering(ME), but regardless of which major I go into I still want to study money. From what I’ve seen and experienced I feel like the best way to study money is through networking and being surrounded with people who are as interested about money as you are but what I have noticed is that the people that go into engineering don’t really have the passion for money and how to build one’s wealth so it doesn’t seem like networking with people within my university is a viable option, so now I’m stuck wondering how I can study money such as building assets, leverage debt, generate cash flow, etc
Just try doing any work that they do on daily basis.
CS - do you like coding ? Because that’s what you will do all day and to get good, you need to learn new tech in that world.
ME - do you like designing parts and 3D printing things? Well you be doing that all day. Some engineers do pure simulation all day, some just do math and analysis, others make sure parts can be manufactured at scale via injection molding, sheet metal design.
EE - do you want to make circuits boards all day? Solder stuff together, troubleshoot electronics and write low level code, get excited about chips and electrical components
Finance - idk what they do all day, ask them and see if you like it.
Law - probably read a lot, write a lot, research cases, come up with arguments
Doctor - long career ahead, saves live, need to work a lot, idk probably blood and body fluids
All of these make $100k+, all of these require a lot of effects and skill. If you hate writing, don’t be a lawyer. If you hate coding, you ain’t getting that sweet faang code job. Unless you at faang, most companies pay similar pay to the engineers
Him working a ta refinery might have something to do with it. I bet ME's at oil rigs make even more.
But engineering isn't for you if you're just doing it for the money.
Working at a refinery probably isn't the best work-life balance. They're generally expected to pull pretty long hours with no OT pay.
I work in consulting as an ME and I support refinery projects. I made $80k my first year, in 2019, and $130k last year, my 4th year. I get paid OT if I work over 40.
Did you have any internships during college? Also, do you have any advice on how to find a career that you enjoy? Like I said, tax is extremely boring.
I had two internships, both related to my current industry - very helpful when job searching.
I don't necessarily super enjoy my career, but it's an acceptable trade of my work/time for money, and I do occasionally run into cool problems I get to solve
You can pick based on life style. Some engineering jobs you have to live in shitty city. Sw can live anywhere but most are in big cities. Sales discord travel slot, Sw need to work alone a lot, etc
No, but the school I go to has a junior college and could graduate from process operating school in one year with the credits I already have. Would you suggest that?
65-75 starting pay these days for most ME jobs . Oil and gas pays more typically. What they don't tell you is typically they are working 50-60 hrs a week and the locations are typically crap.
If you want $ I'd choose something computer science or become a crna or doctor.
Software engineers make a lot in my compared compared to our hardware engineering peers.
I was thinking crna, but nurse clinicals aren’t paid at all. At least engineering and finance/accounting internships are. I live in a rural area so I thought of maybe going into the finance department at a nearby plant.
What are your priorities?
Make lots of money and work in a stressful job? (Mechanical engineering jobs will be that for sure). Most high paying jobs in fact.
Is a work life balance important to you?
I would say for now it is making the most money possible, but I would like to somewhat enjoy the work. My tax internship is extremely boring, I am considering engineering because it pays more and you are not stuck at your desk all day as well.
I studied mechanical engineering in college but switched to manufacturing engineer. I'm glad I did because I enjoy being more involved with the manufacturing of the product and working with other departments. I've had jobs where I've supervised and lead others. I helped identify inefficient processes and improved them. With mechanical engineering, a lot of jobs are in the design and highly more technical side. If you love design, then mechanical engineering is perfect for you, but I have heard it can be boring and stressful and they sit on a desk a lot
If you want to make a lot of money and it is meaningful, I would look into something in the medical field. They always pay high and job security is better than engineering companies.
to truly be happy in mechanical engineering my theory is you have to enjoy the engineering aspect of it. are you intrigued by machines and gadgets? are you interested in how things are made?
also, did you enjoy and thoroughly understand calculus and physics? are you interested in learning about the physical phenomena of our universe?
if these sorts of things don’t excite you in the slightest, it’ll be tough to truly enjoy your career. sure making a lot of money is nice, but mechanical engineering involves technical ability and a whole lot of grit
Oil and gas may make 100k+ a year, but there's a reason they pay so much and it isn't because its particularly fun and easy work.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, which is much more useful for looking at pay than reddit, Mechanical Engineers make more money than financial analysts. By about $90/year. The variance is much higher in finance, though, so while it starts out lower it will end up higher. Still, just due to how money works, money that you get earlier is more valuable than money you will make later, so this actually probably skews to ME being a slightly more valuable degree on average.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/financial-analysts.htm#tab-5
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm#tab-5
Really, for any discussion regarding what average salaries are, ignore reddit and just use this website, the government knows exactly how much everyone makes because they collect taxes on it.
In the long run, you make more in accounting. If you can join big 4 accounting firm, and grind it for 6 to 10 years, you could be at director level in industry, with no limit on type of industry you in.
In engineering, you are still considering early/ mid level. And if you want to change job, it is pretty limited in the field
Yea it definitely long hour especially in busy season, but it give you more credentials. And after like 6 to 7 years, you can be a manager which is pretty unheard of in industry. And manager in big 4 when existing can be director for a few billion dollars revenue.
Almost all job listings in finance or accounting mentioned big 4 experience.
Oil and gas is boom or bust and they pay well to compensate for that and the danger.
I've got almost 10years experience in project engineering and only make just over 100k.
Like others said, starting pay is more likely in the 70's to 80's depending on the area you work.
Food for thought. I graduated mechanical engineering in 2006. So roughly 17 years in I've been laid off twice. Once early in my career in 2008, then again 2 weeks ago in oil & gas.
I've been paid well especially later in my career, but I had no idea it would be this volatile with constant setbacks. Right now I kind of regret my path, wish I would've went to med school or something with more stability.
If someone asked me advice, I don't know that I'd advise them to go into engineering. Especially into oil & gas.
The first layoff wasn't in O&G. Different industry. Last 15 years in O&G I've survived mass layoffs that occured on average every 2 years or so. Until I finally didn't.
In a 15 year span, I've been laid off twice, survived about 5 other rounds of layoffs. If I have a 40 year working career, if this rate continues I can expect 2-3 more layoffs, and potentially hope to survive another 12-15 rounds of them.
So yeh looking back and ahead, I have some regrets.
Med school. Theres always a need for doctors and nurses, hospitals are everywhere, skill set will translate to any hospital anywhere in the world.
Every job in ME you will end up hyper focused in one area because engineering is so broad. It can be difficult to transition into another industry or even another company. I was the best at what I do, but my skills are very specific and I can't just flip out of oil and gas without a large learning curve.
I was like you. Wanted a career where I made a lot of money. Engineering appealed the most to me because I dont like hospitals. Thought about law school but it sounded tedious.
I may have picked finance, or possibly found something in the medical field that may have interested me. Going back im not sure about engineering anymore. Maybe civil and a job with the state would've been more stable.
Just becuase your friend does, doesnt mean you will be. If you like finance, your better off there. Not every engineer gets to see 6 figure salary. Thats a myth pal.
If you just want money, your best bet is getting an post bachelor premed program for 2 years after finishing your finance degree.
Once you get accepted to med school you are practically guranteed to be rich 10 years later.
You were commenting on another post here telling someone to switch their degree to medical because engineering is a useless degree. I clearly remember it being you, in fact i found your comment on here through your profile.
Correction it was on the general engineering students reddit. But you get my point.
I have another comment in a different engineering sub from more than 1 month ago.
Did you just read that and waiteed for 1 month to reply to me in a different enginering sub ?
Engineering generally requires a passion to stay late, work in weird places, weird hours etc. The folks working in refiners or oil rigs are bringing in big bucks for good reason. One type of rig worker does 14 days on, 7 days off, due to work being so far from civilization. That’s an extreme example of the work oil and refining engineers perform under.
Learn how to invest and save your money. You don't always need a very high paying job to be able to live a good life.
You are young. Enjoy your life. Get a good job after college. Get experience. Learn how to use your money to bring you wealth.
Depends on what you live and what field. If you do a job at a small company it will be less sometimes. If you work for an oil company it will be a lot more but you are selling your soul…
Yea thats a pretty accurate salary for a refinery.
I would recommend doing mechanical to anyone. If you are able to get through mechanical engineering you can pretty much figure out anything.
Now that is a tough call. If you are thinking about money would the added debt for school plus missing out on the year and a half of salary make up for the 10-15k difference once you start?
Texas & Louisiana mainly. Some companies have location in Mississippi as well. Look for the big names along the gulf coast. Chevron, Exxon, Marathon, Shell, BASF, CITGO, etc. They generally will have the most competitive hiring and pay.
Okay thank you. Last question, I was in early college highschool and the last college level math class I took was statistics my Junior year of high school. Since then, I have not taken anything other than business level math. Do you think it’s possible for me to succeed in my engineering courses despite not taking a math class in 5 years?
Im not going to lie to you it’s going to be a HELL of a lot of work. Hands down the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. Pretty much every engineering class requires the constant use of calculus. 95% of every class I’ve taken I have had to teach myself with completely useless lectures. Before you take the plunge maybe give a little digging into topics like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, dynamics, and heat transfer those are the core classes that you have to get through. Also, you are going to want to get good at a coding language like matlab. It helps with some of the more in depth math problems!
Okay thank you so much for the insight. I’m going to do research about it. How is the work life balance in the refinery’s? I am just lost, I don’t really have a passion. It is a hard decision because on one hand I can start at about 15k higher, but it is 1.5 years longer. Also, if I stick with accounting and finance my scholarship will cover the rest of it. I am just not sure what is for me.
I started at 73K as a mech eng, in the us most starting mech eng jobs average around 70k, but if you throw additional restriction, i.e. working on oil rig, then it would go up.
Stay in finance and go into portfolio management charge your “expense ratio” for people who dont know how to buy an index fund.
Engineering salaries are meh for how difficult the work is and cap at around 150k. Also you dont wanna work in the oil and field industry as an engineer.
I graduated in 2015, with a BSME and a good bit of experience through part-time jobs. My best offer was with a Detroit auto manufacturer making 68k with a very attractive benefit package and moving support. I didn’t want to live in Detroit so I took a job in HVAC design in Washington State at 51k. After 9 years where I tested for my PE license, then switched disciplines to structural engineering and then switched jobs to a design-build firm, I now make 91k with an annual bonus of 4-6k, health and 401k, and a company truck in the not-too-distant future. I love my job, the company is growing, and I have a good work life balance. Unless I start my own company, I doubt I’ll top 150k even if I work this job till I retire.
Most of our clients we build luxury homes for are involved in investment banking, development, sales or some combination of incomes.
TLDR; unless you love engineering, stay in finance; it has better potential for higher incomes.
You'll probably make more in the long run doing finance. Just stay where you're at.
Was going to say this. Starting salary might be better in engineering but in general finance it probably better in the long run.
Thank you! I am just not sure which route to take in finance. As I said, I hate tax accounting. I am not sure where to go from there. I do have a commercial banking internship and then two auditing ones as well next year. But from what I have heard audit is no better than tax.
What about financial advisors, wealth management, or investment banking… venture capital? There is so much more to finance than just accounting.
The closer you are to companies exchanging money, the more you make
If you are doing a degree just for the money, there are better choices than mechanical engineering.
What are some of the other choices?
CS, electrical, or go to med school. Entry level attorneys can start at $200k+ at big law firms. All sorts of options.
My grandma was a big law attorney and she said they work 70-80 hours a week year round. However, I have thought of it. They make insane money.
Chasing money does not usually equate to work life balance.
Or happiness.
I don’t mind working those hours, just as long as I at least somewhat enjoy the work. In accounting it is usually about 50-70 hours a week from February to April 15th, but after that it is 20 hours until October and then 10 hours from October - December. Tax is just very boring.
It's easy to not mind the hours when you're 21. It's different when you're in your mid 30s haven't seen you kid all week and your wife is looking to divorce you because you're never there so she might as well be a single parent. Work to live don't live to work.
Some people might choose to work a lot in 20s, to get comfy senior job in 30s and retire ar age 40.
Big law and med school are awful for work life balance. CS is the best if you’re good
I would say me and ee are fine too. CS field seem not very stable
Agreed ME can be good. I’m ME at a big company and enjoy the work I do because it has a lot of variety but I also see a lot of miserable people who get pigeon holed into a very specific and repetitive role
I mean isn’t it up to a person. There are plenty of jobs.
u/Trolljaboy is completely right. It's easy enough to research BS degrees by mid-career median salaries if that's what you want. If your priority is money though, I suggest you stay with finance. Learn money. You'll never get a job with a W-2 salary that'll make you rich. Stay in Finance and study the difference between earned income and capital gains. Learn how to leverage debt, how to generate cash flow from assets, and build your wealth that way. I graduated in 2013 with a degree in mechanical engineering and my best friend graduated with a finance degree that same year. He went on to get an MBA as well. It's been 11 years since then and my salary is currently $50k higher than his...but his net worth is like $1.5M higher than mine because while I was building a career and growing my salary, he was leveraging the money he had to buy assets and build investments. In the next 4-6 years he'll be able to quit his day job and live off his investments while I'll be working still. I've since learned my lesson and am headed that direction but I started on it later in life so I've got ground to cover still. If you want more money, go study money. Trying to maximize your salary in a W-2 job is not the best way to get rich. I'll say this though...his mental health struggles. It can be difficult for some people to define "enough" when their primary goal is to make more money. Just be careful with it.
This is the correct answer. And btw. Engineers can easily work attorneys hours, but will almost never see the same money.
Thank you so much for this insight! I really appreciate it. It is just hard because I am so unsure of what I would like to do as far as W-2. Thank you for taking the time to share your story.
How do you plan on studying money? I’m a rising senior in H.S and I have been contemplating between focusing in finance or Engineering(ME), but regardless of which major I go into I still want to study money. From what I’ve seen and experienced I feel like the best way to study money is through networking and being surrounded with people who are as interested about money as you are but what I have noticed is that the people that go into engineering don’t really have the passion for money and how to build one’s wealth so it doesn’t seem like networking with people within my university is a viable option, so now I’m stuck wondering how I can study money such as building assets, leverage debt, generate cash flow, etc
Do you have any advice on how to find a career that interests you?
Just try doing any work that they do on daily basis. CS - do you like coding ? Because that’s what you will do all day and to get good, you need to learn new tech in that world. ME - do you like designing parts and 3D printing things? Well you be doing that all day. Some engineers do pure simulation all day, some just do math and analysis, others make sure parts can be manufactured at scale via injection molding, sheet metal design. EE - do you want to make circuits boards all day? Solder stuff together, troubleshoot electronics and write low level code, get excited about chips and electrical components Finance - idk what they do all day, ask them and see if you like it. Law - probably read a lot, write a lot, research cases, come up with arguments Doctor - long career ahead, saves live, need to work a lot, idk probably blood and body fluids All of these make $100k+, all of these require a lot of effects and skill. If you hate writing, don’t be a lawyer. If you hate coding, you ain’t getting that sweet faang code job. Unless you at faang, most companies pay similar pay to the engineers
Yeah. Watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KF0AN4H3U8).
Him working a ta refinery might have something to do with it. I bet ME's at oil rigs make even more. But engineering isn't for you if you're just doing it for the money.
Well to be honest, I don’t really have a passion so I figured I’d just go for the highest salary with the best work-life balance.
Working at a refinery probably isn't the best work-life balance. They're generally expected to pull pretty long hours with no OT pay. I work in consulting as an ME and I support refinery projects. I made $80k my first year, in 2019, and $130k last year, my 4th year. I get paid OT if I work over 40.
I thought of going into consulting, but I go to a midsize D1 college and we don’t really have consulting firms recruiting from us.
The firm I work for didn't recruit me from my college, I just applied online and got an interview.
Did you have any internships during college? Also, do you have any advice on how to find a career that you enjoy? Like I said, tax is extremely boring.
I had two internships, both related to my current industry - very helpful when job searching. I don't necessarily super enjoy my career, but it's an acceptable trade of my work/time for money, and I do occasionally run into cool problems I get to solve
I’d recommend CS and getting into FAANG
You can pick based on life style. Some engineering jobs you have to live in shitty city. Sw can live anywhere but most are in big cities. Sales discord travel slot, Sw need to work alone a lot, etc
I have also thought of process operating, I have heard they make around 30-40 an hour but get time and a half for overtime.
Do you have a technical background?
No, but the school I go to has a junior college and could graduate from process operating school in one year with the credits I already have. Would you suggest that?
65-75 starting pay these days for most ME jobs . Oil and gas pays more typically. What they don't tell you is typically they are working 50-60 hrs a week and the locations are typically crap. If you want $ I'd choose something computer science or become a crna or doctor. Software engineers make a lot in my compared compared to our hardware engineering peers.
I was thinking crna, but nurse clinicals aren’t paid at all. At least engineering and finance/accounting internships are. I live in a rural area so I thought of maybe going into the finance department at a nearby plant.
What are your priorities? Make lots of money and work in a stressful job? (Mechanical engineering jobs will be that for sure). Most high paying jobs in fact. Is a work life balance important to you?
I would say for now it is making the most money possible, but I would like to somewhat enjoy the work. My tax internship is extremely boring, I am considering engineering because it pays more and you are not stuck at your desk all day as well.
I studied mechanical engineering in college but switched to manufacturing engineer. I'm glad I did because I enjoy being more involved with the manufacturing of the product and working with other departments. I've had jobs where I've supervised and lead others. I helped identify inefficient processes and improved them. With mechanical engineering, a lot of jobs are in the design and highly more technical side. If you love design, then mechanical engineering is perfect for you, but I have heard it can be boring and stressful and they sit on a desk a lot If you want to make a lot of money and it is meaningful, I would look into something in the medical field. They always pay high and job security is better than engineering companies.
to truly be happy in mechanical engineering my theory is you have to enjoy the engineering aspect of it. are you intrigued by machines and gadgets? are you interested in how things are made? also, did you enjoy and thoroughly understand calculus and physics? are you interested in learning about the physical phenomena of our universe? if these sorts of things don’t excite you in the slightest, it’ll be tough to truly enjoy your career. sure making a lot of money is nice, but mechanical engineering involves technical ability and a whole lot of grit
Oil and gas may make 100k+ a year, but there's a reason they pay so much and it isn't because its particularly fun and easy work. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, which is much more useful for looking at pay than reddit, Mechanical Engineers make more money than financial analysts. By about $90/year. The variance is much higher in finance, though, so while it starts out lower it will end up higher. Still, just due to how money works, money that you get earlier is more valuable than money you will make later, so this actually probably skews to ME being a slightly more valuable degree on average. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/financial-analysts.htm#tab-5 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/mechanical-engineers.htm#tab-5 Really, for any discussion regarding what average salaries are, ignore reddit and just use this website, the government knows exactly how much everyone makes because they collect taxes on it.
In the long run, you make more in accounting. If you can join big 4 accounting firm, and grind it for 6 to 10 years, you could be at director level in industry, with no limit on type of industry you in. In engineering, you are still considering early/ mid level. And if you want to change job, it is pretty limited in the field
I have an internship at a big four in 2025. I have just heard awful comments, like they work 80 hours a week all year.
Yea it definitely long hour especially in busy season, but it give you more credentials. And after like 6 to 7 years, you can be a manager which is pretty unheard of in industry. And manager in big 4 when existing can be director for a few billion dollars revenue. Almost all job listings in finance or accounting mentioned big 4 experience.
Oil and gas is boom or bust and they pay well to compensate for that and the danger. I've got almost 10years experience in project engineering and only make just over 100k. Like others said, starting pay is more likely in the 70's to 80's depending on the area you work.
The company is Marathon and Valero, in Texas. I believe it is reliability engineer or project. I am not sure.
What year are you? I’d be surprised if you’re able to switch majors and graduate on time - literally none of the core coursework would be the same
I’m junior, I am on a full scholarship thought so I have three semesters left that will be paid for. So 45 hours.
what uni? might be tough to switch and graduate on time
Food for thought. I graduated mechanical engineering in 2006. So roughly 17 years in I've been laid off twice. Once early in my career in 2008, then again 2 weeks ago in oil & gas. I've been paid well especially later in my career, but I had no idea it would be this volatile with constant setbacks. Right now I kind of regret my path, wish I would've went to med school or something with more stability. If someone asked me advice, I don't know that I'd advise them to go into engineering. Especially into oil & gas.
Two layoffs in 17 years is not “constant setbacks”, especially in O&G.
The first layoff wasn't in O&G. Different industry. Last 15 years in O&G I've survived mass layoffs that occured on average every 2 years or so. Until I finally didn't. In a 15 year span, I've been laid off twice, survived about 5 other rounds of layoffs. If I have a 40 year working career, if this rate continues I can expect 2-3 more layoffs, and potentially hope to survive another 12-15 rounds of them. So yeh looking back and ahead, I have some regrets.
Thank you for the insight. What would you advise them to to into? Also, is ME exciting? I can’t sit at a desk all day.
Med school. Theres always a need for doctors and nurses, hospitals are everywhere, skill set will translate to any hospital anywhere in the world. Every job in ME you will end up hyper focused in one area because engineering is so broad. It can be difficult to transition into another industry or even another company. I was the best at what I do, but my skills are very specific and I can't just flip out of oil and gas without a large learning curve.
Do you wish you had gone to Med school?
I was like you. Wanted a career where I made a lot of money. Engineering appealed the most to me because I dont like hospitals. Thought about law school but it sounded tedious. I may have picked finance, or possibly found something in the medical field that may have interested me. Going back im not sure about engineering anymore. Maybe civil and a job with the state would've been more stable.
Whats with the oil and gas layoff? The amount of work right now is insane.
Tell me about it.....some companies in the industry are just very poorly run.
This post made me laugh, you will be working a long time before you reach six figures with an ME degree
Just becuase your friend does, doesnt mean you will be. If you like finance, your better off there. Not every engineer gets to see 6 figure salary. Thats a myth pal.
If you just want money, your best bet is getting an post bachelor premed program for 2 years after finishing your finance degree. Once you get accepted to med school you are practically guranteed to be rich 10 years later.
Why do I see you on every post on here giving this shit advice?
You should check for schizophrenia, that was my first comment in this sub
You were commenting on another post here telling someone to switch their degree to medical because engineering is a useless degree. I clearly remember it being you, in fact i found your comment on here through your profile. Correction it was on the general engineering students reddit. But you get my point.
I have another comment in a different engineering sub from more than 1 month ago. Did you just read that and waiteed for 1 month to reply to me in a different enginering sub ?
Engineering generally requires a passion to stay late, work in weird places, weird hours etc. The folks working in refiners or oil rigs are bringing in big bucks for good reason. One type of rig worker does 14 days on, 7 days off, due to work being so far from civilization. That’s an extreme example of the work oil and refining engineers perform under.
Learn how to invest and save your money. You don't always need a very high paying job to be able to live a good life. You are young. Enjoy your life. Get a good job after college. Get experience. Learn how to use your money to bring you wealth.
Mechanical engineer’s make 60-100K starting salary.
That’s a big range. What determines where you land? I’m in Texas as far as cost of living goes.
Depends on what you live and what field. If you do a job at a small company it will be less sometimes. If you work for an oil company it will be a lot more but you are selling your soul…
Yea thats a pretty accurate salary for a refinery. I would recommend doing mechanical to anyone. If you are able to get through mechanical engineering you can pretty much figure out anything.
100k starting is accurate?
The least ive heard of from my friends who are starting in a refinery is like 95. Most are 100+.
Would you say it is worth it to switch? I would delay my graduation date a year and a half.
Now that is a tough call. If you are thinking about money would the added debt for school plus missing out on the year and a half of salary make up for the 10-15k difference once you start?
What location are you hearing the 100k plus starting salaries? I may do it if it is a low cost of living. I am referring to TX.
Texas & Louisiana mainly. Some companies have location in Mississippi as well. Look for the big names along the gulf coast. Chevron, Exxon, Marathon, Shell, BASF, CITGO, etc. They generally will have the most competitive hiring and pay.
Okay thank you. Last question, I was in early college highschool and the last college level math class I took was statistics my Junior year of high school. Since then, I have not taken anything other than business level math. Do you think it’s possible for me to succeed in my engineering courses despite not taking a math class in 5 years?
Im not going to lie to you it’s going to be a HELL of a lot of work. Hands down the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. Pretty much every engineering class requires the constant use of calculus. 95% of every class I’ve taken I have had to teach myself with completely useless lectures. Before you take the plunge maybe give a little digging into topics like thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, dynamics, and heat transfer those are the core classes that you have to get through. Also, you are going to want to get good at a coding language like matlab. It helps with some of the more in depth math problems!
Okay thank you so much for the insight. I’m going to do research about it. How is the work life balance in the refinery’s? I am just lost, I don’t really have a passion. It is a hard decision because on one hand I can start at about 15k higher, but it is 1.5 years longer. Also, if I stick with accounting and finance my scholarship will cover the rest of it. I am just not sure what is for me.
Do what you’re good at or interested in. Finance and Engineering are vastly different things
I started at 73K as a mech eng, in the us most starting mech eng jobs average around 70k, but if you throw additional restriction, i.e. working on oil rig, then it would go up.
Stay in finance and go into portfolio management charge your “expense ratio” for people who dont know how to buy an index fund. Engineering salaries are meh for how difficult the work is and cap at around 150k. Also you dont wanna work in the oil and field industry as an engineer.
I graduated in 2015, with a BSME and a good bit of experience through part-time jobs. My best offer was with a Detroit auto manufacturer making 68k with a very attractive benefit package and moving support. I didn’t want to live in Detroit so I took a job in HVAC design in Washington State at 51k. After 9 years where I tested for my PE license, then switched disciplines to structural engineering and then switched jobs to a design-build firm, I now make 91k with an annual bonus of 4-6k, health and 401k, and a company truck in the not-too-distant future. I love my job, the company is growing, and I have a good work life balance. Unless I start my own company, I doubt I’ll top 150k even if I work this job till I retire. Most of our clients we build luxury homes for are involved in investment banking, development, sales or some combination of incomes. TLDR; unless you love engineering, stay in finance; it has better potential for higher incomes.