Salary by Years Experience for Mechanical Engineer Jobs

Engineering Starting Salaries

Given that the median entry-level salary is in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, most people would agree that mechanical engineering starting salaries are reasonably high. But, for those looking to reach the top of the mechanical engineering field, engineering starting salaries are just a prelude to a salary dream come true. As shown in the chart above, after only five to nine years of experience, mechanical engineering starting salaries experience a big jump. After 20 years of experience, mechanical engineering salaries can dwarf median starting salaries and rise into the triple digits.

To put mechanical engineering salaries into perspective, though, you have to examine other engineering starting salaries as well. Can you guess which engineering salaries comes out on top? The winner of the highest engineering starting salaries goes to petroleum engineers. Median Petroleum Engineering Salaries start out at around $65,000 and can reach $180,000 after 20 years of experience. Electrical engineering starting salaries are more comparable to starting salaries for mechanical engineering. Looking at the chart showing median Electrical Engineering Starting Salaries, you'll notice that salaries for electrical engineering follow a similar progression, with salaries starting in the same range as those for mechanical engineering and then increasing steadily over the course of a career. For another look at engineering salaries, view PayScale's report on Civil Engineering Starting Salaries.